Two letters from the surviving eighteenth-century correspondence between the polymath professor of history Frantisek Antonin Steinský in Prague and his friend, the merchant Joseph Donath in Philadelphia reveal an interesting episode in the transatlantic connections between Central Europe and North America. On the one hand, Donath’s scientific observations conducted on behalf of Steinský and his associates reveal the shared enlightened pursuits between both regions, while on the other hand, Donath’s scorn for the perceived political backwardness of his former compatriots reflect the widening divide ushered in by the Age of Revolutions. Alongside the first biographical accounts of both Donath and Steinský in English, this article presents for the first time a full transcription of two letters sent from Philadelphia to Prague in the 1790s. It explores the role of science and political discussion within their friendship across the Atlantic and contributes towards unearthing the wider interplay of interpersonal relationships between two different socio-political systems, namely a monarchy and republic.
{"title":"Science, Revolution, and Monarchy in Two Letters of Joseph Donath to František Antonín Steinský","authors":"Jonathan Singerton","doi":"10.32725/oph.2021.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2021.008","url":null,"abstract":"Two letters from the surviving eighteenth-century correspondence between the polymath professor of history Frantisek Antonin Steinský in Prague and his friend, the merchant Joseph Donath in Philadelphia reveal an interesting episode in the transatlantic connections between Central Europe and North America. On the one hand, Donath’s scientific observations conducted on behalf of Steinský and his associates reveal the shared enlightened pursuits between both regions, while on the other hand, Donath’s scorn for the perceived political backwardness of his former compatriots reflect the widening divide ushered in by the Age of Revolutions. Alongside the first biographical accounts of both Donath and Steinský in English, this article presents for the first time a full transcription of two letters sent from Philadelphia to Prague in the 1790s. It explores the role of science and political discussion within their friendship across the Atlantic and contributes towards unearthing the wider interplay of interpersonal relationships between two different socio-political systems, namely a monarchy and republic.","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46159321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"John Knox and Christopher Goodman in the (im)mortal Fight against Women, Bastards and Outlanders","authors":"Miroslav Beneš","doi":"10.32725/oph.2021.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2021.001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42075619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The beginnings of variolation against smallpox in Europe (1713-1721)","authors":"K. Cerny","doi":"10.32725/oph.2020.023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2020.023","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42434254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Most of the contemporary texts dealing with the war year 1866 contain mentions of the course and consequences of the cholera epidemic brought to Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia by the Prussian army of occupation. In the sources we examined, certain thematic frameworks or figures were repeated, which can be summarized as follows: 1) Metaphorical names for cholera or its symptoms; 2) Speculation about the causes; 3) The causal connection between the epidemic and the Prussian army's lack of moderation as regards diet; 4) Relationship with the social status of the infected (deceased); 5) Metaphorical designations for the spread of the epidemic in the given localities; 6) Previous "epidemics" of panic fear and anxiety; 7) Methods of prevention and treatment; 8) Lay notions of symptoms; 9) High mortality and its impact on church activities.
{"title":"\"An evil guest arrived in the autumn.\" Cholera in the war year 1866 in sources of a personal nature","authors":"Vojtěch Kessler","doi":"10.32725/oph.2020.026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2020.026","url":null,"abstract":"Most of the contemporary texts dealing with the war year 1866 contain mentions of the course and consequences of the cholera epidemic brought to Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia by the Prussian army of occupation. In the sources we examined, certain thematic frameworks or figures were repeated, which can be summarized as follows: 1) Metaphorical names for cholera or its symptoms; 2) Speculation about the causes; 3) The causal connection between the epidemic and the Prussian army's lack of moderation as regards diet; 4) Relationship with the social status of the infected (deceased); 5) Metaphorical designations for the spread of the epidemic in the given localities; 6) Previous \"epidemics\" of panic fear and anxiety; 7) Methods of prevention and treatment; 8) Lay notions of symptoms; 9) High mortality and its impact on church activities.","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43761346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Anger of God, Plague Lazarettes and Danube Islands. The Vienna plague of 1713 and the authorities","authors":"M. Scheutz","doi":"10.32725/oph.2020.022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2020.022","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42230332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Plague epidemics in Czech early modern towns as seen through the lens of narrative sources","authors":"Miroslava Květová, Marie Tošnerová","doi":"10.32725/oph.2020.021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2020.021","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43228734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cholera and baroque miracles: the epidemic of 1832 and the pilgrimage site of Křemešník","authors":"Markéta Skořepová","doi":"10.32725/oph.2020.025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2020.025","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48721496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article explores the issue of credit as one of the instruments used by Ferdinand I in his interior policy during the first half of his reign (1526-1545). It discusses the methods used by the sovereign in dealing with the recognition of debts of his predecessors towards his supporters and his antagonists. The research focuses on the client networks that originated from the financial ties between Ferdinand I and representatives of Bohemian nobility. The article defines the main types of creditors who provided loans to the sovereign in the first half of 16th century and uncovers also their motivation for doing so.
