Modern British Scientific and Technological Societies and Agricultural Development

Wenyuan ZHAO

College of History and Tourism Culture, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China

Abstract In modern Britain, the scientific and technological societies represented by the Royal Society and the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society were extremely prosperous. Their series of activities provided scientific and technological support for the development of British industry and agriculture. Based on the detailed case studies of the Royal Society and Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society and other societies from domestic and foreign academic circles, this paper summarized the development status of modern British scientific and technological societies as a whole, sorted out the history of societies participating in British agriculture, and analyzed the contribution of scientific and technological societies to the development of modern British agriculture.

Key words Britain, Scientific and technological societies, Science and culture

1 Introduction

In the science development history of modern Britain, the scientific and technological societies represented by the Royal Society and the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society played an extremely important role. Foreign academic circles are extremely concerned about this issue and have made extensive studies on the activities of many societies such as the Royal Society. By contrast, domestic academic circles have made little research on modern British scientific and technological societies. Only a few monographs and papers focus on the Royal Society and Lunar Society. These studies lack overall discussion of modern scientific and technological societies, and have never specifically discussed the role of societies in promoting the development of British agriculture. Therefore, we intended to make a systematic summarization of the role of societies in promoting British agricultural production on the basis of sorting out the activities of modern British scientific and technological societies.

2 Modern British scientific and technological societies

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the British capitalist economy developed vigorously. The Enlightenment liberated the mind. The British clearly realized the enormous potential of science and technology in promoting economic development. At the end of the 17th century, princes and aristocrat established the Royal Society, England’s first scientific society. The upper class generously funded scientific research, and science has increasingly become a fashionable profession favored by the middle class. In the 18th century, prosperous scientific activities appeared in the capital, London, and Manchester, Birmingham and other emerging industrial cities. Independent scientists traveled around and held lectures to teach physics, geography, chemistry and electricity related to industrial and agricultural development, which attracted a large number of people to participate. People had a strong interest in science and technology. Fans of science and technologies from all over the country formed book clubs. These private voluntary organizations have gradually developed into societies. At that time, the British government believed that scientific and technological societies such as the Royal Society were the country’s knowledge treasure house and should be given various conveniences for their activities. The government’s encouraging attitude promoted scientific and technological societies to spring up like mushrooms. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, scientific and technological societies sprang up all over the British Island. There were societies such as the Royal Society of Edinburgh in Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland. In the capital of Ireland, Dublin, there was Dublin Philosophical Society, and there are many scientific and technological organizations in the industrial center of England[1]. In the capital, London, there are some large societies that affect the whole country, such as the famous Royal Society, the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). In counties, especially the northern industrial counties, scientific and technological societies are more active, such as Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle have established societies early.

Except for a few organizations such as the Royal Society, most of the members of the scientific and technological societies are mainly middle-class people. According to Schofield’s statistics, there are 14 core members of the Lunar Society, of which half are scientists, engineers and other professionals, and half are industries such as Wedgwood, which is a typical middle-class society[2], and others such as the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Askesian Society are the same. The middle class actively participated in scientific activities partly due to actual economic needs, and partly due to social factors. The vast majority of the middle class participating in the scientific and technological are not state religionists. After the Glorious Revolution, theMunicipalLawstipulated that nonconformist were not allowed to hold public positions, and most of them were engaged in industrial and commercial operations. This group of people were extremely wealthy economically, but the political and social levels were still suppressed by the traditional elite land aristocrats. Participating in scientific and technological activities were for the purpose of challenging the cultural monopoly of the aristocracy and enhancing their social status.

By the middle of 19th century, the development of old-style scientific and technological societies such as local literature and philosophical societies had stagnated. At the same time, a number of new-style professional scientific and technological societies emerged and developed rapidly, and became the main private force connecting scientific and industrial development. In the 19th century, a number of professional organizations such as the Manchester Geographical Society, the Newcastle Chemical Society and the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers emerged one after another. These organizations were still middle-class organizations, but generally focused on professional subjects such as geography and chemistry rather than abstract philosophy or natural science. At the same time of the emergence of new professional scientific and technological societies, new professionals within the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society and other societies have emerged and replaced the old gentlemen and scientists as group leaders, which promoted the transition from amateur gentlemen groups to professional societies. John Lee, the chairman of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society and a famous scholar, once declared that almost all contemporary great discoveries and designs came from the middle and lower classes of society[3]. In the second half of the 19th century, the leading forces of the scientific and technological societies were all born in the middle and lower middle class. Most of them came from the families of industrial and commercial people who did not follow the state education. They did not have the identity of independent gentlemen. Most of them had received professional science education and lived on scientific lectures, professional chemical analysis, or full-time scientific and technological work such as university teaching, and science was an important way for them to gain social identity. Different from gentlemen and scientists such as Thomas Henry, the leaders of scientific and technological societies at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, emerging professionals in science and technology had been deeply influenced by the new trends since the industrial revolution, and their own experience made them more clearly aware that science is essential to economic and social development, so they paid more attention to the application and economy of science[4]. In the middle of the 19th century, professional scientists such as John Dalton (British chemist and physicist, father of modern chemistry) and Hodgkin (British chemist) were successively chairman of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Since then, almost all papers published by the society focused on scientific issues, and literature was excluded from topics of the society. In 1862, Gordon, a well-known local amateur botanist, applied to join the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, but was rejected twice as an amateur scholar and failed to become a member, which marked the traditional gentleman-style amateur science in the middle and late 19th century. With the gradual disappearance, non-governmental scientific and technological were transitioning to professional academic groups. Under the leadership of a new generation of professional scientific and technological experts, the society not only disseminated science, but also devoted to applying scientific and technological knowledge to industrial and agricultural production, which established a closer relationship between science and economic development.

