Historical Considerations

This chapter gives the historical background of the study. This includes the early history of the Journal des Sçavans, whose first issue appeared in January 1665. It was state-sponsored, covered all the academic disciplines of the time, and much of its content was made up of book reviews. The first issue of the Philosophical Transactions appeared two months later. It was a private venture by Henry Oldenburg, restricted to items dealing with science and technology, and was largely based on the contents of Oldenburg’s postbag. Also considered are the differing histories of France and England in the seventeenth century. France had become increasingly centralized, was totally stable under Louis XIV, and had become the political, social and economic centre of Europe. England, in 1665, was just emerging from a half century of chaos, including the civil war, the beheading of Charles I and the period of Cromwell’s rule. The Restoration of the monarchy provided hope of a better future.