Preliminary Programme

In my paper I will examine the networks of scientific elites of the 18th Century Europe, and especially the connections between Sweden and France. A scientific network may be regarded as a established form of interaction between different men of science in a local or international context. It is, however, difficult to draw the line between the wider and more vague Republique des Lettres or other personal correspondence, more like an occasional contact field than a network with interdependence and constant forms. Another point of view would be to choose as actors the new scientific societies and academies of the 18th Century. Within this so called ”scientific society movement”, new contacts and co-operation arised between the scientific elites of different countries and a large, interactive system or a network of scientific societies was formed.

As one studies writings of that time on the benefits of science, two arguments seem be dominant: first, the national and universal progress, but also the national honour, gained by being qualified as worthy of taking part in the international scientific enterprise. When one examines the national contributions as the means for atteining an international position in the scientific networks, they seem to connect to the national characteristics. In the first half of the century, Sweden and Russia seem to have had some sort of a strategy in emphasizing the “northerness” of the countries as a special field of interest that would catch the eye of the international community of savants, and mark it, if not as a focus area, as a sort of a field of expertise. (Show less)

The most obvious function of correspondence was, and is, to keep in touch. Especially in the era before telecommunication, writing letters served to keep the family network together, as well as inform one another of news. Another function of correspondence was the creation and consolidation of identities.
My paper will focus on the way letter writing could form the identity of the Dutch elite in the period 1750-1850. Bourgeois and noble children, for example, were taught to write letters in a certain style and on certain topics, in accordance with elite ideals. By learning to compose a correct letter, elite children acquired the appropriate upper-class identity.
Furthermore, once elite identities were stabilised, correspondence functioned to maintain these identities. By writing congratulations and letters of condolence, men and women repeated upper-class values to each other.
My paper will also pay some attention to the possibilities of individuals to deviate from the correct way to write letters. This deviation could be interpreted as a refusal to comply with an elite identity. Similarly, it is interesting to study letters exchanged between upper-class writers and lower-class correspondents, and see how an elite identity is formed in interplay with outsiders. Moreover, correspondence could be used to create a hierarchy in the elite network itself, by differentiating between close friends and remote acquaintances. (Show less)

We propose to analyse the House of Ribeira Grande in the early eighteenth century. It's a portuguese family that has their land at the Isle of Azores, however the distance has also a political influence on portuguese affairs. The alliance with a french family, the importante House of Rohan, explains the choice of the King of Portugal to nominate D. Luís da Câmara as an ambassador in France (1714). The Count of Ribeira Grande to face this enormous expense of representation builts a factory in his homeland with french hand-labour. The interest on business is not typical in Portugal nor in France, where the aristocracy get used to have their rural incomes.
The study of this case may contribute to understand the purpose of the families alliances in order to become a political power and to use this same power to increase the wealth of their House in a round and infinite process. (Show less)

My current research is a study of the Swedish nobility’s relations to France and French culture ca 1690–1790. The aim is to analyze the implications of the intense diplomatic and cultural relations between the two countries on the identity of the Swedish political and administrative elite, often depicted as culturally and politically Francophile. Through travel and cultural impregnation the Swedish nobility participated in the aristocratic cosmopolitism and had its part in the common space of the European aristocracies. This cultural openness of the elite also implied contacts between Swedish political elite and continental, particularly French, intellectuals.
What did this cosmopolitan and French orientation mean to Sweden? How did it contribute to forming the cultural and national identity of the political and social elite of the Swedish realm? How was the cultural openness of the aristocracy perceived by this elite itself and by others? How did the Swedish nobility experience cosmopolitism, in a time when ideological and political discourse increasingly stressed patriotism?
In my conference paper, I will focuse particularly on the cultural and political contacts of some influential Swedish diplomats and politicians of the age of Enlightenment. What kind of intellectual contacts did they have in France? How did they use their networks? The key words of my presentation will be aristocratic cosmopolitism and intellectual engagement, cultural transferts and national interest, philosophy and nation. (Show less)