DDRIG: An Historical Study of Rare Earth Metals, Geohistories, and Commercial Geography

这篇博士论文研究了早期现代时期(约1600-1750)地球科学、帝国主义和采掘业之间的关系。它以全球宝石贸易为例，重点研究了16世纪至18世纪宝石的主要海上贸易路线。几千年来，宝石在不同的文化中一直具有巨大的社会和科学价值，但到17世纪初，史无前例的帝国野心为宝石贸易创造了新的全球市场。通过海上商业旅行，以前无法到达的地球部分现在可以进行经验性的调查，改变了了解地球组成的方法和材料。这些发现将结合帝国扩张中的地质学历史，矿物学传统在塑造现代地球科学中的影响，以及商业在跨文化科学交流中的作用。更广泛地说，这个项目展示了工业和经济在塑造科学企业中的作用。历史档案研究将在17世纪宝石贸易的四个中心进行。主要来源包括荷兰和英国东印度公司的档案，这些档案记录了矿工、工匠和商人处理宝石的活动。将对这些文件进行分析，以了解研究宝石的人和研究宝石的人之间的互动如何影响对全球范围内矿藏组成和分布的了解。通过评估17世纪科学研究对商业来源的依赖，该项目试图回答相关地区之间日益增长的互动在多大程度上是塑造早期现代地理、地球化学和地质知识的重要因素，以及科学、州和行业之间的关系如何影响地球科学的后续发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This doctoral dissertation project investigates the relationship between the earth sciences, imperialism, and extractive industries in the early modern period (c. 1600-1750). It uses the global trade in precious stones as a case study, focusing on the major maritime trade route for gemstones from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Gems have been of immense social and scientific value in diverse cultures for millenia, but by the beginning of the seventeenth century, unprecedented imperial ambitions created new global markets for the gem-trade. Through maritime commercial travel, previously inaccessible parts of the globe could now be empirically investigated, changing the methods and materials for understanding the earth’s composition. Findings will contextualize the history of geology in imperial expansion, the influence of mineralogical traditions in shaping the modern earth sciences, and the role of commerce in cross-cultural scientific exchange. More broadly, this project demonstrates the role of industry and economy in shaping the scientific enterprise.Historical archival research will be conducted in four centers of the seventeenth century gem-trade. Primary sources include the archives of the Dutch and English East India Companies, which document the activities of miners, artisans, and merchants dealing with gems. These documents will be analyzed to understand how interactions between those who worked with gems and those who studied them influenced knowledge of the composition and distribution of mineral deposits at a global scale. By evaluating the reliance of seventeenth century scientific inquiry on commercial sources, the project seeks to answer the extent to which growing interactions between pertinent regions were a significant factor shaping geographical, geo-chemical, and geological knowledge in the early modern era, and how relationships between science, states, and industry shaped subsequent developments in the earth sciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.