O fabrico e uso da pólvora no Brasil colonial: o papel de alpoim na primeira metade do século XVIII The manufacture and use of gunpowder in colonial Brazil: the role of alpoim in the first half of the eighteenth century

<abstract language="eng">Gunpowder played a significant role in colonial Brazil. This reached a climax in the eighteenth century, when the country's large gold output enticed the greed of many. The French invasion of Rio de Janeiro in 1711 made the city's defense even more...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Teresa C. C. Piva, Carlos A. L. Filgueiras
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química 2008-01-01
Series:Química Nova
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-40422008000400036
Description
Summary:<abstract language="eng">Gunpowder played a significant role in colonial Brazil. This reached a climax in the eighteenth century, when the country's large gold output enticed the greed of many. The French invasion of Rio de Janeiro in 1711 made the city's defense even more pressing to the metropolis. Brigadier Alpoim symbolized this reaction. He was a leading Luso-Brazilian engineer of that century, whose multiple activities set him apart in colonial life. These activities included a pioneer role in teaching the manufacture and use of gunpowder, about which he wrote extensively during the first half of the eighteenth century. His work is thus among the first to treat chemical technology in the colony at such an early age.
ISSN:0100-4042
1678-7064