Philosophical Transactions

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

Philosophical Transactions was an important journal of the Baroque period where many breakthroughs in medicine were published. It often published English translations of foreign articles. It was published by the Royal Society.

It was notorious for political infighting. It was common for articles that were submitted to be repressed, publication delayed, etc., so that British researchers could catch up with and surpass the reported results of others. In effect, the submissions to the journal were themselves simply part of a vast industrial spying effort - so that Britain would retain a reputation for being "first" at most scientific endeavours, and would reap patent benefits etc.

French research on blood transfusion, for instance, was accomplished between animals and animals, and animals and human, and the article announcing this was initially suppressed by jealous editors working in the same area. They eventually were forced to publish after being called "usurpers" - an attempt to evoke the image of usurpation of divine rights, and a quite serious charge in the Baroque era.