The ``new algebra'' from François Viète to Leonhard Euler (Q2787224)

John Wallis in his \textit{Treatise of algebra, both historical and practical} (1685) begins the story of a ``new era in algebra'' with works of Viète (1540--1603). So do the present authors (Chapter I of extensive studies). The ideas of Viète had a strong hold at first on the minds of such mathematicians as Cataldi in Italy, Gérard in France, Harriot and Oughtred in England (Chapter II). Contributions of Descartes and Fermat were highly essential to the further development of algebra (Chapter III). Chapter IV of the book is dedicated to the Dutch school in the study of algebra (van Schooten and others). Algebra in the second half of the XVII century and the first half of the XVIII century is the subject of Chapter V. Here stand out Wallis, Newton, Leibniz and a group of algebraists from Naples. The final Chapter VI presents advances in algebra obtained by such prominent researchers as Maclaurin, Waring, Bézout, and Euler, of course.