Diffusie en creativiteit. De technische ontwikkeling van Nederland in de negentiende eeuw in vergelijkend perspectief

Abstract

Diffusion arid creativity. The development of technology in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century in a comparative perspective The Geschiedenis van de techniek in Nederland is a largely successful example of a contextual history of technology of the Netherlands. Thanks to the efforts of the 'Eindhoven school', the historiography of technology in the Netherlands has now finally caught up with 'state of the art' research in the US, Britain, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries. This work also breaks new ground by putting the issue of the evolution of technology in a 'follower' country firmly on the historical agenda as an interesting problem in its own right. The reasoning of the book can be criticized on at least two counts, however. In reaction to the traditional view of the Netherlands in the nineteenth century as a passive, backward society, the authors have laid so much stress on the rational and innovative behaviour of actors such as engineers, entrepreneurs, or government officials that they have tended to neglect the issue of the dependence of the Netherlands on changes in neighbouring countries. They have not really examined the impact of the introduction of new technological systems in countries like Britain, Belgium, or Germany on the options left to actors in Holland. Moreover, the authors have been more concerned to accentuate the distinctiveness and originality of developments in the Netherlands as compared to the early industrializers Britain and Belgium, than to study the achievements of the Netherlands in comparison with other small countries like Denmark, Norway, or Switzerland. A preliminary survey based on data on patents of inventions suggests that technological creativity in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century was lower than in other nations in the same league. Dutch performance in this respect did not improve noticeably until after World War I. A comparative inquiry into the economic and cultural context of variations in technological creativity is urgently needed.