The Values of Illustration in the Economic Society of Asturias and Its Reflection in Mathematics Education at the Royal Asturian Institute of Nautical Studies and Mineralogy during the Last Quarter of the 18th Century

Abstract

The Economic Society of Friends of the Country of Asturias, Spain, was an instrument of enlightened reformism which operated in a region with serious economic backwardness. It was born in 1780 at the initiative of Campomanes and responds to the Matritense model, meaning that it focused on economic development and popular education. It is known that Jovellanos directly participated in the establishment of the Royal Institute of Nautical Studies and Mineralogy of Gijón. In this work, the historical method of research in education was used with the objective of determining the sociogenesis of the kind of technical mathematics that was taught in this Institute. The results show the role of the Asturian Economic Society in the creation of the Institute and we also analysed the teaching and curriculum of mathematics that was taught there, and if it was in line with the internal debates of the discipline in that historical moment. The limitations of the Jovellanista model of the Technical Training School for Sailors and Miners created in Gijón are made clear, although the attempt to start it up in such a peripheral place is no less remarkable.