THE GRAND TOUR AND THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES IN RUSSIA AND SPAIN IN THE 18 TH CENTURY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Guzevich, Dmitriy; Guzevich, Irina

PII

S0205-96060000616-4-1

DOI

10.31857/S60000616-4-1

Publication type

Article

Status

Published

Authors

Dmitriy Guzevich

Irina Guzevich

Volume/ Edition

Volume 30 / Issue 3

Pages

72-108

Abstract

Thanks to the efforts of L. F. Sabakin of Russia and Agustin de Betancourt y Molina of Spain, by the end of the 1780s, information about James Watt’s secret invention-the double-action steam machine (the “perfect engine”) - became widely available in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Paris, and then Madrid. Several locally built machines, however, could not match the quality of the original until the 19 ^th century. In the case of Betancourt, recently discovered documents allow a detailed reconstruction of events. The essay offers a comparative study of the parallel history of the introduction of steam engines in Spain and Russia - two “peripheral” civilizations with similar imperatives of modernization and the need to catch up in technological development. Both countries used various methods of technology transfer through apprenticeships, the legal gathering of information, and espionage: they hired British masters to build engines, sent apprentices to England, and purchased engines and models. In the case of Russia, the essay pays particular attention to I. Polzunov’s engine and its real place in the history of the development of steam engines. Despite these efforts, attempts in both countries to adopt steam engines before the end of the 18 ^th century can be described as failures. The only partial success lay in the use of atmospheric steam engines by the navy, for pumping water out of docks. The real adoption of steam engines came at the very turn of the 19 ^th century. In the Russian case, Charles Gascoigne and Charles Baird, two Scottish craftsmen who had left Britain for good, facilitated the arrival of Watt’s engine.

Keywords

Date of publication

01.07.2009

Number of purchasers

Views

1349

References

GOST	Guzevich D., Guzevich I. "THE GRAND TOUR" AND THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES IN RUSSIA AND SPAIN IN THE 18 TH CENTURY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS // Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. – 2009. – V. 30. – Issue 3 C. 72-108 .
MLA	Guzevich, Dmitriy, Guzevich, Irina ""THE GRAND TOUR" AND THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES IN RUSSIA AND SPAIN IN THE 18 TH CENTURY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS." Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 30.3 (2009).:72-108.
APA	Guzevich D., Guzevich I. (2009). "THE GRAND TOUR" AND THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES IN RUSSIA AND SPAIN IN THE 18 TH CENTURY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS. Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. vol. 30, no. 3, pp.72-108

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"THE GRAND TOUR" AND THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES IN RUSSIA AND SPAIN IN THE 18 TH CENTURY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

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"THE GRAND TOUR" AND THE INTRODUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES IN RUSSIA AND SPAIN IN THE 18 TH CENTURY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

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