A Abertura Europeia ao Mundo – Mutações nos Conhecimentos, Sensibilidades e Valores nos Séculos XV e XVI

O contributo português na época dos Descobrimentos

  • Lisboa as a Cosmopolitan City:
    • Lisbon experienced significant growth during the Age of Discoveries.
    • It consolidated commercial, political, and cultural functions.
    • Lisbon emerged as a hub for the kingdom's development and a starting point for expanding global knowledge.
    • Lisbon exhibited characteristic urban elements:
      • Better and more polished houses.
      • Monasteries to visit
      • New streets.
      • Noble open spaces.
      • Sumptuous buildings.
  • Lisbon, A Thriving City (1535):
    • Described as "the best and most flourishing city in the world".
    • Features great merchants and numerous anchored ships facilitating extensive trade.
  • Political and Economic Hub:
    • Attracted foreign people.
    • Hosted a diversity of goods.
    • Became a place to hear news from all parts of the world.
  • The City of Discoveries

Expansão do Conhecimento do Mundo: Inovações Técnicas Portuguesas

  • What were the contributions of the Portuguese in technical innovation that enabled the expansion of knowledge of the world?

Rotas e Expansão do Conhecimento do Mundo

  • Routes and Locations:
    • Key locations include Lisbon, Açores, Arquipélago de Cabo Verde, and Arguim along the African coast.
    • Exploration routes extended to the Cape of Good Hope and beyond.
    • Includes other european cities like Barcelona, Naples, Cades, and Granada.
    • Key cities in Africa such as Ceuta, Tânger, Arzila, Safim, Agadir.
    • Key cities in Asia such as Cairo, Mecca, Ormuz, Goa, Adém, Zeila, Calecute, Melinde, Mombaça, Sofala.
  • Key Expeditions:
    • Route of Bartolomeu Dias (1487-88) around the Cape of Good Hope.
    • Route of Cristóvão Colombo (1492-93) to the Bahamas and Hispaniola.
    • Route of Pêro da Covilhã (1487-93) into the Indian Ocean region.
    • Route of Vasco da Gama (1497-98) to India.
    • Coastline explored by Diogo Cão (1482-86).

Contribuições Portuguesas para a Inovação Técnica

  • Bússola (Compass):
    • Enabled orientation using the Earth's magnetic poles.
    • Used for tracing lines of direction on nautical charts.
  • Caravela Latina Portuguesa (Portuguese Lateen Caravel):
    • Used to sail south of Cape Bojador.
    • Allowed sailing against the wind by tacking or sailing in a zigzag pattern.
    • Enabled greater speed and mobility.
  • Vela Triangular (Triangular Sail):
    • Applied to the caravel and other vessels like the nau.
    • Facilitated sailing with contrary winds and tacking.

Nau (Ship)

  • A large, robust vessel with greater tonnage capacity.
  • Enabled long voyages to the Orient.
  • Combined triangular and quadrangular sails for sailing with different wind conditions.
  • Cartas de marear (Nautical Charts or Portolans):
    • Provided indications of the course to take.
    • Featured lines of direction corresponding to the compass rose.
  • Instruments: Quadrante, Astrolábio, Balestilha
  • Function: Used to calculate the height of stars, latitude, and enabled nighttime and high-seas navigation.
  • Significance: Reduced reliance on coastal navigation and facilitated intercontinental voyages.

Observação e Descrição da Natureza (Observation and Description of Nature)

  • Cartografia Portuguesa (Portuguese Cartography):
    • Disseminated new geographical knowledge, information about new people, fauna, and flora.
    • Offered more reliable and accurate representations of reality.
    • Revealed newly discovered lands.
    • Made a mark on the European stage.
  • Portuguese maps were richly illuminated and meticulously crafted.

Impacto da Observação da Natureza (Impact of Nature Observation):

  • Development of critical thinking.
  • Questioning the knowledge of the Ancients.
  • Emphasis on observation.
  • Affirmation of experience as a source of knowledge (experientialism).
  • Production of scientific literature and travelogues.
  • Key figures: Duarte Pacheco Pereira, D. João de Castro, Pedro Nunes.

Saber de Experiência Feito (Knowledge from Experience)

  • Quotes:
    • Duarte Pacheco Pereira: "Experience… disabuses us and removes all doubt."
    • Garcia de Orta: "…one day with the Portuguese now knows more than was known in a hundred years by the Romans."

Exemplos de Saber de Experiência Feito (Examples of Knowledge from Experience)

  • D. João de Castro:
    • Explored the Red Sea by sending divers to retrieve stones from the seabed to understand the waters.
  • Pedro Nunes:
    • Sought to explain twilight using mathematical principles.