Teresa Nobre de Carvalho | Universidade Nova de Lisboa (original) (raw)
Papers by Teresa Nobre de Carvalho
Revista Complutense de Historia de America, 2024
Since the end of the 15th century, Europe had been receiving promising news about the peoples, ri... more Since the end of the 15th century, Europe had been receiving promising news about the
peoples, riches, and geographical contours of faraway Insulinde. Some Europeans who traveled
to Goa observed local customs and traditions in which women emerged as protagonists. A daily
presence in Portuguese-Goan society, indigenous women, in addition to safeguarding Indian
traditions, were faithful guardians of secrets about the food and healing uses of the local flora.
Aware of the wealth of knowledge they possessed, Garcia de Orta (c. 1500-1568) did not fail to
include their presence in Colóquios dos Simples. Turning each scene described as a representation
of his experience in Goa, he recorded in his dialogues the local uses of Indian vegetables and
fruits, witnessed, and transmitted by the maids, « compradeiras » or cooks. This essay analyzes
the presence of each female character included in Colóquios dos Simples, a work that the
Portuguese doctor published in 1563, in Goa.
RiMe, 2024
Born in Liguria (Italy), Michele de Cuneo embarked on the armada that crossed the Atl... more Born in Liguria (Italy), Michele de Cuneo embarked on the armada that crossed the Atlantic towards Central America. A curious man and observer of nature and native peoples, Cuneo collected vast notes about the world he observed. In the letter he sent to Gerolamo Aimari, the Italian highlighted the peculiarities of the flora, fauna and people of the Caribbean. This essay analyzes this record and, whenever possible, identifies the plant species listed. Revealing one of the earliest testimonies about the American natural world that circulated in Europe, this study highlights the observational qualities of this traveler who analyzed and described plants, animals and people of the New World
Journal of Jesuit Studies, 2021
Book Reviews ethnography, and cartography, and their works occasionally make intertextual referen... more Book Reviews ethnography, and cartography, and their works occasionally make intertextual references. This leads to a second important consideration: the position of the Society of Jesus, specifically the "Roman" standpoint in the general political and intellectual history of the Enlightenment. As the most recent research shows, Jesuits in exile actively prompted Americanist intellectual projects, actively involved in the transatlantic information networks that contributed to the birth of patriotic sentiment. We know that Juárez was part of the philo-Jesuit networks in the Río de la Plata even after the expulsion and suppression of the order. He continued his correspondence with members of the elite of Cordoba, from whom he received information and objects of different kinds. He planned the composition of a compendium dedicated to the natural history of the Río de la Plata that would be based on the numerous documents he had gathered during his exile in Faenza. He also considered moving to the United States or Russia, where the Society survived. Little is known about either possibility. These two aspects, central to the current historiographical debate, will continue to attract scholarly attention. They also allow us to understand not only the history of the Jesuit order but also the complex transition from the ancien régime to modernity. During this critical but uncertain period, the Jesuits found in writing a way to rework their identity, preserve their history, and to build for the future. Knowledge of natural sciences was an important part of that writing and of that identity.
Humanismo e Ciência: Antiguidade e Renascimento, 2015
Humanities, 2020
The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between... more The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between the most far-removed corners of the globe. From the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the huge distances covered led to an unprecedented change in the distribution of vegetable species. Settlers and voyagers took European plants with them and introduced them into the Americas, Africa, and Asia. African plants were transferred to America and Asia, and Asian species were dispersed across all continents. These biological transferences led to global changes in people’s dietary habits and therapeutic practices, as well as giving rise to new business opportunities and previously untested ways of exploiting the land. Originally from Brazil, the pineapple—Ananas comosus—made a great impression on those who came across it. Refusing to take root in the cold European latitudes, the fruit crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard Portuguese ships in search of other territories with an adequate climate. In thi...
Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, 2019
Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, 2019
Abriu, 2017
The depictions of the spice that circumnavigated the globe. The contribution of Garcia de Orta's ... more The depictions of the spice that circumnavigated the globe. The contribution of Garcia de Orta's Colóquios dos Simples (Goa, 1563) to the construction of an entirely new knowledge about cloves
Host, 2013
Published in Goa in 1563, the work of Garcia de Orta (ca. 1500-1568), Colóquios dos Simples e Dro... more Published in Goa in 1563, the work of Garcia de Orta (ca. 1500-1568), Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas he Cousas Mediçinais da Índia [Colloquies on the simples & drugs of India], revealed the impressive scholarship of its author. His academic training in Castilian universities and an important library gave him a solid medical and botanical knowledge supported by a vast specialised literature. Nevertheless, in his search for novelties about nature in Asia, Orta did not dispense with the contribution of local informants and royal officials, who by travelling through the innermost recesses of the East collected news and novelties of Asia's natural resources. The participation of these agents from very different social and cultural strata in the reconfiguration of knowledge about the Asian natural world was one of the most original contributions of Orta to European science. This paper focuses on Orta's Portuguese sources with emphasis on some of the oral testimonies and manuscript reports that travellers and royal officials collected during their journeys in Asia. These, having being tested and validated by Orta became the foundation of a new truth about the natural world of the East described in his Colloquies on the simples.
