Schwitter, Thomas (2015). Das Desinteresse am Neuen: Frankreich und die Neue Welt 1492– 1600. Itinera, 38, pp. 61-84 Schwabe Verlag Basel.

Full text not available from this repository.

The 16th century began with a quick expansion of trade networks from northern French coastal cities into the New World and beyond. This development in turn caused friction between French traders and the Portuguese crown. Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, too, watched France’s overseas expansion with envy and tried variously to undermine it. The hostility of foreign governments should have prompted King Francis I to support his subjects, but instead he opted for non-involvement. The present article seeks to elucidate the reasons for this momentous decision. It argues that France’s colonial projects were never more than a bargaining chip for the king to improve his political position in Europe. The divergence of objectives between the burgeoning colonial periphery and the court resulted in the bifurcation of the publishing market.
The article will show that aside from political considerations the colonies’ marginal status in public discourse was also due to the traditional pre-occupations of French historiography. These were dominated by the triangular power struggle between the pope, the Holy Roman emperor, and the French monarchy, which alone held out the promise of fame and glory for the winner. The New World could not be integrated into this intellectual frame of reference without dissolving the latter. The reluctance of metropolitan printers to engage with the colonial periphery therefore became emblematic of an emerging rift between the rising merchant class and the court in their visions for France’s future.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
PHBern Contributor:	Schwitter, Thomas
Publisher:	Schwabe Verlag Basel
Language:	German
Submitter:	Thomas Schwitter
Date Deposited:	07 Aug 2025 10:00
Last Modified:	07 Aug 2025 10:00
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Globalgeschichte, Globalisierung, Buchdruck, Frankreich, Historiographie
URI:	https://phrepo.phbern.ch/id/eprint/7776