The Scottish Enlightenment and natural history An Introduction to Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations (Translated from the Swedish original)

Adam Smith (1723-1790) worked in the era and spirit of the Enlightenment. He was part of the broad and in terms of subjects multifaceted scientific milieu known as the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith was active at the University of Glasgow and later in the intellectual environment of Edinburgh. The heyday of the Scottish Enlightenment was during the later decades of the 18th century, but it remained vigorous for several decades into the 19th century. It is in the context of that background and that era that Smith is best understood.