During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries British pharmaceutical texts achieved a popularity and influence that extended far beyond the shores of the British Isles. They contributed to the spread of pharmaceutical knowledge across Europe, Asia, America and Africa. How was this influence achieved, and how was it sustained? This paper explores the reasons why British pharmaceutical literature came to be so influential throughout the world during this period.

Although there were several categories of pharmaceutical literature the key ones were the official pharmacopoeias; between the early seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries there were three; the London Pharmacopoeia (first edition 1618, last 1851), the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia (first 1699, last 1841) and the Dublin Pharmacopoeia (first 1807, last 1856). All were reproduced abroad, although they were often edited, corrected or augmented.

Altogether there were 47 foreign issues of the London Pharmacopoeia, 27 of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, and one of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia; the earliest was a translation of the London Pharmacopoeia published in Leyden in 1677. They were translated into many languages and printed in 25 cities in 10 countries, from Boston in the US to Antananarivo in Madagascar.

British works were widely acknowledged for their ‘enlightened approach’, their ‘great discernment’ and their ‘rejection of tradition in favour of experience.’ Their simplicity and brevity were also much praised. They were extolled for their neat layout and conspectuses, which combined material from several pharmacopoeias, were considered especially useful. The works were the result of the collective efforts of distinguished physicians of Royal Colleges and this added to their prestige.

Indeed, the pharmacopoeias were developed in Britain with a reforming zeal that eliminated superfluous items, and the compilers had the courage to erase such established products as theriac. New medical knowledge and new medicines were incorporated, the new chemistry was taken into account, and the nomenclature of Linne was introduced.

It is concluded that the influence of British pharmaceutical texts can be attributed to three main factors; the normal processes of cultural diffusion; the intrinsic quality of the British product (people trusted the information provided); and the fact that it met a need abroad. Above all the popularity of British pharmacopoeial literature reflected Britain’s leadership in pharmacopoeial reform.