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SUMMARY:Enlightenment science in Surat? Interpreting the collections of An
 quetil de Briancourt and family (1773–1779) - Sarah Easterby-Smith (Univ
 ersity of St Andrews)
DTSTART:20210201T130000Z
DTEND:20210201T140000Z
UID:TALK156871@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Joanne Green
DESCRIPTION:This paper examines the personal collection of books and scien
 tific instruments formed by Étienne Jean Anquetil de Briancourt (1727–1
 793) during his residence in Surat\, Gujarat. De Briancourt\, younger brot
 her of the more famous French orientalist Anquetil Duperron\, was French c
 onsul at the comptoir from 1773 until 1779. Like all consuls\, his officia
 l duties were concerned with the management of mercantile matters. He also
  interceded – somewhat dramatically – within local politics. However\,
  an inventory of de Briancourt's personal effects tells a very different s
 tory: together with his family\, De Briancourt compiled a scholarly collec
 tion that was more characteristic of a Parisian intellectual than of a mer
 chant living on the north-east coast of India. Working with the evidence c
 ontained in the inventory\, this paper asks what it meant for a French fam
 ily to compose a 'European' scholarly collection in a trading post such as
  Surat\, and it examines the relationship between the de Briancourt collec
 ting activities and the scientific aspirations of the Absolutist French st
 ate.
LOCATION:Zoom
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