A “máquina para o melhoramento da navegação” de João Francisco de Madureira Pará: a engenhosa história de uma fraude (1825-1832)

Abstract

The present work aims to comprehend and elucidate the manufacturing process of the “Machine for the Improvement of Navigation” by the inventor João Francisco de Madureira Pará from the perspective of the cartography of controversies and the Actor-Network Theory. Having as a guiding principle the writings published by Madureira Pará, thus making the inventor the protagonist of this work. And seeking to map the sociotechnical network that was formed around his “Machine” initially in Portugal, but with greater emphasis on the period in which he worked on his invention in Rio de Janeiro, between the years 1825 and 1832, this work takes into account the social and political context in the two kingdoms, the particular interests and the scientific understanding of the inventor, the time and the formation of antagonistic groups that, due to the discovery of new sources, forced us to review the life trajectory of Madureira Pará. Therefore, and with a more careful analysis of his writings, we ended up discovering that the “ingenious inventor”, as he was considered by some historians and researchers, was, someone who, through a very well-elaborated fraud, deceived the imperial government of Brazil, especially Emperor Pedro I, with the promise of a “revolutionary machine of navigation” that never existed. The description of the controversies in which the “inventor” was involved allowed us not only to discover the fraud, but also showed us, from its relationship, how the First Reign dealt with issues related to the scientific development of the Empire that, still guided by old charters published by D. João VI, failed to realize that Madureira Pará, was really very “ingenious”, except to manufacture his “great invention”.