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SUMMARY:Elite paternalism and exotic drug demand in early modern France: t
 he case of the Marquis de Louvois and quinquina\, circa 1685 - Justin Rive
 st (Faculty of History)
DTSTART:20181029T130000Z
DTEND:20181029T140000Z
UID:TALK110344@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Laura Brassington
DESCRIPTION:My talk will explore the links between household medical consu
 mption of prominent aristocratic families and the early bulk consumption o
 f exotic\, non-European drugs by the French army in the 17th century. Men 
 of state like the French War Secretary\, the Marquis de Louvois\, approach
 ed their personal health problems – as well as those of their families a
 nd servants – through personal networks of informants\, suppliers and ex
 perts. Looking specifically at Peruvian cinchona bark (quinquina)\, I will
  consider how Louvois' personal advocacy of the drug helped extend its use
  to his subordinates\, servants\, the king and ultimately in bulk volumes 
 to thousands of soldiers during an epidemic of intermittent fevers at the 
 construction site of the Eure Canal.\n\nLouvois' drug networks were not in
  any sense dependent upon traditional 'medical' actors such as physicians 
 or apothecaries: it was in fact Louvois who supplied his physicians with q
 uinquina\, not vice versa. His networks of supply and information included
  reliable familial clients from many walks of life\, from domestics to jew
 ellers and bankers\, and other servants scattered strategically through va
 rious institutions and settings\, both in France and abroad.\n\nDrawing on
  this case and a few others\, I argue that the personal consumption of él
 ites served as a crucial mediator for population-scale consumption of exot
 ic drugs. Far from an economy of individualised consumption\, I argue that
  the state marketplace for exotic drugs originated within a broader cultur
 e of paternalism and charity: it was an extension of the personal care of 
 aristocratic patrons for their clients and servants.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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