Los phisicos modernos quasi todos son copernicanos: Copernicanism and its Discontents in Colonial Río De La Plata

Abstract

This paper distinguishes four perspectives in the process of reception of Copernicanism in colonial Rio de la Plata: (1) the discussion of the systems of the world in the University of Córdoba by the Jesuits until 1767, (2) the treatment of this topic by the Franciscans in Córdoba and in their convent school in Buenos Aires, (3) the teaching by the secular clergy in the Colegio de San Carlos in the same city, and (4) the celebration of Copernicus by the enlightened naval engineer Pedro Cerviño in the Nautical School of the Consulado de Buenos Aires. The examination of these cases on the basis of manuscript sources and colonial printings shows that the reception of Copernican theory was an erratic process rich in incidences.