Machines and machinations: Leibniz in the Harz

Between 1678 and 1686, Leibniz devoted an enormous amount of time and effort to the invention and development of a wind machine in the mines of the Harz Mountains. The general story is well known. Less well known is the bitter dispute he had with Pieter Hartsinck, a Dutch-Japanese mathematician and inventor, during that same period. In this talk, I present new archival information about the nature of that dispute, which sheds light on Leibniz’s activities as an inventor and projector. I also discuss the tortured historiography around this episode, and consider its meaning for Leibniz scholarship.