The Zeeuwsch Genootschap and the Formation of its Correspondence Network
The information that was sent to the ZGW in a variety of forms did not always
come from the authors. Members were also encouraged to send in information
gathered through their networks. In this gathering of information, both Boddaert
and Sandifort played a part again, sending in essays written by colleagues from
not only the Dutch Republic, but also Sweden and Germany.100 An example of this
would be Sandifort sending observations made by Prof. Johann Simon Gottlieb
Dinkler, a physician in Elberfeld, Germany.101 Jacob Ploos van Amstel, a member
since 1770, sent in a letter describing an experiment performed by Mr. L. van
Nooten Janszoon who attempted to use electricity to cure a paralysation.102
The variety of the topics and forms of the information gathered as well as the
people sending in the information, suggests that even during its early years, the
ZGW managed to utilise its network to gather information. Nevertheless, infor
mation can only provide orientation in the world if it is processed into knowledge,
which occurs at the analysing stage.
Practices to Analyse Information
The analysing stage, the second stage, is the 'cooking' of information into knowl
edge, for which different practices can be employed: comparison and contrast,
interpretation, verification, the discovery of facts and critiquing.103 All these prac
tices should lead to the end product: a synthesis of knowledge that gives an un
derstanding of a topic.104 The first step in producing such knowledge from the
correspondence of the ZGW would be that those letters are not just received
and read by the secretary, but are also available to the members of the ZGW. The
ZGW had a monthly meeting, to which every director and member was invited.105
The president chaired the meetings and, alongside the secretary, gave an account
of all the incoming letters, essays, and gifts.106 Nevertheless, it remains unclear
if the content of every letter was discussed, or if there was a selection process to
determine which pieces would be deliberated on.
112
100 ZA, Arch. KZGW, inv. nr. 58, scan 113; ZA, Arch. KZGW, inv. nr. 60, scan 81, 91.
101 ZA, Arch. KZGW, inv. nr. 60, scan 81.
102 ZA, Arch. KZGW, inv. nr. 56, scan 10.
103 Burke, History of Knowledge, 58, 63-72.
104 Burke, History of Knowledge, 74.
105 Zeelands Chronyk-Almanach, voor'tjaar 1785. Middelburg: Gillissen en Zoon, 1785, 935. Del-
pher, https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=dpo:293o:mpeg21:pdf (accessed December 11, 2019).
106 Zeelands Chronyk-Almanach, voor't jaar 1785, 936.
