At the heart of my research is the relationship between a data-gathering and interpreting state and its subjects and citizens, symbolised in the battle cry “Aux armes, Citoyens” of the French national anthem. In order to turn citizens into soldiers and pupils into subjects, European administrators produced and interpreted pages and pages of statistics and carried out many experiments. This process yielded data. In my project, I attempt to contextualise this process of gathering and interpreting data. In doing so, I intend to write a political history of knowledge, a history of the relationship between the individual and the state. I aim to show that such a history is also a history of contingent developments, of conflicts, and of participation. My primary focus is on the military and school administration in France, Bavaria, and the city of Mainz between the 1770s and 1870s. During my time at NEC, I would like to discuss the imperial dimensions of data administration in the 19th century. I see my project as an important addition to recent work on the history of knowledge, the history of the state and of public administration during a vibrant period of reforms and revolutions between the end of the Ancien Régime and the formation of stable nation states. Data was more than just a disciplinary tool, it was also a focal point of discussions about the roles of individuals in an ever-changing society.