The Marginalization of Berthollet's Chemical Affinities in the French Textbook Tradition at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

After Lavoisier's execution, the leading French chemists were Antoine-François Fourcroy (1755-1809), Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau (1737-1816) and Claude-Louis Berthollet (1748-1822). At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Berthollet introduced a new conception of chemical change that challenged the theory of elective affinities which had dominated chemistry for nearly a hundred years. Berthollet's new affinities raised controversy among chemists and had to coexist with the firmly established theory of elective affinities. Apart from the public debate in research articles, Berthollet's affinities also had to compete with the influence of Fourcroy and his school in the textbook market. This paper seeks to assess the extent to which French textbooks published at the beginning of the nineteenth century were committed to Berthollet's innovation, and how they contributed to its marginalization.