Astronomer, Cartographer and Naturalist of the New World

The Life and Scholarly Achievements of Georg Marggrafe (1610-1643) in Colonial Dutch Brazil. Volume 1: Life, Work and Legacy
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-94-6372-218-6
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 4, 400 Seiten, Format (B × H): 166 mm x 242 mm, Gewicht: 1101 g

Reihe: Studies in the History of Knowledge

This volume, Volume 1, presents Marggrafe’s stunning biography. Volume 2 consists of a text edition of his astronomical legacy, prepared for the printing press in the 1650s, but only now finalized and published.

Georg Marggrafe (1610-1643) is today hailed as the principal author of an influential account of the natural history of Northern Brazil and as compiler of the first accurate map of the area, which is considered as one of the most elegant products of seventeenth-century Dutch cartography. But initial he had the ambition to become known in astronomy. With the support Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, then governor-general of colonial Dutch Brazil, he built in Recife the first European-style astronomical observatory on the South-American continent, where he systematically charted the southern stars. He intended to supplement the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe, who charted the Northern sky half a century before. But Marggrafe’s untimely death (and the negligence of a Leiden professor) prevented the publication of his valuable observations. As a result, Marggrafe did not achieve fame in astronomy, but instead became famous for his equally remarkable other achievements.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zuidervaart, Huib

Matsuura, Oscar

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Biographien & Autobiographien: Historisch, Politisch, Militärisch
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kolonialgeschichte, Geschichte des Imperialismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Kolonialismus, Imperialismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Volume 1 – Life, Work and Legacy

Preface

PART I – CONTEXT

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2: CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE IN EARLY MODERN DUTCH BRAZIL?

PART II – BIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 3: YOUTH IN GERMANY

CHAPTER 4: A CRUCIAL YEAR AT LEIDEN UNIVERSITY

CHAPTER 5: LIFE IN BRAZIL

CHAPTER 6: LEGACY

PART III – ASTRONOMY

CHAPTER 7: BACKGROUND

CHAPTER 8: SETTING AND EQUIPMENT

CHAPTER 9: OBSERVATIONS IN LEIDEN AND RECIFE

PART IV – CONCLUSION AND EPILOGUE

CHAPTER 10: RETROSPECTIVE

APPENDICES

LITERATURE

INDEX

Über Autor(innen)

Matsuura, Oscar
Dr. Oscar Matsuura is a retired professor at the University of São Paulo, remaining engaged in several projects, mainly in the History of Astronomy in Brazil.

Zuidervaart, Huib
Dr. Huib Zuidervaart, retired senior researcher (2007-2019) at the Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands (KNAW). Former editor-in-chief of the Dutch Journal for the History of Science and Universities, Studium. Former book review editor of ISIS, official Journal of the History of Science Society.