3 Scientific and technological societies and agricultural development

3.1 Scientific and technological societies actively discuss issues related to agricultural development, and provide technical power for the British agricultural revolutionIn modern Britain, while the prestige of the priest occupation gradually declined, there was a growing interest in science. British gentlemen full of utilitarian spirit found that natural science is very beneficial to better doing business and agricultural production. Thus, for the utilitarian consideration, they proposed to learn mathematics, chemistry and other natural science knowledge one after another. Lord Herbert of Cherbury pointed out that learning arithmetic and geometry is a good strategy because it is "very useful for bookkeeping and allows gentlemen to understand fortification"; Wallis commented that "chemical practice is not a kind of knowledge that is not suitable for the identity of a gentleman"; Wilkins also suggested that gentlemen should study "mechanical geometry"[5]. During the 17th revolution, British dignitaries had set an example in paying attention to science. King Charles I’s nephew Prince Rupert personally participated in natural philosophy research activities, and Charles II declared that he was interested in chemistry and maritime knowledge. The upper class of British society promoted the establishment of the Royal Society and actively participated in it. They took free time to engage in scientific activities, which was very popular among the aristocracy and middle class, and science became a useful hobby of the gentleman class.

At the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, the turmoil of the British Revolution and the Civil War ended, economic development obtained a stable political and social environment, and Britain entered a period of great agricultural and industrial development. The 18th century was the era of the British Agricultural Revolution. The Enclosure in rural areas developed rapidly. Land operators carried out capitalist agricultural production on large area of land enclosed by them. As a result, the agricultural productivity of Britain was greatly improved. The aristocrat in the upper class were the main promoters of the agricultural revolution. King George called himself the farmer George. The aristocratic landlords generally paid attention to the improvement of agricultural production in the territory. They introduced new crops, adopted agricultural machinery and new farming methods, and even exploited mines and dug canals on the territory, made great contributions to the British agricultural development in the 18th century. In the 18th century, the aristocracy was also a participant in many scientific groups such as the Royal Society. Under their leadership, the scientific and technological societies actively carried out research on geography and chemistry related to agricultural production. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland clearly included soil analysis and agricultural issues into the issues of close concern of the society. The works of the society members in the journal involved a series of topics such as seed germination, potato anti-freezing and agricultural mineralogy, and even proposed a plan to establish a professional agricultural college. A group of scientific and technological societies such as the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and the Askesian Society were very concerned about agricultural chemistry and agricultural mineralogy. Agricultural chemistry is extremely important for improving land yield. Agricultural mineralogy is not only helpful for improving soil fertility, but also for the noble landlords. The mining provides technical support, and the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and the Royal Institute of London and other institutions cooperated to carry out agricultural chemical research. In the 18th and 19th centuries, holding lectures on science and technology was once the most important activity of the scientific and technological societies. Many science and technology practitioners from various societies made study tour in the capital and all over the United Kingdom, attracting the participation of grass-roots science enthusiasts. In the 1840s, Sheffield agricultural chemist Haywood’s lectures on agricultural science aroused great interest among the people. The first lecture on crop cultivation was successfully held in December 1845. By February 1846, 50 public lectures had been held[6]. After that, scientific and technological societies regularly held non-free lectures on agricultural chemistry in many areas of the Britain. These research and lecture activities provided important technical support for the progress of British agricultural productivity.

3.2 Scientific and technological societies promote the application of Liebig’s agricultural chemistry theory in the Britain and contribute to the improvement and development of the British agricultureAt the beginning of the 19th century, the famous German chemist Justus von Liebig made outstanding achievements in the field of organic chemistry and became the second-to-none chemist in Europe. Compared with the academic circles in England, Scottish scholars had closer ties with the chemistry circles of continental Europe. They were clearly aware of Germany’s leading position in the field of organic chemistry. Young people from Scotland came to Germany to learn from Liebig, and many outstanding chemists appeared, such as Playfair and Smith. Under the promotion of Scottish scholars, in 1837, the British Association for the Advancement of Science invited Liebig to give a speech at the annual meeting to promote the establishment a link between the British and German organic chemistry circles. Liebig himself also attaches great importance to the application value of chemistry. Under his influence of it, Playfair and Smith joined the England scientific and technological society and played an important role it, and committed to promoting the application of organic chemistry in industry and agriculture. With the support and funding of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Playfair translated Liebig’sApplicationofOrganicChemistryinAgricultureandPhysiologyand other works into English from 1840 to 1842. After the abolition of theCornLaw, a large number of cheap food from the European continent flooded into the Britain, and the British agriculture suffered a lot, and noble landlords tried their best to improve agricultural production. Then scientific and technological societies introduced Liebig’s view of chemical fertilizers to compensate for soil fertility and increase agricultural production. British society took it as a treasure, and Liebig’s works were released for six editions in six years. In 1844, the British Association for the Advancement of Science specifically allocated funds to provide support for research on the application of organic chemistry to agriculture. Professional associations such as the Agricultural Chemistry Society and the Royal Agricultural College of England were established one after another. The chemical fertilizer industry emerged and developed rapidly in the Britain, which greatly increased the productivity of British agriculture.

4 Conclusions

In conclusions, in modern Britain, scientific and technological societies such as the Royal Society and the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society appeared and flourished throughout the Britain. Local gentlemen regarded joining in these societies as a symbol of social status, so that the scientific and technological societies were once extremely prosperous. The scientific and technological societies also attach great importance to the British agricultural production and actively made research in agricultural chemistry and agricultural mineralogy. This not only promoted the spread of science and technology culture in British society, but also provided important technical support for the improvement of British agricultural productivity. Therefore, the scientific and technological societies made important contributions to the development of modern British agriculture.