Table of Contents

Introduction 1 'In a Pure Soil': Francis Bacon and the Empire of Knowledge 2 The Hartlib Circle's Pansophical Empire 3 Robert Boyle's Programme for Empire 4 Museums and Natural Histories: The Royal Society and the Atlantic World 1660-1700 5 All Things Richly to Enjoy: John Locke and the Colonial Language of Improvement

Reviews

'draws in a number of intriguing and traditionally overlooked colonial aspects of the careers of eminent philosophers' British Journal for the History of Science 'provides an excellent foundation for identifying the ways in which the English virtuosi linked the North American ventures to ideas about the understanding and improvement of nature.' Church History 'The value of this book lies in its close, sophisticated reading and analysis of primary sources.' Itinerario