Semantics of learned quackery in the 17th and 18th centuries

In the 17th and 18th century republic of letters the problem of scientific fraud was met with a discourse of charlatanism. Departing from Johann Burchhard Menckes famous treatise on the Charlatanry of the learned the following essay traces how the accusations of academic and scientific misconduct put in terms of 'charlatanry' primarily helped to produce the new species of the erudite 'charlatan'. Facing a growing complexity of scientific culture this new frame of meaning, structured by numerous examples of scientific misconduct offered a new way of orientation in the world of learning. But besides its cognitive impacts the discourse of charlatanry allowed to create symbolic boundaries, which determined decisions upon the affiliation or non affiliation to the new forming scientific community by separating honourable from dishonourable scientific personae. Speaking of charlatanry therefore always implied a social distinction as much as a scientific. The discourses on charlatanry also mirror differentiations within the scientific field. At first dominated by a critique built on courteous or bourgeois values, the scientific field later on developed its own criteria of appraisal like authorship, originality, transparency etc. Attracting the attention of a further growing public sphere, the explicit verbalisation of claims not relating to the value system of a republic of letters primarily concerned with the production and distribution of knowledge finally led up to a more implicit moral economy of science. A change that at a large scale level can be described both as an internalisation of the values of scientific conduct and differentiation between justiciable and unjusticiable transgressions of the norms set up by the scientific community.     

Medical practices in the french west indies: Master and slave in the 17th and 18th centuries

In these pages, the example of Guadeloupe is used to evaluate the power of coercion exercised by French slavery on the body of the slave afflicted by illness. The prohibition of African healers and their practices aimed to prevent the expression of the slave's body through its own medicine. Conversely, by wishing to forcibly promote their own order, the white masters were able to impose — as far as this was possible — their own vision of the body and of its relationship to nature and to society.     

Dutch pantiles in the county of Norfolk: architecture and international trade in the 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

A series of clay tobacco pipes made in the Virginia colony in the 17th century were adorned with rouletted stars. In considering the many possible readings of their iconography, this study explores the social use of the celestial landscape, arguing that stars and constellations represented familiar features in a landscape otherwise alien to Chesapeake immigrants. They were therefore among the points of convergence which served to provide a foundation for dialogue across ethnic boundaries. Algonquian, European, and West African star lore are considered to the extent that available evidence allows, in recognition that a diversity of authors contributed to the pipes' lavish embellishment.     

海贸与移民互动:17-18世纪闽南人移民海外原因分析--以闽南人移民台湾为例

17-18世纪是闽南人海外移民的高潮时期,也是台湾移民社会形成和发展时期.台湾移民以闽南人为主,可说是闽南社会在海峡对岸的延伸.推动闽南人移民海外的内因是明中叶以来的人口压力,而16世纪中叶欧人东来以后带动的商贸和东亚、东南亚沿海地区的开发使对中国商贩和劳力的需求大增,则是吸引闽南移民的拉力.在整个17-18世纪,始终存在着华人海上商贸和海外移民的互动.闽南人冒险、重商的人文精神,则是使这种推力与拉力作用得以实现的主观原因.17世纪20年代以来,由泉籍郑氏集团主导的海外华商网络和台湾开发则是台湾泉籍人多于漳籍人和泉籍人主导台湾商贸的主要原因,这与17-18世纪海外华商网络和华人社会以闽南人为主、闽南籍者又以泉府人居多是相一致的.     

The German Empire and Palestine: German pilgrimages to Jerusalem between the 12th and 16th century

This study is an attempt to discuss various points of interest concerning the pilgrimages to Jerusalem which started from the German Empire during and after the Crusader period. On the basis of a comprehensive critical investigation, it will be demonstrated that by reason of extremely high travel expenses, most pilgrims decided against going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is pointed out to what extent the noble and non-noble pilgrims from the Empire who planned the journey to Jerusalem would have to take into consideration their legal and moral obligations toward their feudal lords or local communities. It will be shown that most German pilgrims' ignorance of foreign languages furthered the cohesion and isolation of their travel parties on the road to Syria. As may be proved, they were not ready to adapt themselves to unusual manners and customs and had a remarkable penchant for violence. Finally, it will be demonstrated that the presence of German pilgrims ready to give donations or to pay for an indulgence must always have been a very important economic factor for some of the religious communities in Jerusalem.     

