Academies of Science in 18th-Century Europe and the Application of Scientific Methods on Exploration. A Comparative Study.

In the 18th century, exploration witnesses a growing tendency towards a systemization of the observation and registration of scientific data overseas. Explorers come under the influence of scientists who want to intervene in the practice of scientific travelling by formulating specific guidelines for field investigation. These scientists themselves are subject of the growing demand of central state governments for verified knowledge on the utility of new discoveries in the field of geography and natural history. Exploration enters a new phase in its development and becomes the instrument of a utilitarian state directed scientific policy. Each of the imperial powers of Europe has an Academy of science or a learned society that plays a crucial role in this development. Nonetheless, we witness some remarkable differences in approach between these nations and hence between these learned societies. In this paper I make a comparative analysis of the instruction texts addressed to explorers by the Academies of science of 18th-century Europe, from the Parisian Académie royale des Sciences to the Royal Society of London and the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg.