[Henri-Léonard Bertin and the development of agriculture in the Age of Enlightenment].
This meeting of the Committee on the History of Science and Epistemology takes place as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the creation of the world's first veterinary schools, a major event among all those that, in the wake of the Physiocrat movement initiated by Quesnay and DuPont de Nemours, shaped the modernisation of agriculture in France during the 18th century. Henri-Léonard Bertin (1720-1792) was the impetus to the restructuring process. He was well aware that farming should not remain an activity that solely provides a livelihood for the population, but that it needed to be modernised, i.e. it should produce more, and better. His view was that agriculture could become a great source of riches for France and therefore, a true economic and even political force. He used the various official positions he occupied during that period (Intendant of Lyon (1754-1757), Controller General of Finances (1759-1763), Minister-Secretary of State for Agriculture (1763-1780) to initiate a number of reforms that brought about the modernisation of the kingdom's agricultural world.
Académie des sciences, Paris, France. sylvie.verger@academie-agriculture.fr
Georges
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Pédro
D000383:Agriculture / Q000266:history*; D000818:Animals; D005602:France; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D012582:Schools, Veterinary / Q000266:history; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000266:history*