<b>Modern science in Portugal: the ‘class of the sphere’ in the college of Saint Anthony

Abstract

With the arrival of the Society of Jesus to Portugal in 1540, Jesuit schools were created by the Crown. The College of St. Anthony, in Lisbon, was the first Jesuit educational institution, created in 1553. We propose a discussion of the main objectives, characteristics and difficulties of the Jesuit religious order in the Portuguese territory, as well as a presentation of one of the most important classes of this College: the ‘Class of the Sphere’. The priests considered fundamental to teach issues related to mathematics and astronomy, because, through these disciplines, they addressed the theory and practice of items and concepts, such as the telescope, logarithms, equations, geometry and others. The curriculum of this college included, in addition to science and mathematics, subjects such as: Latin, Grammar, Humanities, Rhetoric, and Introduction to Moral Theology, Dogmatic Theology and Philosophy, considered only to teaching in the Portuguese context. Studying the College of St. Anthony helps us to understand how these innovations were considered in teaching, in the Jesuit case, in the temporal context of Portugal in the 16th century. We understand that the College, mainly by innovations, was essential to the development of science.