Rediscovering Clusius. How Dutch Commerce Contributed to the Emergence of Modern Science

Abstract

H.J. Cook, Matters of exchange. Commerce, medicine, and science in the Dutch Golden AgeRediscovering Clusius. How Dutch Commerce contributed to the Emergence of Modern ScienceIn his highly stimulating book Matters of Exchange. Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden Age, Harold J. Cook argues that the intellectual activities we call science emerged from ways of knowing that were valued most highly by merchant-rulers. He demonstrates this thesis by describing and analyzing scientific developments in the Dutch Republic. However, both Cook’s one-sided description of the new science and his idealized reconstruction of the mentality of the merchant elite in the Dutch Republic weaken his case considerably. A more ecumenical view of early modern science and a more realistic picture of the values and the conduct of merchants in Europe are needed to bolster an argument that still looks very promising.