Military Innovation in Eighteenth Century Spain: The Scientific Production of the Royal Military Academy of Ávila (1774)

Abstract

The Royal Military Academy of Ávila probably was the most original military school of Eighteenth Century Spain. This contribution examines the scientific production carried out since its opening in 1774 until its final closure in 1779. The goal was to expand the library collection, recognized by the first head of the academy as ‘very poor’ for some matters. To this end, he conducted a policy of translation of foreign books and preparation of textbooks adapted to the pedagogy of the military college. Some of the most important scientific works of Enlightened Spain began to be written in Ávila, and some books became after its publication in a reference to their subjects. This was the case of Indagación y reflexiones sobre la Geografía by Manuel de Aguirre, probably the most important essay on Geography of Eighteenth Century Spain, and this was also the case of Arte de hablar bien francés, the best-seller French grammar by Pierre-Nicolas Chantreau reedited in Spain until 1875.