Humanities, 2020
The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between... more The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between the most far-removed corners of the globe. From the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the huge distances covered led to an unprecedented change in the distribution of vegetable species. Settlers and voyagers took European plants with them and introduced them into the Americas, Africa, and Asia. African plants were transferred to America and Asia, and Asian species were dispersed across all continents. These biological transferences led to global changes in people's dietary habits and therapeutic practices, as well as giving rise to new business opportunities and previously untested ways of exploiting the land. Originally from Brazil, the pineapple-Ananas comosus-made a great impression on those who came across it. Refusing to take root in the cold European latitudes, the fruit crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard Portuguese ships in search of other territories with an adequate climate. In this essay, I will analyze the references to pineapple in the chronicles, botanical texts, and missionaries' letters in circulation in the 1500s. I will examine the cultural context that permitted the diffusion of this botanical species and follow the oceanic routes traced by this exotic plant that allowed the wide dissemination of the fruit throughout the Portuguese empire.
Garcia de Orta. Ciência, Religião e Cultura, 2021
Imperial do Rio de Janeiro: "O haver-me sido generosamente emprestado pela direcção da Biblioteca... more Imperial do Rio de Janeiro: "O haver-me sido generosamente emprestado pela direcção da Biblioteca Imperial d'esta Corte um exemplar que ela possui do famoso livro de Garcia d'Orta, dado á luz em Goa em 1563, e do qual hoje talvez se não encontrem por todo o orbe uma dúzia de exemplares, me permitiu entregar-me com vagar ao seu estudo" (Garcia de Orta, Colóquios dos Simples, 1872). 11 De entre os exemplares ainda existentes, a análise aqui apresentada refere-se apenas a alguns dos que, no âmbito das minhas pesquisas, tive oportunidade de estudar. Um trabalho iniciado no âmbito da investigação de Doutoramento, que tenho vindo a divulgar em workshops, congressos e artigos científicos, e que na medida das minhas possibilidades, pretendo completar. Os volumes agora analisados encontram-se nos espólios da Biblioteca
Magallánica, Revista de Historia Moderna, 2020
In the account of his journey of circumnavigation, Antonio Pigafetta (1492-c.1531) noted the uniq... more In the account of his journey of circumnavigation, Antonio Pigafetta (1492-c.1531) noted the uniqueness of the places that he had visited. In addition to peoples and landscapes, he described trees, fruits and herbs, as well as insects, birds, fish and mammals. He referred to numerous species, some of which were new to, or little known in the West. In this essay, I will analyse Antonio Pigafetta's references to the plants and animals observed during his overseas travels. The species recorded around the world suggest that he was both a keen observer and well resourced. His observations allowed him to describe a world which, united by the oceans, revealed a surprising continuity. For the Italian, many of the vegetable and animal species that he observed in the Americas, on the islands of Southeast Asia or on the vast oceans were similar to others spotted previously, in other regions, by European voyagers. From the Indies to the African coast and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the globe navigated by Pigafetta demonstrated continuity never before attested to. Crossing boundaries established by political agreements and routes defined by commercial interests, the description of this unified and circumnavigable planet contributed, throughout the 16th century, to the emergence of a new way of understanding nature. In this article, I will seek to identify, in some Early Modern botanical treatises, echoes of this new way of looking at the natural world, as proposed by Antonio Pigafetta.
Humanismo e Ciência. Antiguidade e Renascimento, 2015
Abriu: estudos de textualidade do Brasil, Galicia e Portugal, 2013
efectuou uma viagem à Península Ibérica enquanto tutor do jovem herdeiro do empório dos Függer. A... more efectuou uma viagem à Península Ibérica enquanto tutor do jovem herdeiro do empório dos Függer. A viagem, que durou cerca de um ano, levou os dois homens às mais destacadas cidades peninsulares. Se as deambulações pelos campos lusitanos revelaram ao botânico as peculiaridades da flora portuguesa, a inevitável passagem por Lisboa assegurou-lhe encontros surpreendentes. O embate com uma obra recém-chegada do Oriente-Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas he Cousas Mediçinais da Índia, de Garcia de Orta, (Goa, 1563)-despertou a sua atenção. O texto que agora se apresenta tece algumas considerações sobre os múltiplos impactos que a passagem do botânico por Portugal causou na ciência europeia de então.
