Between Tradition and Science: Education in the Naval Architecture Through the Eyes of Duhamel du Monceau

During the 18th century, shipbuilding underwent a development that initially had an influence not much in the practice as in the methodology concerning the teaching of the discipline. In this context, France was the first European naval power to develop a scholastic system that was going to deeply change the figures linked to shipbuilding. Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau was a pioneer in this field, since he understood the importance of a scientific approach in shipbuilding, so much to promote the establishment of a naval school in Paris, in 1741, which later became known as École des ingénieurs-constructeurs (1765). Duhamel’s contribution to the subject was so significant that he wrote one of the first texts completely dedicated to the students of this school, titled Les Éléments de l'architecture navale (1752). This work is of interest as it sheds light on the subjects studied by the first generation of ‘ingénieurs-constructeurs’. Among those pages, it is possible to appreciate the birth of the scientific method and the remnants of the traditional constructive art, so deeply rooted in European shipbuilding, and thus, to immerse in the origins of European naval science. Indeed, this work shows the reader the two different aspects of education. On one hand, the work contains chapters capable of vividly showing the traditional techniques used in French shipbuilding at the time, and on the other hand, elements that introduce and address the issue of predicting results of a new ship a priori, a forerunner concept of the modern project. Through an analysis of this text, it will, therefore, be possible to delve into the origins of European naval science.