Archaeologist studies shipwreck to reveal Iberian science
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Ricardo Borrero Londoño, a Colombian archaeologist with the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, investigated the San Jose galleon, a ship that sank off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, in 1708, to understand the development of naval architecture in Iberia.
Borrero Londoño examined the ship’s wooden structures and design, not its valuable cargo of gold and silver, to reveal the mathematical and geometric principles Iberian shipbuilders used in the late 17th century.
His research appears in a two-volume book, “Brief History of Iberian Ship Conception and Design (1570-1712): The Coordinate System that Preceded Descartes,” published by Springer Nature. The book argues that Iberian shipbuilding reflected advanced scientific thinking that predated modern Cartesian geometry. Borrero Londoño’s work draws on archaeology, intellectual history, and the history of science to understand how shipbuilders translated geometric concepts into the construction of transatlantic vessels.
The San Jose sank during the Battle of Baru after a British squadron, commanded by Charles Wager, attacked it while it travelled from Panama to Colombia carrying riches from the Viceroyalty of Peru. By comparing the San Jose to other 17th-century Iberian shipwrecks, Borrero Londoño aims to create a framework for interpreting ship construction during that period and demonstrate how shipbuilding was a key part of the scientific revolution in Europe.