Books by Teresa Nobre de Carvalho
Revista Complutense de Historia de America, 2024
Since the end of the 15th century, Europe had been receiving promising news about the peoples, ri... more Since the end of the 15th century, Europe had been receiving promising news about the
peoples, riches, and geographical contours of faraway Insulinde. Some Europeans who traveled
to Goa observed local customs and traditions in which women emerged as protagonists. A daily
presence in Portuguese-Goan society, indigenous women, in addition to safeguarding Indian
traditions, were faithful guardians of secrets about the food and healing uses of the local flora.
Aware of the wealth of knowledge they possessed, Garcia de Orta (c. 1500-1568) did not fail to
include their presence in Colóquios dos Simples. Turning each scene described as a representation
of his experience in Goa, he recorded in his dialogues the local uses of Indian vegetables and
fruits, witnessed, and transmitted by the maids, « compradeiras » or cooks. This essay analyzes
the presence of each female character included in Colóquios dos Simples, a work that the
Portuguese doctor published in 1563, in Goa.
RiMe, 2024
Born in Liguria (Italy), Michele de Cuneo embarked on the armada that crossed the Atl... more Born in Liguria (Italy), Michele de Cuneo embarked on the armada that crossed the Atlantic towards Central America. A curious man and observer of nature and native peoples, Cuneo collected vast notes about the world he observed. In the letter he sent to Gerolamo Aimari, the Italian highlighted the peculiarities of the flora, fauna and people of the Caribbean. This essay analyzes this record and, whenever possible, identifies the plant species listed. Revealing one of the earliest testimonies about the American natural world that circulated in Europe, this study highlights the observational qualities of this traveler who analyzed and described plants, animals and people of the New World
Journal of Jesuit Studies, 2021
Book Reviews ethnography, and cartography, and their works occasionally make intertextual referen... more Book Reviews ethnography, and cartography, and their works occasionally make intertextual references. This leads to a second important consideration: the position of the Society of Jesus, specifically the "Roman" standpoint in the general political and intellectual history of the Enlightenment. As the most recent research shows, Jesuits in exile actively prompted Americanist intellectual projects, actively involved in the transatlantic information networks that contributed to the birth of patriotic sentiment. We know that Juárez was part of the philo-Jesuit networks in the Río de la Plata even after the expulsion and suppression of the order. He continued his correspondence with members of the elite of Cordoba, from whom he received information and objects of different kinds. He planned the composition of a compendium dedicated to the natural history of the Río de la Plata that would be based on the numerous documents he had gathered during his exile in Faenza. He also considered moving to the United States or Russia, where the Society survived. Little is known about either possibility. These two aspects, central to the current historiographical debate, will continue to attract scholarly attention. They also allow us to understand not only the history of the Jesuit order but also the complex transition from the ancien régime to modernity. During this critical but uncertain period, the Jesuits found in writing a way to rework their identity, preserve their history, and to build for the future. Knowledge of natural sciences was an important part of that writing and of that identity.
Humanismo e Ciência: Antiguidade e Renascimento, 2015
Humanities, 2020
The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between... more The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between the most far-removed corners of the globe. From the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the huge distances covered led to an unprecedented change in the distribution of vegetable species. Settlers and voyagers took European plants with them and introduced them into the Americas, Africa, and Asia. African plants were transferred to America and Asia, and Asian species were dispersed across all continents. These biological transferences led to global changes in people’s dietary habits and therapeutic practices, as well as giving rise to new business opportunities and previously untested ways of exploiting the land. Originally from Brazil, the pineapple—Ananas comosus—made a great impression on those who came across it. Refusing to take root in the cold European latitudes, the fruit crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard Portuguese ships in search of other territories with an adequate climate. In thi...
Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, 2019
Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, 2019
Abriu, 2017
The depictions of the spice that circumnavigated the globe. The contribution of Garcia de Orta's ... more The depictions of the spice that circumnavigated the globe. The contribution of Garcia de Orta's Colóquios dos Simples (Goa, 1563) to the construction of an entirely new knowledge about cloves
Host, 2013
Published in Goa in 1563, the work of Garcia de Orta (ca. 1500-1568), Colóquios dos Simples e Dro... more Published in Goa in 1563, the work of Garcia de Orta (ca. 1500-1568), Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas he Cousas Mediçinais da Índia [Colloquies on the simples & drugs of India], revealed the impressive scholarship of its author. His academic training in Castilian universities and an important library gave him a solid medical and botanical knowledge supported by a vast specialised literature. Nevertheless, in his search for novelties about nature in Asia, Orta did not dispense with the contribution of local informants and royal officials, who by travelling through the innermost recesses of the East collected news and novelties of Asia's natural resources. The participation of these agents from very different social and cultural strata in the reconfiguration of knowledge about the Asian natural world was one of the most original contributions of Orta to European science. This paper focuses on Orta's Portuguese sources with emphasis on some of the oral testimonies and manuscript reports that travellers and royal officials collected during their journeys in Asia. These, having being tested and validated by Orta became the foundation of a new truth about the natural world of the East described in his Colloquies on the simples.
