Observation and experiment

The most important change that took place between 1600 and 1750 was the start of modern science. Before 1600, science was something you read in books. And the books had been written by ancient Greeks. After 1600, scientists began to believe what they saw with their own eyes.

In the Middle Ages, science and magic were not far apart. Alchemists tried to turn lead into gold. Astrologers told the future by looking at the stars. After the end of the Middle Ages (about the year 1500), there was still a lot of superstition. In 1700, educated men still believed in lucky charms. And most common folk were still scared of witches.

Science began to change soon after 1600. Sir Francis Bacon said that a scientist's first task was observation. Bacon meant that he should look at things and describe what he saw (not what the books said he should see). In some cases, he had to do experiments, and write down the results.

To work this way, scientists needed new instruments. Between 1600 and 1750, they invented a lot of things that we now take for granted. First was the telescope, to look at the stars and the planets. Next came the microscope, to look at things too small for the human eye. Then, after long research, they made a thermometer that really worked.

All the leading men of the time became keen on science. In London, Thomas Gresham founded a college, which took his name. Its members met each week to listen to lectures and hear the latest news. In 1662, King Charles II gave the college his support, and it became the Royal Society. All the top scientists belonged to it, as they still do today.

Walter Robson: Crown, Parliament and People; Oxford University Press, 1992/2002, page 84 f.