Engineering the Revolution: Arms and Enlightenment in France, 1763-1815

494 Pages·2010·32.65 MB·English

by  Ken Alder

Engineering the Revolution
About the Author
Ken Alder is professor of history and the Milton H. Wilson Professor in the
Humanities at Northwestern University. He is also the author of the books
The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That
Transformed the World (Free Press, 2002), which has been translated
into twelve languages, and The Lie Detectors: The History of an
American Obsession (Free Press, 2007; Bison Books, 2009).
Engineering the Revolution
a r m s a n d e n l i g h t e n m e n t
i n f r a n c e , 1 7 6 3 – 1 8 1 5
Ken Alder
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO & LONDON
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 1997 by Ken Alder
All rights reserved.
First published in 1997 by Princeton University Press,
Princeton, New Jersey
University of Chicago Press paperback edition 2010
Printed in the United States of America
19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN: 978-0-226-01264-3 (paper)
ISBN: 0-226-01264-6 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alder, Ken.
Engineering the Revolution : arms and Enlightenment in France,
1763–1815 / Ken Alder. — University of Chicago Press paperback ed.
p. cm.
Originally published: Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press,
1997.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-01264-3 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-01264-6 (alk. paper)
1. France—History—Revolution, 1789–1799—Influence. 2.
France—Politics and government—1789–1815. 3. Artillery—
Technological innovations—France—History—18th century. 4.
Military engineers—Political activity—France—History—18th
century. 5. Enlightenment—France—Influence. 6. Technology and
civilization—Political aspects—France. 7. France—History, Mili-
tary—1789–1815. I. Title.
DC151.A58 2010
944.04—dc22
2009043759
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum require-
ments of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-
1992.
For Bronwyn

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
INTRODUCTION
A Revolution of Engineers? 3
PART ONE
Engineering Design: Capital into Coercion, 1763-1793
CHAPTER ONE
The Last Argument of the King 23
CHAPTER Two
A Social Epistemology of Enlightenment Engineering 56
CHAPTER THREE
Design and Deployment 87
PART Two
Engineering Production: Coercion into Capital, 1763-1793
CHAPTER FOUR
The Tools of Practical Reason 12 7
CHAPTER FIVE
The Saint-Etienne Armory: Musket-Making and the End of
the Ancien Regime 163
CHAPTER SIX
Inventing Interchangeability: Mechanical Ideals, Political Realities 221
PART THREE
Engineering Society: Technocracy and Revolution, 1794-1815
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Machine in the Revolution 253
CHAPTER EIGHT
Terror, Technocracy, Thermidor 292
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER NINE
Technological Amnesia and the Entrepreneurial Order 319
CONCLUSION 344
Abbreviations 353
Notes 355
Bibliography 421
Index 457
ILLUSTRATIONS
MAPS
1.1: The Major Armories of France, 1763-1815 24
5.1: Distribution of Military Locksmiths in the Saint-Etienne 178
Region, 1782
5.2: Distribution of Military Locksmiths in the Saint-Etienne 179
Region, 1799
FIGURES
1.1: Artillery Cannon, Valliere System 26
1.2: Artillery Cannon and Carriage, Gribeauval System 27
1.3: Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval 37
1.4: Vertical Cannon-Reaming Machine 41
1.5: Maritz's Horizontal Cannon-Boring Machine 42
3.l: Aiming Cannon Using the Point-Blank Method 94
4.l: Coining Press, 1750s 137
4.2: Artillery Carriage, Gribeauval System 144
4.3: Go, No-Go Gauges for Cannonballs 151
5.1: Gunlock for Musket, Saint-Etienne M1777 170
5.2: Military Musket and Gunlock 171
5.3: Firearms Production, Private Industry, Saint-Etienne, 1783-90 172
5.4: Firearms Production, Manufacture Royale de Saint-Etienne, 173
1765-93
5.5: Technical Drawings for the Modified MI777 Musket, 196
Year IX [1802-3]
5.6: Gauges for M1777 Musket 198
5.7-5.9: Javelle's Three Machines for Turning Musket Barrels 204-5
6.1: The Bayonet Ring and Its Gauge, Manufacture Royale de 228
Klingenthal, 17 80s-1 790s
6.2: Drop Press, Atelier de Perfectionnement, 1794-96 242
6.3: Coining Press, Atelier de Perfectionnement, 1794-96 243
6.4: Drill and Fixture for Lock Plate, Atelier de Perfectionnement, 244
1794-96
7.1: Placard for Arms Workshop, with Graffiti, Manufacture of Paris, 254
February 1794
7.2: Claude-Antoine Prieur, Known as Prieur de la C6te-d'Or 256