Humanities, 2020
The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between... more The great oceanic voyages had unexpected consequences on the pace with which plants moved between the most far-removed corners of the globe. From the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the huge distances covered led to an unprecedented change in the distribution of vegetable species. Settlers and voyagers took European plants with them and introduced them into the Americas, Africa, and Asia. African plants were transferred to America and Asia, and Asian species were dispersed across all continents. These biological transferences led to global changes in people's dietary habits and therapeutic practices, as well as giving rise to new business opportunities and previously untested ways of exploiting the land. Originally from Brazil, the pineapple-Ananas comosus-made a great impression on those who came across it. Refusing to take root in the cold European latitudes, the fruit crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard Portuguese ships in search of other territories with an adequate climate. In this essay, I will analyze the references to pineapple in the chronicles, botanical texts, and missionaries' letters in circulation in the 1500s. I will examine the cultural context that permitted the diffusion of this botanical species and follow the oceanic routes traced by this exotic plant that allowed the wide dissemination of the fruit throughout the Portuguese empire.
Garcia de Orta. Ciência, Religião e Cultura, 2021
Imperial do Rio de Janeiro: "O haver-me sido generosamente emprestado pela direcção da Biblioteca... more Imperial do Rio de Janeiro: "O haver-me sido generosamente emprestado pela direcção da Biblioteca Imperial d'esta Corte um exemplar que ela possui do famoso livro de Garcia d'Orta, dado á luz em Goa em 1563, e do qual hoje talvez se não encontrem por todo o orbe uma dúzia de exemplares, me permitiu entregar-me com vagar ao seu estudo" (Garcia de Orta, Colóquios dos Simples, 1872). 11 De entre os exemplares ainda existentes, a análise aqui apresentada refere-se apenas a alguns dos que, no âmbito das minhas pesquisas, tive oportunidade de estudar. Um trabalho iniciado no âmbito da investigação de Doutoramento, que tenho vindo a divulgar em workshops, congressos e artigos científicos, e que na medida das minhas possibilidades, pretendo completar. Os volumes agora analisados encontram-se nos espólios da Biblioteca
Magallánica, Revista de Historia Moderna, 2020
In the account of his journey of circumnavigation, Antonio Pigafetta (1492-c.1531) noted the uniq... more In the account of his journey of circumnavigation, Antonio Pigafetta (1492-c.1531) noted the uniqueness of the places that he had visited. In addition to peoples and landscapes, he described trees, fruits and herbs, as well as insects, birds, fish and mammals. He referred to numerous species, some of which were new to, or little known in the West. In this essay, I will analyse Antonio Pigafetta's references to the plants and animals observed during his overseas travels. The species recorded around the world suggest that he was both a keen observer and well resourced. His observations allowed him to describe a world which, united by the oceans, revealed a surprising continuity. For the Italian, many of the vegetable and animal species that he observed in the Americas, on the islands of Southeast Asia or on the vast oceans were similar to others spotted previously, in other regions, by European voyagers. From the Indies to the African coast and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the globe navigated by Pigafetta demonstrated continuity never before attested to. Crossing boundaries established by political agreements and routes defined by commercial interests, the description of this unified and circumnavigable planet contributed, throughout the 16th century, to the emergence of a new way of understanding nature. In this article, I will seek to identify, in some Early Modern botanical treatises, echoes of this new way of looking at the natural world, as proposed by Antonio Pigafetta.
Humanismo e Ciência. Antiguidade e Renascimento, 2015
Abriu: estudos de textualidade do Brasil, Galicia e Portugal, 2013
efectuou uma viagem à Península Ibérica enquanto tutor do jovem herdeiro do empório dos Függer. A... more efectuou uma viagem à Península Ibérica enquanto tutor do jovem herdeiro do empório dos Függer. A viagem, que durou cerca de um ano, levou os dois homens às mais destacadas cidades peninsulares. Se as deambulações pelos campos lusitanos revelaram ao botânico as peculiaridades da flora portuguesa, a inevitável passagem por Lisboa assegurou-lhe encontros surpreendentes. O embate com uma obra recém-chegada do Oriente-Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas he Cousas Mediçinais da Índia, de Garcia de Orta, (Goa, 1563)-despertou a sua atenção. O texto que agora se apresenta tece algumas considerações sobre os múltiplos impactos que a passagem do botânico por Portugal causou na ciência europeia de então.