SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURY

The purpose of this article is to analyze some characteristics of about the work of theBaron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, naturalist, mineralist, geologist, paleontologist andGerman cartographist that lived in Brazil in the period of 1810 to 1821. He was born in 1777,descendant from the German arist...

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Main Authors: Sheila Maria Doula, Thaís Helena de Almeida Slaibi, Maria Fernanda de Aguiar Costa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Editora da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia 2005-05-01
Series:Sociedade & Natureza
Online Access:http://www.sociedadenatureza.ig.ufu.br/include/getdoc.php?id=1403&article=695&mode=pdf
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author Sheila Maria Doula
Thaís Helena de Almeida Slaibi
Maria Fernanda de Aguiar Costa
author_facet Sheila Maria Doula
Thaís Helena de Almeida Slaibi
Maria Fernanda de Aguiar Costa
author_sort Sheila Maria Doula
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of this article is to analyze some characteristics of about the work of theBaron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, naturalist, mineralist, geologist, paleontologist andGerman cartographist that lived in Brazil in the period of 1810 to 1821. He was born in 1777,descendant from the German aristocracy and had an eclectic academic formation,characteristic in the XIX century; had studied Jurisprudence, Nature Science, Architecture,Science and Politic Economy, Forest Economy, mineralogy and landscape gardening. In1802, Eschwege moved away from Portugal, stayed there until 1810, occupying the functionof mine director.The two biographies that exists about him limits in build to the writer only an image ofthe “Patriarch of Geology” (SOMMER, 1952; BARBOSA, 1977) ignoring the fact that he hadbeen a man capable to perceive, father from his professional commitment of engineer, theIndians problems, rurals, urbans and ambiental described from his several trips, notably in theinterior of Minas Gerais (DOULA & COSTA, 2004).The long period that he stayed in Brazil differs her work from the others travelers, inthe signification that the position of “being a foreigner” and stay here “in passage” is notapplied totally to him, with the passage of the years grown his commitment with theenterprising projects in the metallurgy area. In this way, contraring to the figure of the nocommittedforeigner, who has not the intention to be accept in the group, (LEITE, 1997)Eschwege developed a program with activities related to mineralogy and metallurgy, whichmade possible a “look into” the administrative system and, also, to the local culture. Maybefor this, the work of Eschwege was not being a highly valued for the literature researchers of“foreigners”, who analyzed the exotic aspects from the European view to Brazil. Eschwegedid not make up, as the others naturalists, the foreigner’s scientific expeditions who had asmission to describe and portrait artistically the Brazil; for this reason, his work has a tecnicstyle, appearancilly arid and with few attracts looks. Moreover, until 1996, only the PlutoBrasiliensis, that contain all of the observations about the geognostic nature of the capitany ofMinas Gerais, had been translated to Portuguese, which contributed to fix a limited imagefrom his works, his personality and practice action.
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publisher Editora da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
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spelling doaj-art-b2cb3490dfbd4a63960fde44ddadda8a2025-08-20T02:12:41ZengEditora da Universidade Federal de UberlândiaSociedade & Natureza0103-15701982-45132005-05-01Especial1551560SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURYSheila Maria DoulaThaís Helena de Almeida SlaibiMaria Fernanda de Aguiar CostaThe purpose of this article is to analyze some characteristics of about the work of theBaron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, naturalist, mineralist, geologist, paleontologist andGerman cartographist that lived in Brazil in the period of 1810 to 1821. He was born in 1777,descendant from the German aristocracy and had an eclectic academic formation,characteristic in the XIX century; had studied Jurisprudence, Nature Science, Architecture,Science and Politic Economy, Forest Economy, mineralogy and landscape gardening. In1802, Eschwege moved away from Portugal, stayed there until 1810, occupying the functionof mine director.The two biographies that exists about him limits in build to the writer only an image ofthe “Patriarch of Geology” (SOMMER, 1952; BARBOSA, 1977) ignoring the fact that he hadbeen a man capable to perceive, father from his professional commitment of engineer, theIndians problems, rurals, urbans and ambiental described from his several trips, notably in theinterior of Minas Gerais (DOULA & COSTA, 2004).The long period that he stayed in Brazil differs her work from the others travelers, inthe signification that the position of “being a foreigner” and stay here “in passage” is notapplied totally to him, with the passage of the years grown his commitment with theenterprising projects in the metallurgy area. In this way, contraring to the figure of the nocommittedforeigner, who has not the intention to be accept in the group, (LEITE, 1997)Eschwege developed a program with activities related to mineralogy and metallurgy, whichmade possible a “look into” the administrative system and, also, to the local culture. Maybefor this, the work of Eschwege was not being a highly valued for the literature researchers of“foreigners”, who analyzed the exotic aspects from the European view to Brazil. Eschwegedid not make up, as the others naturalists, the foreigner’s scientific expeditions who had asmission to describe and portrait artistically the Brazil; for this reason, his work has a tecnicstyle, appearancilly arid and with few attracts looks. Moreover, until 1996, only the PlutoBrasiliensis, that contain all of the observations about the geognostic nature of the capitany ofMinas Gerais, had been translated to Portuguese, which contributed to fix a limited imagefrom his works, his personality and practice action.http://www.sociedadenatureza.ig.ufu.br/include/getdoc.php?id=1403&article=695&mode=pdf
spellingShingle Sheila Maria Doula
Thaís Helena de Almeida Slaibi
Maria Fernanda de Aguiar Costa
SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURY
Sociedade & Natureza
title SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURY
title_full SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURY
title_fullStr SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURY
title_full_unstemmed SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURY
title_short SCIENCE AND NATURE FOR THE EMPIRE’S WEALTH: THE BARON ESCHWEGE AND THE MINERALOGIST’S PROJECT FOR BRAZIL DURING THE XIX CENTURY
title_sort science and nature for the empire s wealth the baron eschwege and the mineralogist s project for brazil during the xix century
url http://www.sociedadenatureza.ig.ufu.br/include/getdoc.php?id=1403&article=695&mode=pdf
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