Enlightened Zeal

The Hudson's Bay Company and Scientific Networks, 1670-1870

Ted Binnema author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of Toronto Press

Published:4th Apr '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Enlightened Zeal cover

"Enlightened Zeal makes a significant contribution to the growing scholarship on imperial science by shifting our attention to the less studied scenes - and new paradigms - in the vast territory of arctic and subarctic North America. Especially attentive to the ways in which the interests and actions of individuals, institutions, and empires do not necessarily align, Binnema offers a nuanced history of one commercial monopoly's scientific networks operating for over two hundred years across changing economic and political terrains." -- Susan Parrish, Department of English, University of Michigan

Enlightened Zeal examines the fascinating history of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s involvement in scientific networks during the company’s two-hundred year chartered monopoly.

Enlightened Zeal examines the fascinating history of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s involvement in scientific networks during the company’s two-hundred year chartered monopoly. Working from the company’s voluminous records, Ted Binnema demonstrates the significance of science in the company’s corporate strategies.

Initially highly secretive about all of its activities, the HBC was by 1870 an exceptionally generous patron of science. Aware of the ways that a commitment to scientific research could burnish its corporate reputation, the company participated in intricate symbiotic networks that linked the HBC as a corporation with individuals and scientific organizations in England, Scotland, and the United States. The pursuit of scientific knowledge could bring wealth and influence, along with tribute, fame, and renown, but science also brought less tangible benefits: adventure, health, happiness, male companionship, self-improvement, or a sense of meaning.

The first study of scientific research in any chartered company over the entire course of its monopoly, Enlightened Zeal expands our understanding of social networks in science, establishes the vast scope of the HBC’s contribution to public knowledge, and will inspire new research into the history of science in other chartered monopolies.

‘Binnema has produced a superbly written, thoroughly researched, and highly relevant study of the HBC’s role in the development of scientific networks in the modern era. The book is an enormous achievement.’

-- Stephen J. Hornsby * Journal of British Studies, vol 54:01:2015 *

‘I recommend this book for its excellent biographical data and its chronicling of HBC interactions with scientific networks.’

-- C. Stuart Houston * Archives of Natural History, vol 42:01:2015 *

Enlightened Zeal is a quite successful combination of corporate history and the history of science.’

-- Karl Davids * Isis vol 106:02:2015 *

Enlightened Zeal will be useful foundational reading for graduate seminars and independent research on the history of chartered trading companies, network exchange, and the appropriation of knowledge in the HBC and Rupert’s Land.’

-- Matthew S. Wiseman * American Review of Canadian Studies vol 46:01:2016 *

‘This book will help change the ways specialists understand both the remarkable history of the HBC and the sustained practice of corporate-sponsored scholarship.’

-- Michael F. Dove * The Historian vol 78:03:2016 *

‘This text is essential reading for anyone interested in corporate contributions to the development of science in the British Atlantic world.’

-- Naomi H. Slipp * Nineteenth Century Studies August 20

  • Winner of CLIO Prize - North awarded by Canadian Historical Association 2015 (Canada)

ISBN: 9781442646971

Dimensions: 241mm x 163mm x 35mm

Weight: 840g

488 pages