Circulation of knowledge, scientific understanding, books, and people across the Atlantic, during the 16th to 19th centuries

Abstract

This dossier analyzes the transatlantic circulation of knowledge, scientific understanding, books, and people between the 16th and 19th centuries. Framed within Atlantic History and connected histories, the focus is on the displacements and transfers of ideas, technologies, and practices, covering Europe (England, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy) and America (Thirteen Colonies, Mexico, Argentina). The nine works are divided into two groups. The first studies the movement of individuals and groups, including intellectual formation, praxis, and the uncertain fate of vulnerable groups, such as indentured servants in the Thirteen Colonies. It also examines the control exercised by the Hispanic Empire over the Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition (1803–1810) and the trajectory of German scientists in Argentina in the early 20th century. The second group prioritizes cultural artifacts, especially books, as carriers of ideas and knowledge, generating intercontinental and interregional circuits. These articles address editorial production and censorship in Portugal, the circulation of history and educational books in Buenos Aires, enlightened ideas about luxury in Jujuy, and archival knowledge in Cordoba. The studies are unified by the analysis of movement, connection, and regulation by power structures.