Manuel Galvão da Silva’s philosophical journey to Goa (1784)

Abstract

At the end of the 1770s, Portugal began to prepare to participate in the global strategic repositioning process carried out by the European colonial powers in the second half of the 18th century. The study and the exploration of nature according to the paradigm developed by Linnaeus were part of the process. In 1783, the Portuguese crown sent naturalists to explore its colonies in Africa and America. Portuguese India was practically left aside, were it not for the hurried passage of Manuel Galvão da Silva, on his way to Mozambique. The article addresses the presence of this naturalist in the region of Goa.