Manuel de Figueiredo

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Manuel de Figueiredo[1] (1568 – c. 1622–1630) was an important Portuguese natural scientist.

Biography

Manuel de Figueiredo was born in Torres Novas. The biography of de Figueiredo is incomplete. It is certain that he was a follower of the scientific work of Pedro Nunes and taught mathematics, cosmography, astronomy and nautical science in Lisbon. He was known for his comprehensive education and gained international reputation with his publications. Nevertheless, the German astronomer Johann Heinrich von Mädler stated in 1873 that de Figueiredo presumably had no knowledge of the astronomical research results of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and Tycho Brahe (1546–1601).[2]

In his publications, he dealt, among other things, with predictions of solar eclipses and comet approaches, with sowing cycles, arithmetic, as well as with nautical navigation descriptions and instruments necessary for this, such as Jacob's staff. One of his most famous works is Chronographia, published in 1603. It is part of a tradition of books with the same name (also known as Reportorio dos tempos, or Reportorio de los tiempos). This was a category of literature that could be confined to the Iberian Peninsula from the late 15th century to the early 17th century, in which the authors dealt primarily with astronomical and astrological topics and calendars. The volumes differed from the Central European almanacs, which were usually published annually, in that they were large and comparatively expensive books, often several hundred pages long, which were intended to have a long-lasting value as non-technical treatises. They were always written in vernacular language in order to reach the widest possible readership. The first work classically assigned to this category was published in 1495 by Andrés de Li — the most famous in 1548 by Jerónimo de Chaves. The Chronographia of Manuel de Figueiredo, together with that of Rodrigo Zamorano (1594), were among the last representatives of this genre.[3]

On July 15, 1608, de Figueiredo was appointed Cosmógrafo-mor (roughly: Cosmographer-in-Chief) ad interim,[4] rising to become one of the most influential natural scientists in the Kingdom of Portugal. He exercised this task until 1622, in the absence of João Baptista Lavanha, who frequently visited Spain.

The British historian C. R. Boxer accused de Figueiredo of plagiarism in 1984. Boxer argued that after the discovery of the eastern sea route to India (1498), it was above all the pilots Diogo Affonso (fl. 1530), Vicente Rodrigues (died 1592) and Gaspar Ferreira Reimão (died 1626) who had made decisive contributions to improving this shipping route. The printed accounts of the latter two had been "plundered and plagiarized at will" by several cosmógrafo-mores from Manuel de Figueiredo to Manuel Pimentel (officiated 1680-1719), who were "content [to] reproduce the works of their predecessors almost unchanged."[5]

Works

In keeping with the baroque custom of their time, de Figueiredo's publications usually bear very long titles that go into detail about the various aspects of the content. Especially in Chronographia and Hydrographia, however, only the first word is usually mentioned for the sake of simplicity.

  • Chronographia. Repertorio Dos Tempos, No Qual Se Contem VI. Partes, f. Dos Tempos: Esphera, Cosmographia, & arte da navegaçaõ, Astrologia rustica, & dos tempos, & pronosticaçaõ dos eclipses, cometas, & samenteiras. O calendario Romano, cõ os eclipses ate 630. E no fim o uso, & fabrica da balhestilha, & quadrante gyometrico, com hum tratado dos Relogios (1603)
  • Prognostico do Cometa que apereceo em 15. de Setembro de 1604 (1605)
  • Tratado de Practica de Arithmetica composta por Gaspar Nicolás emendada, e acrecentada (1607)
  • Hydrographia, Exame De Pilotos, No Qual Se Contem As Regras Que todo Piloto deue guardar em suas navegações, assi no Sol, variação dagulha, como no cartear, com algúas regras da navegação de Leste, Oeste, com mais o Aureo numero, Epactas, Marès, & altura da Estrella Pollar. Com os Roteiros de Portugal pera o Brasil, Rio da Prata, Guinè, Sam Thomé, Angolla, & Indias de Portugal, & Castella (1608)
  • Roteiro, e Navegaçaõ das Indias Occidentaes, Ilhas Antilhas do mar Oceano Occidental com suas derrotas, sondas, fundos e conhecenças (1609)

Notes

  1. ↑ Also spelled Manoel.
  2. ↑ Mädler, Johann Heinrich von (1873). Geschichte der Himmelskunde von der ältesten bis auf die neueste Zeit, 1. Braunschweig: Verlag von George Westermann, p. 211.
  3. ↑ Martins, Roberto de Andrade (2020). "André do Avelar and the Teaching of Sacrobosco’s ‚Sphaera‘ at the University of Coimbra". In: Matteo Valleriani, ed., ‚De Sphaera‘ of Johannes de Sacrobosco in the Early Modern Period. The Authors of the Commentaries. Springer Open, pp 313–58.
  4. ↑ Mendes, H. Gabriel (1969). "Lucas Jansz. Waghenaer e o Conhecimento Náutico das Costas de Portugal no Séc. XVI," Revista da Universidade de Coimbra, Vol. XXIV, p. 33.
  5. ↑ Boxer, Charles Ralph (1984). From Lisbon to Goa, 1500–1750. Studies in Portuguese Maritime Enterprise. Variorum Reprints, p. 11.

References

  • Matos, R.C. (1999). "O Cosmógrafo-mor: O Ensino Náutico em Portugal nos Séculos XVI e XVII," Oceanos, Vol. XXXVIII, pp. 55–64.
  • Vasconcellos, Frazão de (1942). Pilotos das Navegações Portuguesas dos Séculos XVI e XVII. Lisboa: Instituto para a Alta Cultura.
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