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oa De ‘Refuge Huguenot’
Rangen en standen in de Amsterdamse boekhandel
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Jaarboek voor Nederlandse Boekgeschiedenis, Volume 31, Issue 2024, Sep 2024, p. 214 - 231
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- 01 Sep 2024
Abstract
This contribution focuses on the intellectual and historical question about the significance of the French book trade for the European Enlightenment, with special attention to Amsterdam. The city was an important center of book production and housed a large French-speaking community, especially after the arrival of Huguenots and other immigrants. Their presence stimulated not only the production of French books, but also the development of new media, such as intellectual magazines and political press. These dynamics contributed to Amsterdam’s role as the center of the European knowledge society and the early Enlightenment. Although the influence of the Huguenots on the Dutch bookselling industry was limited quantatively, they nevertheless made an important contribution to the European intellectual debate and the early developments of the Enlightenment. Without the Refuge with Bernard and Rey as undisputed champions, the European Enlightenment would have missed an important publication channel and would probably have acquired a different character.