Roots of Commutative Algebra

This chapter describes the origins of commutative algebra and follows its development through the landmark papers published by David Hilbert in 1890 and 1893. Three major strands of nineteenth-century activity lie behind commutative algebra and are still its primary fields of application: number theory, algebraic geometry (the algebraic aspect really begins with Riemann’s “function theory”), and invariant theory. We shall say a little about developments in each.