Scientists and the Sea, 1650-1950: A Study of Marine Science

The purpose of this work is to help make better known the thought and work of those who pioneered the scientific study of the sea, from the 17th century to the 20th century. This text asks, what motives did these early scientists have for pursuing the study of the sea? Did they they think of themselves as contributing to a distinct "science of the sea"? and to what extent were they representative of the scientific community of the time and what degree of recognition or support did it afford them? The first part of this book is a sketch of scientific thought about the sea up to the scientific revolution of the 17th century. The other three sections deal with marine science in the 17th century, in the 18th century and early 19th centuryand in the middle and late 19th century.