Memory of the World - Latin America and the Caribbean
Philosophical Voyage: Scientific Expediton of Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira through Grão-Pará, Rio Negro, Mato Grosso and Cuiabá, 1783-1792
The Philosophical Voyage Scientific Expedition of Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira through GrãoPará Río Negro Mato Grosso and Cuiabá 17831792 consists of 191 text documents and 1744 drawings produced during the extensive journey The journeys of foreign naturalists to Brazil contributed significantly to the study of the country´s flora and fauna and population Among the many visitors dating back to colonial times were the French André Thevet and Jean de Léry the Dutch Piso and Marcgraf and Charles Marie de la Condamine sponsored by the Academy of Sciences of Paris In the 19th century Brazil received scientists such as Spix and Martius SaintHilaire as well as Charles Darwin who would become the father of the theory of evolution Besides the foreign perspective there were Brazilian naturalists such as Fray José Mariano da Conceição Veloso Manuel Arruda da Câmara and Freire AlemãoBrazilianborn and a Coimbra graduate Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira stands out among the visitors as the first naturalist to hold that position within Portuguese bureaucracy He served not only as a man of science but as the Crown´s emissary in charge of traversing and inspecting Portugal´s possessions in northern Brazil His observations are often utilitarian but at the same time show a concern for the environment that was quite innovative for the time The collection has aroused interest among researchers and numerous scholarly books and essays have been published in Brazil and abroadThe National Library Foundation and the National Museum are not the only institutions that hold the Philosophical Voyage collection Part of the collection is in Europe divided between the Bocage Museum in Lisbon and the Jardin des Plantes in Paris The documentary heritage listing may encourage the international scientific community to learn more about the work of Alexandre Rodrigues bringing to light new interpretations and contributing to the collection´s dissemination among the public
Brazil -