Midshipmen: the arrival of science in Spain

The Academy and Company of Midshipmen was created in 1717 by the Governor General of the Spanish Navy, José Patiño y Rosales.

It was key to the progress of Spanish science in the 18th century, not only in the fields of navigation and cartography, but also with the arrival of new waves of research that could be applied to many areas.

The Academy introduced a model of teaching that was based on the study and application of both national and international scientific developments.

These studies were part of the so-called "art of navigation" and allowed the route, distance, and latitude required for navigation to be determined.

Technological and scientific advances were needed in order to avoid possible errors.

Scientific artifacts were also to be found in personal collections during the 16th century.

Spanish monarch Philip II was one of the keenest collectors of scientific works and objects, such as this astronomical compendium.

It shows the map of the northern land hemisphere and the southern hemisphere, as well as the maritime regions.

It also includes a sundial, a compass showing the 4 cardinal points, an astrolabe, and 2 calendars.

The Spanish Inquisition's outright opposition to new scientific ideas meant that Spain did not evolve at the same pace as other countries such as France and England.

Despite this, Spanish scientists and writers created a discourse that was fundamental to scientific progress.

Among them was Martín Cortés and his work, "Brief Compendium on the Sphere and the Art of Navigation," which made advances in various scientific fields.

It brought together the discovery of magnetic declination and the need to widen the parallels near the poles, paving the way for the cylindrical projection attributed to Gerardus Mercator.

The work by Andrés García de Céspedes was also relevant, and it became one of the most important nautical treatises of its time.

It included a study of astronomical observations and a compendium of hydrography to design navigational maps.

The Cádiz Royal College of Surgeons of the Navy, originally founded as the Juan Lacomba College of Practitioners, was the first institution in Europe to grant the title of "Medical Surgeon," uniting two disciplines that had remained separate until then.

This helped to improve the quality of Spanish medicine and surgery during the 18th century.

In this image, we can see one of the instruments used in surgery: the hacksaw.

Tourniquets were used to control bleeding caused by amputations, wounds, and other limb operations.

Trepanning instruments, such as the one in this image, allowed an entry hole to be made in the cranial cavity.

Their use in surgery was quite dangerous, so it was restricted to particular conditions.

The Royal Observatory of the Spanish Navy, founded by Jorge Juan in 1749, had an extraordinary library, a leading team of scientists, and cutting-edge instruments that were vital for navigation, such as octants and chronometers.

Octants, like the one in the picture, are observation instruments that allow ships to determine their latitude.

Their invention was a significant development, because it eliminated the problem of having to focus on the horizon with one eye and a star with the other.

The 2-year study program consisted of 2 semesters of theoretical training in geometry, trigonometry, cosmography, naval construction, ship maneuvering, and other scientific subjects, as well as additional classes such as music, fencing, dancing, and languages.

This image is a portrait of Luis Dormay, the first captain of the Company of Midshipmen.

Once this academic stage had been successfully completed, students practiced steering and hydrography.

The aim was to introduce all the international scientific advances to Spain.

In 1793 Antonio Valdés and Fernández Bazán, whose portrait appears in this picture, published the Naval Ordinances, which were fundamental to the navy's organization and incorporated these developments.

In 1768 Vicente Tofiño was appointed director of the Royal Company and the Royal Astronomical Observatory.

He designed a study program called "Advanced Studies for the Academy of Midshipmen," which allowed outstanding students to study more abstract mathematical sciences.

Until the Royal Company was founded, mathematics and geometry were only studied in certain institutions due to a lack of teachers and resources.

This changed with the training of midshipmen, in which it was given great importance.

This shift can be seen in Vicente Tofiño's work "Compendium of Geometry," which compiles knowledge of the characteristics of lines, surface areas, and solid borders.

One of the country's biggest scientific libraries was assembled at the Academy.

The production of manuals written by the teachers, the use of 16th- and 17th-century works by Spanish authors, and the acquisition of specialist foreign works were all encouraged.

One example of this is the work by Pedro Manuel Cedillo, which deals with the foundations of trigonometry and the use of plane triangles for navigation.

Another is the work of Vicente Tosca, which deals with various subjects such as arithmetic, geometry, optics, and astronomy, among other things.

The latter includes gnomonics (the art of measuring time with sundials), the organization of time, and astrology.

Vicente Tosca's work follows the model of the encyclopedic volumes published in Europe in the 17th century.

The author brings together information from various Spanish writers such as Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz and Vicente Mut Armengol, and international writers such as Frenchman Claude Dechales, in the form of a compendium, as reflected in the title.

This is the third volume, which covers trigonometry, conic sections, and machinery.

It is remarkable for its geometrical study of conic sections—already included in Dechales' work—as it was the first work in Spanish to deal with the topic.

During the 18th century there were a great number of disagreements over the Earth's shape.

The mission proved that Newton's theory that the Earth was flattened at its poles was correct. It also established the true length of the meter on which the decimal metric system is based.

This work was written in the form of a compilation of the experiences and knowledge acquired by its authors, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, after they took part in the famous mission.

Ultimately, the Company of Midshipmen ensured that navigation was recognized as a science by combining its teaching with astronomical studies or differential and integral calculus.

Its efforts to introduce scientific works, use modern calculus and navigation instruments, and support developments in medicine and astronomical observation made it one of the biggest benchmarks in the development of science in Spain.