La formation mathématique des ingénieurs militaires en Espagne au xixe siècle

• Published in: Philosophia scientiae Vol. 24; no. 24-1; pp. 13 - 32
• Main Authors: Velamazán, Maria Ángeles, Ausejo, Elena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; German
• Published: Éditions Kimé 01.03.2020
• ISSN: 1281-2463; 1775-4283
• DOI: 10.4000/philosophiascientiae.2152

This article studies how French military engineering academies, particularly the École Polytechnique and the École d’Application de l’Artillerie et du Genie in Metz, served as influential models for the Spanish Army Engineering Academy’s course syllabi and textbooks on mathematical sciences. The authors show how the academy developed its own textbooks largely from Spanish translations of works by Monge and Lacroix, which led to further translations, appropriations and various original works based on other highly selected French sources. In terms of the design of course syllabi, the academy’s 1816 syllabus reflects a clear interest in increasing mathematical expertise of Spanish military engineers, which was further developed between 1839 and 1870 when there is evidence that the above-mentioned French academies were held in particularly high regard.