La ciencia en la cultura novohispana: el debate sobre la aurora boreal de 1789

Abstract

On November 14th, 1789 a strange red light was observed over the horizon, toward the north of Mexico City. This phenomenon sparked a debate about the origin and nature of auroras, which were practically unknown in those latitudes. The main participants in the discussion were the editor José Antonio Alzate y Ramírez, the tax collector Antonio León y Gama, and the watchmaker José Francisco Dimas Rangel. Other men of letters also participated as authors of letters and readers. The debate lasted nearly two years, and during that time these savants published nine texts in periodical magazines such as Gazeta de literatura de México, Gazeta de México, as well as in pamphlets. The study of this exchange shows the role of debates in mobilizing different ways of thinking and knowing about nature, as well as in stimulating an incipient public sphere. It also complements our knowledge about science in the culture of the New Spain during the Enlightenment.