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Imperialism and Scientism in the Travelogues of Johan Nieuhof, Lord George Macartney, and AE

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Imperialism and Scientism in the Travelogues of Johan Nieuhof, Lord George Macartney, and AE The Sceptre and the Sextant: Imperialism and Scientism in the Travelogues of Johan Nieuhof, Lord George Macartney, and A.E. van Braam Houckgeest Submitted by Russell Sanchez to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Languages In October 2018 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 1 Abstract In this paper, I discuss the interrelation between scientism and imperialism, as it plays out in three milestone travelogues written on China in the 17th and 18th centuries; namely, the travelogues of Johan Nieuhof (1669), Lord George Macartney (1797), and Andreas Everard van braam Houckgeest (1798). Understanding the lasting significance of these texts, I argue, requires placing them – and by extension the embassies which originated them – in context of the burgeoning scientific ideology of their era. To do this, I will first introduce my key texts, and argue for why I believe they can be considered sites of inquiry into the impact of scientific ideology upon Western European conceptions of China. Then I will discuss in more detail my theoretical framework, its derivation, my exegetical methodology, and my justifications for making such an analysis of Nieuhof, Macartney, and Houckgeest. Then, to set the stage for the close readings to come, I will consider the comparative levels of scientific and technological sophistication in Western Europe and China during the long 18th century, as well as the current state of this academic discourse itself, by reviewing various essential works on the subject. In my second chapter, I will perform my analysis of Nieuhof's travelogue. In my third, I will overview a selection of texts by Sir William Temple, who will be considered as an ideological foil to Nieuhof. In chapters four and five, I will analyse the travelogues of Lord George Macartney and A.E. van Braam Houckgeest respectively, extending to them the methodology already applied to Nieuhof. Then in chapter six, I will briefly set aside my diplomats to address historian of the book Benjamin Schmidt's critique of author-focused exegeses of premodern Dutch travel literature – a critique which, in calling into question the legitimacy of analyses like my own, demands address. I will overview my exegeses and suggest avenues for future research in chapter seven. And finally, in my epilogue, I will conclude my thesis by briefly sketching an example of how the relationship between early modern scientism and imperialism continued to develop into the 19th century. 2 Acknowledgements There are few things as fraught as writing acknowledgements, let us be completely clear about that. Not many people will read them, and those that do – those to whom they are dedicated – often cannot fully fathom them (if through no fault of their own). Words, it seems, always say more than they mean and less than they intend. You'd think a scholar of literature would come to understand that very early in their career, but I find I am relearning it all the time. Still, I would be remiss not to acknowledge, first of all, my immense gratitude to Dr. Yue Zhuang for her help in guiding my research; including, significantly, pushing me out of my academic comfort zone, and encouraging me to situate my analysis – which began as a fairly straightforward, self-contained set of close readings – within a larger historical context. My intuition on the amenability of scientism to the imperialist conceits of Lord George Macartney and Johan Nieuhof specifically, under Dr. Zhuang's guidance eventually began to take shape as a broader commentary on the role of scientism as a foundational architecture of the premodern Western European imaginary. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the intellectuals and intellectual history of this period has been absolutely essential, and her unflagging faith in my thesis (and ability to execute it) have meant more to me than I really know how to articulate. Thank you, Yue. And I hereby absolve you of responsibility for any remaining flaws in my analysis; they are completely my own. I am also indebted to: the instructive critiques I have received over the years from Dr. Gert Vonhoff, Dr. Zhiguang Yin, and Dr. Emma Cayley; the comradeship and support of fellow PhD Maria Anesti; Dr. Michael Adas' invaluable advice, following my viva voce, on how to improve the structure of my thesis; and, not leastly, as a former university administrator myself, the efforts of all the University of Exeter administrators and IT staff working tirelessly and thanklessly behind the scenes. And finally, I would like to give a special thanks to my Uncle Hugh and Aunt Chris, whose support came to me at a most critical time, making this entire endeavour possible. 3 Images Figure 1. Engraving from Johan Nieuhof's An Embassy from the East India Company, etc. 4 (London, 1669). Figure 2. Title page from Johan Nieuhof's An Embassy from the East India Company, etc. (London, 1669). 5 Figure 3. Engraving from Johan Nieuhof's An Embassy from the East India Company, etc. (London, 1669). 6 Table of Contents Title Page............................................................................................................................1 Abstract...............................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................3 Images.................................................................................................................................4 Table of Contents................................................................................................................7 Chapter One: the premodern diplomatic travelogue (and three in particular).............9 Meeting the boys: Nieuhof, Macartney, Houckgeest (and Temple)..........................12 The Scientific Revolution..........................................................................................21 Sceptres and Sextants: relating power and scientism.............................................22 Definitions: semantic and thematic scientism................................................22 Britain's cinchona scheme: a case study.......................................................24 But is it actually scientism?............................................................................25 Premodern Techne, East and West.........................................................................27 Joseph Needham..........................................................................................27 Roger Hart.....................................................................................................30 Kenneth Pomeranz........................................................................................32 Robert Markley..............................................................................................34 Gregory Blue.................................................................................................35 Francesca Bray..............................................................................................36 Michael Adas.................................................................................................37 Richard Drayton.............................................................................................39 Peter Kitson................................................................................................. ..41 Summation....................................................................................................42 Chapter Two: New Lands, New Measures, Nieuhof.......................................................44 Martinio Martini.........................................................................................................44 Van Meur's frontispiece............................................................................................46 Nieuhof's journal: of travellers and scholars............................................................49 Invoking, assessing, inscribing China......................................................................53 Recording the Tartar fall out.....................................................................................55 Scientism and commodification................................................................................58 The Chinese “Arts”...................................................................................................60 The attempted appropriation of the “Lou-wa” birds..................................................61 The imperial palace..................................................................................................62 A General Description of China................................................................................64 Appending the China Illustrata.................................................................................66 Chapter Three: Sir William Temple, the Anti-hof...........................................................70 The lot of man..........................................................................................................72
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