Connected histories

Abstract

The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions are generally seen as the key events that laid the basis for modern science and modern society. But the history of this change has generally been seen in terms of a Eurocentric tunnel that connects ancient Greek traditions of philosophy, science and democracy, interrupted by a European Dark Age, to their rebirth and re-articulation in early modern Europe. However, the period from 500 to 1500, defined as the Dark Ages of Europe, was also the Bright Ages of Asian science and society; dramatic advances were made in India, China and the Arabic world not only in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and the other sciences in general, but also in forging new social, political and economic institutions that built trading networks across the Eurasian region, connecting these civilizations. This chapter examines how these advances played a key role in providing intellectual and practical resources for both the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions in Europe. What is particularly striking is that the very Asian traditions – Arabic–Islamic, Chinese and Indian – which contributed most of the resources for the Scientific Revolution did the same for the Industrial Revolution. The chapter focuses on how these Asian traditions came to be connected to the modern revolution in science and society.