Natural Science and the Origins of the British Empire

'draws in a number of intriguing and traditionally overlooked colonial aspects of the careers of eminent philosophers' British Journal for the History of Science 'provides an excellent foundation for identifying the ways in which the English virtuosi linked the North American ventures to ideas about the understanding and improvement of nature.' Church History 'The value of this book lies in its close, sophisticated reading and analysis of primary sources.' Itinerario

• Introduction; Chapter 1 ‘In a Pure Soil’: Francis Bacon’s Empire of Knowledge; Chapter 2 Restoring Eden in America: The Hartlib Circle’s Pansophical Empire; Chapter 3 Robert Boyle’s Protestant Colonial Project; Chapter 4 The Royal Society and the Atlantic World; Chapter 5 John Locke’s Language of Empire; Chapter 6 Conclusion;