18～19世纪英国"友谊会"运动述论

在英国社会保障发展史上,18、19世纪是“友谊会”等民间互助组织快速发展的时期。但对“友谊会”运动这一历史现象的成因,国内外学界长期以来没有一个明确的解释。通过对18、19世纪英国“友谊会”等民间互助组织兴盛与衰落过程的历史考察表明,“友谊会”运动的出现,是此时社会上日益增长的社会保障和救助需求与英国国家职能尚未完全扩及到社会保障领域、很好地满足人们对社会福利需求的结果,“友谊会”等民间互助组织的出现与迅速发展是对18、19世纪英国国家职能在社会保障领域中缺位的重要填充。     

Neutron tomography for the assessment of consolidant impregnation efficiency in Portuguese glazed tiles (16th and 18th centuries)

Neutron tomography (NT) has been applied to visualize the inner structure of ancient Portuguese glazed tiles undergoing conservation treatments. Neutrons have the advantage of interacting strongly with hydrogen, so NT is able to map hydrogenous compounds with high sensitivity. The present study explores its potential for assessing the distribution of the consolidant Paraloid B-72 inside tiles, to evaluate the efficiency of two different methods of treatment: brushing and immersion in solution. Using a prototype NT setup at the Reactor Português de Investigação (Sacavém, Portugal), each two-dimensional image is obtained from a 90 s exposure, at a thermal neutron flux of 2 × 10⁵ n cm⁻² s⁻¹ at the irradiation site. The neutron beam has a diameter of 5 cm, so fragments with outer dimensions up to 4.8 cm can be inspected. Samples are automatically rotated by an angle of 0.9° between successive images. Images were obtained before and after the application of the consolidant. The results obtained show that: (i) NT is a useful tool for visualization of the inner structure of ancient glazed tiles, and to assess penetration depth of consolidant and its distribution inside the tile; and (ii) brushing with 10% Paraloid^® B-72 in acetone solution appears to be more efficient than immersion. Neutron tomography showed a greater and more uniform retention of resin inside the tile if the brush is used to apply the consolidant, to increase the cohesion of the object.     

16-17世纪西欧社会的"猎巫"

The European witch-trials became numerous in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A large number of witches were imprisoned and many of them were executed at the stake. The ubiquitous social strain brought on the witch-hunt, and the witch became the scapegoat. Study on the witch-hunt provides a special perspective on the transition of Western Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. __________ Translated from Shixue Yuekan 史学月刊 (Journal of Historical Science), 2007, (8): 64–71     

18世纪末至19世纪中期英国在印度的“文明使命”

在"文明使命"价值观的指引下,英国人在印度扮演的角色,既是征服者和殖民者,又是统治者和开化者.他们在治理与掠夺印度的过程中,摧毁了印度原有的社会与经济结构,推进了印度社会的近代化,用强力手段将古老的印度拉进了以英国为中心的世界资本主义体系.     

An element of thought: phosphorus and mental philosophy in the nineteenth century

Georges Cabanis (1757-1808), through his writings on the relation of the physical and moral, or psychological, aspects of man, left a legacy that made the study of mental activity a part of physiology. His views on the importance of phosphorus to the function of the brain thrust that element into a prominent stream of research that involved many investigators in several countries. Although that particular stream eventually dried up, its influence remained: by the beginning of the twentieth century basic medical science had become well set on studies of the mind-body relationship.     

Further developments in molecular sex assignment: a blind test of 18th and 19th century human skeletons

The identification of sex in human remains recovered from archaeological locations is important in order to understand the social and biological structure of past societies, and to reconstruct past population demographic events. Sex determination is usually based on morphological traits of the skeletons, with the drawback that most methods do not apply to juveniles and require well preserved remains. In cases where morphological methods cannot be used, or are ambiguous, methods of molecular sexing systems are an alternative. In this methodological study we tested and validated the accuracy and usefulness of a molecular sexing method based on the amelogenin gene using pyrosequencing. We did this in a double blind study of documented 18th and 19th century human remains.