Nineteenth century societies and industrial associations: projects and actions to spread technical knowledge, and incentives for commercial activities

Abstract

During the nineteenth century industrial companies and associations were set up that were similar to their European counterparts. They were places for interchange of scientific, cultural and economic ideas. For most of them, the principal objectives were to disseminate scientific and technical progress, to enable the country's natural resources to be exploited, and to respond to the needs created by industrial development. The author looks at the ways in which the societies and associations used publications, reading rooms, exhibitions, and museums, to spread this knowledge, and the projects and actions that they developed to further the country's industrial development.