Mathematics Books and the Motivations of Their Authors in 18th-Century Spain

Abstract

This research examines the motivations of authors of mathematics books published in Spain during the 18th century through a comprehensive analysis of a corpus of seventeen representative works. The prologues and introductory discourses of these manuals are analysed using a historical-documentary approach to ascertain the objectives declared by their authors and to establish a connection between these objectives and the various types of mathematical production from that period. The results reveal a tripartite structure in authorial motivations: a didactic orientation, associated with elementary teaching and constituting the majority group; a professional or technical motivation, linked to mathematics applied to trades and to military or administrative institutions; and a social or moral motivation, related to Enlightenment ideology and the formation of the rational citizen. The graphical analysis of these correspondences demonstrates a historical progression from school mathematics towards applied mathematics and, to a lesser extent, towards a moralising discourse on its usefulness for social progress. This study contributes to understanding the educational role of mathematical manuals in Enlightenment Spain and provides a foundation for future research on the history of mathematics textbooks. This study contributes to understanding the educational role of mathematical manuals in Enlightenment Spain and provides a foundation for future research on the history of mathematics textbooks.