The writings of Giovanni Angelo Brunelli, astronomer of the Portuguese Boundaries Demarcation Committee (1753-1761), about the Brazilian Amazonia

Abstract

The text presents an introduction to the life and works of Giovanni Angelo Brunelli (1722-1804), a Bolognese astronomer that participated in the first Boundaries Demarcation Committee (1753 to 1761) between Portugal and Spain's South American possessions, serving the Portuguese Crown. The three works of Brunelli about the Brazilian Amazonia are published, whose themes are the 'pororoca' (1767), the manioc (1767), and the Amazon River (1791). Two others documents related to the demarcation committee are also published: Brunelli's letter complaining about the coordination of cartographic works (1752) and the draft of the astronomer's travel diary to the Negro River (1754). All of these documents were translated to Portuguese, for the first time, from the Latin and Italian.

Keywords

• Treaty of Madrid
• Boundaries Demarcation Committee
• Giovanni Angelo Brunelli
• Pororoca
• Manioc
• Amazon River