Swedish Science & Copper in the Making of the Eighteenth-Century French Empire

The copper trade linked the early modern Swedish and French states. Copper mining accelerated alongside growing demand for various products, from luxury goods to instruments. But the largest application was support for imperial expansion, as copper was used in sugar colonies and was the currency used for the purchase of enslaved Africans.

During the eighteenth century, France became a leading client for Swedish copper. Because they both relied on this key metal, Sweden and France were invested in accumulating metallurgical knowledge, leading chemists to frequently collaborate on the topic of metal chemistry. In this project, I investigate the resulting entanglements between Swedish copper, the Franco-Swedish chemistry of metals, and the Atlantic trade.

TU-Hauptgebäude, Raum H-6124 Technische Universität Berlin Straße des 17. Juni 135 D 10623 Berlin