Reidy Michael S, Rozwadowski Helen M
Isis. 2014 Jun;105(2):338-51. doi: 10.1086/676571.
Historians of science have richly documented the interconnections between science and empire in the nineteenth century. These studies primarily begin with Britain, Europe, or the United States at the center and have focused almost entirely on lands far off in the periphery--India or Australia, for instance. The spaces in between have received scant attention. Because use of the ocean in this period was infused with the doctrine of the freedom of the seas, the ocean was constructed as a space amenable to control by any nation that could master its surface and use its resources effectively. Oceans transformed in the mid-nineteenth century from highway to destination, becoming--among other things--the focus of sustained scientific interest for the first time in history. Use of the sea rested on reliable knowledge of the ocean. Particularly significant were the graphical representations of knowledge that could be passed from scientists to publishers to captains or other agents of empire. This process also motivated early government patronage of science and crystallized scientists' rising authority in society. The advance of science, the creation of empire, and the construction of the ocean were mutually sustaining.
科学史学家充分记录了19世纪科学与帝国之间的联系。这些研究主要以英国、欧洲或美国为中心展开，几乎完全聚焦于遥远的边缘地区——比如印度或澳大利亚。两者之间的区域很少受到关注。由于这一时期海洋的使用充斥着海洋自由学说，海洋被构建为一个任何能够掌控其表面并有效利用其资源的国家都可控制的空间。19世纪中叶，海洋从通道转变为目的地，除其他方面外，首次成为持续科学关注的焦点。对海洋的利用依赖于对海洋的可靠认知。特别重要的是那些能够从科学家传递给出版商，再到船长或帝国其他代理人的知识图形表示。这一过程也促使早期政府对科学的资助，并使科学家在社会中日益增长的权威得以确立。科学的进步、帝国的创建以及海洋的构建相互支撑。
