João Baptista Lavanha facts for kids
João Baptista Lavanha (born around 1550 – died March 31, 1624) was a very talented Portuguese man. He was a mapmaker (cartographer), a math expert (mathematician), and a geography expert (geographer). He worked for the kings of Spain, Philip II and Philip III.
His Life and Work
João Baptista Lavanha was born in the mid-1500s. His parents were Luís de Lavanha and Jerónima Dança. We don't know much about his early life. People believe he finished his studies in Rome. He later taught mathematics to King Sebastian I of Portugal.
Around 1580, there was a big problem in Portugal about who would be the next king. Philip II of Spain sent his army to take control of Portugal. King Philip II knew that Portugal was very good at studying navigation and making maps. To make Spain better at this, he moved a famous Portuguese school from Lisbon to Madrid.
This new school was called the "Academy of Mathematics and Architecture." Philip II chose Juan de Herrera to lead it. Lavanha was hired as the very first teacher in 1582. He started teaching on January 1, 1583. Some famous writers, like Felix Lope de Vega and Miguel de Cervantes, were students at this academy.
On November 4, 1586, the King gave Lavanha a new important job. He became the Master Engineer of the Kingdom of Portugal. He also continued his teaching duties at the Academy in Madrid.
Later, starting in 1591, Lavanha began working as the Royal Chief Cosmographer. This meant he was the main expert on mapping and the universe for the King. He was officially given this job in 1596.
Lavanha lived in Lisbon until 1599. Then he moved back to Madrid. From there, he traveled to Flanders (a region in Europe) until 1601, working for Philip III of Spain. In 1604, he was in Valladolid, Spain. In 1606, he left to work on big water projects along the Douro River.
In 1609, he joined the Order of Christ, a special religious and military group. The King himself helped solve any questions about his family's background so he could join.
In 1610, Lavanha started gathering information to create a detailed map of the Aragon region in Spain. He finished this map in 1615. It was so good that people used his map until the late 1700s!
In 1613, he worked on projects to bring water to the city of Lisbon. He was also chosen to teach mathematics to the prince, who would later become Philip IV of Spain.
On March 9, 1618, he was named the Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal. This meant he was in charge of writing down the history of the kingdom.
João Baptista Lavanha married Leonarda de Mesquita. They had six children together.
His Important Works
Lavanha wrote many different kinds of books and papers. He translated the famous math book by Euclid. He also wrote the "Nautical Regiment" in 1595. This book gave rules for finding your location at sea and tables about the sun's position.
He wrote about a shipwreck in 1597. This was about the ship Santo Alberto that crashed off the coast of South Africa in 1593. He also wrote the "First Book of Naval Architecture" around 1608. This book was about how to build ships.
Some of his other works include the "Compendium of Affairs of Spain and Description of the Universe." He also had some writings that were never published, like "Art of Navigating," "Treaty of Gnomonics" (about sundials), and "Treaty of the Astrolabe" (about a tool used for navigation).
Lavanha was the teacher of Pedro Teixeira Albernaz. They worked together on several map-making projects. Lavanha also made navigation tools like astrolabes, quadrants, and compasses.
After his death, Lavanha's family asked for his help in publishing a book. He edited and put together the notes of João de Barros into the fourth volume of the "Decades of Asia." This book was published in Madrid in 1615.
See also
In Spanish: João Baptista Lavanha para niños