{"title":"Věřitelé Ferdinanda I. ze zemí Koruny české v letech 1526-1545","authors":"J. Čížek","doi":"10.32725/OPH.2020.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/OPH.2020.001","url":null,"abstract":"The article explores the issue of credit as one of the instruments used by Ferdinand I in his interior policy during the first half of his reign (1526-1545). It discusses the methods used by the sovereign in dealing with the recognition of debts of his predecessors towards his supporters and his antagonists. The research focuses on the client networks that originated from the financial ties between Ferdinand I and representatives of Bohemian nobility. The article defines the main types of creditors who provided loans to the sovereign in the first half of 16th century and uncovers also their motivation for doing so.","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":"21 1","pages":"7-26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70051831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
What is important for the historiography of human rights is that Dan Edelstein worked with early modern texts on legal theory and recognized that the real issue was the question of rights after the social contract .1 Most historians would just ask whether philosophers acknowledged human rights or not, but would not enquire about further conditions . Another good thing is that he appreciates the historical logic which induced early modern thinkers to prioritize the reform of existing laws over the invention of new rights .2 These are signs that this interpretation is based on inductive reasoning and not deduced from preconceived conclusions . The problem, then, is that the book does not look for historical legal solutions to the survival of rights within a legal system but satisfies itself with the notion of the preservation regime . 3 This might be the impact of the metaphorical language which approaches rights as if they were a flowing river or a growing plant .4 It should be said that such metaphors are quite common in intellectual history, but they may hide lacunae in relevant knowledge by creating fictional connections . Even though this story is balanced with some contextual reconstructions, it may be misread as another version of skepticism which denies the significance of natural law for the formulation of „universal human rights“ . If we take „human rights“ as a legal instrument artificially made, and not as a good to be protected, then we also have to explain how this instrument was construed and I am afraid that this is not possible without early modern natural law .
{"title":"On Rights without Natural Law","authors":"Ivo Cerman","doi":"10.32725/oph.2020.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/oph.2020.007","url":null,"abstract":"What is important for the historiography of human rights is that Dan Edelstein worked with early modern texts on legal theory and recognized that the real issue was the question of rights after the social contract .1 Most historians would just ask whether philosophers acknowledged human rights or not, but would not enquire about further conditions . Another good thing is that he appreciates the historical logic which induced early modern thinkers to prioritize the reform of existing laws over the invention of new rights .2 These are signs that this interpretation is based on inductive reasoning and not deduced from preconceived conclusions . The problem, then, is that the book does not look for historical legal solutions to the survival of rights within a legal system but satisfies itself with the notion of the preservation regime . 3 This might be the impact of the metaphorical language which approaches rights as if they were a flowing river or a growing plant .4 It should be said that such metaphors are quite common in intellectual history, but they may hide lacunae in relevant knowledge by creating fictional connections . Even though this story is balanced with some contextual reconstructions, it may be misread as another version of skepticism which denies the significance of natural law for the formulation of „universal human rights“ . If we take „human rights“ as a legal instrument artificially made, and not as a good to be protected, then we also have to explain how this instrument was construed and I am afraid that this is not possible without early modern natural law .","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48558537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How to Do Things with Rights? On Circulation of Ideas between Great Britain and France","authors":"E. Champs","doi":"10.32725/OPH.2020.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32725/OPH.2020.005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36082,"journal":{"name":"Opera Historica","volume":"21 1","pages":"72-80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70051556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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