Sections:

• Welcome
• American History
• European History
• Latin American History
• African History

Topics for this Section:

• Greek and Phoenician Colonization
  1. Introduction
  2. Colonies and Emporia
  3. Natural Resources in the Colonial Areas of Mediterranean World
  4. The Focus of Colonization
  5. Colony and Mother City
  6. Summary
• Origins and Movements of Greek Intellectuals
  1. General Introduction
  2. Introduction: Where Were the Greek Intellectuals Active?
  3. BC 800-323
  4. Introduction: Travel and the Exchange of Ideas
  5. Travel of Selected Intellectuals in More Detail
  6. Summary
• Sanctuaries and Diplomacy in the Greek World
  1. General Introduction
  2. Introduction: Olympia
  3. Olympia: 700 BC to 200 AD
  4. Introduction: Delphi
  5. Delphi: 800 BC to 200 AD
  6. Introduction: Nemea
  7. Nemea: 700 BC to 200 AD
  8. Introduction: Isthmia
  9. Isthmia: 700 BC to 200 AD
  10. Introduction: Olympic Victors
  11. Olympic Victors: 776 BC to 369 AD
• Roman Italy in the Republic
  1. Introduction
  2. Roman Expansion in Italy : 509-31 BC
  3. Census Figures: Roman Citizens.
  4. Summary
• Romanization
  1. Introduction
  2. The Romanization of the Western Mediterranean
  3. Elements of Cultural Change
  4. Case Study: the Gallic Provinces
  5. Summary
• Rome and Asia Minor
  1. General Introduction
  2. Introduction to Provincial Structure
  3. Provinces: BC 125-25
  4. Provinces: AD 1-276
  5. Second Introduction: Temples of the Imperial Cult
  6. Temples of the Imperial Cult
  7. Third Introduction: The Minting of Coins
  8. The Minting of Coins
  9. Summary
• Crisis of the 3rd Century
  1. Introduction
  2. AD 15-285
  3. AD 200-285
  4. Some Factors in the Crisis
  5. Other Archaeological Factors
  6. Summary
• Centers of Learning in the Middle Ages
  1. Introduction
  2. University Foundation Privileges
  3. High Medieval Period
  4. Jesuit Centers
  5. Pre-Modern Period
• The Reformation
• Peasant Rebellions in Early Modern Europe
  1. Introduction
  2. 1290-1424
  3. 1425-1549
  4. 1550-1699
  5. 1700-1800
  6. The Peasants' War of 1525
  7. France: 1600-1700
  8. Britain: 1756-1801
• Academies in Early Modern Europe
  1. Introduction
  2. 1650-1700
  3. 1701-1760
  4. 1761-1810
  5. Summary
• Communication and the Postal System in the Early Modern Period
  1. Introduction
  2. 1505-1541
  3. 1570-1610
  4. 1611-1648
  5. 1649-1799
• Spain
  1. Introduction
  2. Natural Resources of the Iberian Peninsula
  3. Ancient Iberia
  4. Germanic Invasions
  5. Visigothic Control
  6. Islamic Spain
  7. Reconquista
• France
• Italy
  1. Introduction
  2. Italy at the End of the Roman Empire
  3. Medieval Conquests of Italy
  4. High Middle Ages to the French Revolution
  5. Napoleonic Era
  6. Unification of Italy
• Russia in the 20th Century
  1. Introduction
  2. 1910-1991
  3. Summary
• The Cold War
  1. Introduction
  2. The Cold War in Europe : 1945-1990
  3. Reunification and Resolution
  4. Summary

Introduction

During the early modern period (the 17th and 18th centuries) views of nature and of the methods and social practices of its investigation changed fundamentally. This new way of acquiring knowledge consciously distanced itself from the traditional institutions that had until this time supported scholarly inquiry, namely the universities. Innovation centered experimental, empirical, and utilitarian research; it sprang from a tight connection between conventional science (mathematics, astronomy) on one hand, and artesian and technical know-how on the other.  The new view of an ordered universe (cosmos) is best exemplified by Copernican astronomy.  The “new scholarship” claimed recognition not simply in being “true” but also through the social and political support it enjoyed.

The various individual scholarly initiatives associated with this new scholarship had to be coordinated, the results circulated, methodological standards defined, and criteria established for determining credibility. Moreover, the explosion of new research had to be assembled, systematized, reviewed and filtered.  Such were effectively the achievements of the societies and academies, some of them private; others privileged official organizations that developed outside the traditional universities in an ever denser network during the 17th and 18th centuries.  The academies directed, coordinated and promoted the scholarship through a variety of means including but not limited to the publication of results, the establishment of prizes for the solution of particular scientific problems, and by the use of "correspondence" to circulate new ideas and concepts. The academies were also active in the censorship of books and the approval of patents.

In this module we trace the development of the academies and societies over the two hundred years leading up to the French Revolution.  Though the distinctions are not always definitive, we make distinctions between private academies and public/official institutes.