Two Scottish Visitors
This chapter deals with the circumstances of Adam Smith’s visit in (visit to or stay in) Toulouse. When he left Britain for his only voyage on the continent, Adam Smith was 42 years old. After his studies at the University of Glasgow, he had enrolled in t
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Adam Smith in Toulouse and Occitania
Alain Alcouffe • Philippe Massot-Bordenave
Adam Smith in Toulouse and Occitania The Unknown Years
Alain Alcouffe University Toulouse 1 Toulouse, France
Philippe Massot-Bordenave Framespa Université Jean Jaurès Toulouse, France
ISBN 978-3-030-46577-3 ISBN 978-3-030-46578-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46578-0 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: GL Archive / Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Foreword
The period that Adam Smith spent in Toulouse is one of the most intriguing mysteries of his uneventful life. Smith arrived in Paris in February 1764, settled in Toulouse as tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch, visited Bordeaux and Geneva, returned to Paris in 1766, and was back in Scotland in 1767. It was his only trip outside the British Isles and the moment when he started to write An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This volume is the first extended study of Smith in Toulouse. It suggests intriguing questions about Smith’s life and work and leads the historian, irresistibly, into further inquiries. This is an important episode in the history of economic thought and in European history. “The Life which I led at Glasgow was a pleasurable, dissipated life in comparison of that which I lead here at Present,” Smith wrote to David Hume from Toulouse in July 1764; “I have begun writing a book in order to pass away the time.” This is the celebrated first reference to The Wealth of Nations in Smith’s correspondence (or elsewhere), and Smith’s economic
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