The century from 1750 to 1850 was a period of dramatic transformations in world history, fostering several types of revolutionary change beyond the political landscape. Independence movements in Europe, the Americas, and other parts of the world were catalysts for radical economic, social, and cultural reform. And it was during this age of revolutions—an era of rapidly expanding scientific investigation—that profound changes in scientific knowledge and practice also took place.
Global Scientific Practice in an Age of Revolutions, 1750-1850 was the first work produced through a publishing initiative between the World History Center, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and the Pitt University Press. The inititiative is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Published in 2016 and edited by Patrick Manning and Daniel Rood, the volume is meant to initiate a set of studies on the world history of science. The scholars included in this work address global parallels and interconnections in the history of science, centering on a period of dramatic worldwide transformations in economy, politics, society, and culture. Chapters focus on the range of participants in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century science, their concentrated effort in description and taxonomy, and advancements in techniques for sharing knowledge. Together, contributors highlight the role of scientific change and development in tightening global and imperial connections, encouraging a deeper conversation among historians of science and world historians and shedding new light on a pivotal moment in history for both fields.