Stranger in a Foreign Land: Jose de Acosta's Scientific Realizations in Sixteenth-Century Peru
In 1590 Jose de Acosta's Historia Natural y Moral de Las Indias was published in Sevilla, Spain. This work typifies the conflict between sixteenth-century Jesuit cosmology and the existence of the American continent. As Acosta came to terms with this conflict, he made several important observat...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1998
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1998, Volume: 29, Issue: 1, Pages: 19-33 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | In 1590 Jose de Acosta's Historia Natural y Moral de Las Indias was published in Sevilla, Spain. This work typifies the conflict between sixteenth-century Jesuit cosmology and the existence of the American continent. As Acosta came to terms with this conflict, he made several important observations in the fields of biogeography and climatology. Historia Natural y Moral de Las Indias probably represents the first documentation of the phenomenon of altitude sickness. Acosta explains this sickness in naturalistic terms, marking the growth of secular explanations among sixteenth-century evangelistic organizations such as the Jesuits. Historia Natural y Moral de Las Indias is also significant because it shows a transfer away from the authority of the traditional scientific texts and toward the use of direct experience. Acosta, as an individual, possessed a strong interest in nature and things scientific, a quality considered by some to be non-existent in post-Reconquista Spain. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2544379 |