- CIUHCT,
Faculdade de Ciências
Universidade de Lisboa
1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal
Francisco Malta Romeiras
Universidade de Lisboa, CIUHCT, Faculty Member
- History of Life Sciences, Science and Religion, Science Education, Education, History of Science, Science Popularization, and 49 moreBiochemistry, History, Jesuit history, Jesuits, Bioethics, History of Physics, Portugal, Early Modern History, Church History, Medieval Church History, Philosophy of Science, History of Cartography, Portuguese History, History of Biology, History of scientific instruments, Science Studies, History of the Portuguese Empire, History of Astronomy, History of Missions, Society of Jesus, History of Science and Technology, Iberian Studies, History of Education, Portugal (History), History of Natural History, History of Botany, History of Roman Catholicism, History of Zoology, Natural History, History of Astrology, History of Biological Sciences, History of Science and Religion, Intellectual History of Enlightenment, Jesuit missionaries, Early Modern Europe, Jesuítas, History of Science Molecular Biology Biochemistry, Jesuits in China, History of the Book, Modern History, Early Modern Portuguese History, Medieval Portuguese Heraldry, Jesuit education, Censorship, Censorship (History), Book Censorship (history), Inquisition, Portuguese Inquisition, and Book Historyedit
- I am a Research Associate at the Department for History and Philosophy of Science (DHFC) and the Center for the Histo... moreI am a Research Associate at the Department for History and Philosophy of Science (DHFC) and the Center for the History of Science and Technology (CIUHCT), at the University of Lisbon. In 2017 I worked at the Institute of Advanced Jesuit Studies, Boston College, as Senior Research Fellow. In 2019 I worked at the Oxford Centre for European History, and Exeter College, University of Oxford, as a Visiting Researcher.
My research interests include early modern science, science and religion, science and education, Jesuit science, and book history.
I am a member of some national and international societies, including the Renaissance Society of America, the History of Science Society, and the British Society for the History of Science, where I serve as an International Adviser (2019–2021). I have been serving as a member of the editorial board of the Jesuit learned journal Brotéria since 2013.edit
Jesuits and the Book of Nature: Science and Education in Modern Portugal offers an account of the Jesuits’ contributions to science and education after the restoration of the Society of Jesus in Portugal in 1858. As well as promoting an... more
Jesuits and the Book of Nature: Science and Education in Modern Portugal offers an account of the Jesuits’ contributions to science and education after the restoration of the Society of Jesus in Portugal in 1858. As well as promoting an education grounded on an “alliance between religion and science,” the Portuguese Jesuits founded a scientific journal that played a significant role in the consolidation of taxonomy, plant breeding, biochemistry, and molecular genetics. In this book, Francisco Malta Romeiras argues that the priority the Jesuits placed on the teaching and practice of science was not only a way of continuing a centennial tradition but should also be seen as response to the adverse anticlerical milieu in which the restoration of the Society of Jesus took place.
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This book is an illustrated history of the Portuguese Jesuits after the 1759 expulsion by the Marquis of Pombal. It includes about 260 unknown photographs of the most significant Jesuit boarding schools and colleges in nineteen and... more
This book is an illustrated history of the Portuguese Jesuits after the 1759 expulsion by the Marquis of Pombal. It includes about 260 unknown photographs of the most significant Jesuit boarding schools and colleges in nineteen and twentieth-century Portugal.
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This monograph is based on my doctoral dissertation on Jesuit science and education in nineteenth and twentieth-century Portugal. In 2015 it was awarded an honorable mention in Portuguese contemporary history: Menção Honrosa do Prémio... more
This monograph is based on my doctoral dissertation on Jesuit science and education in nineteenth and twentieth-century Portugal. In 2015 it was awarded an honorable mention in Portuguese contemporary history: Menção Honrosa do Prémio Victor de Sá de História Contemporânea.
Research Interests: History of Science and Technology, Bioethics, History of Science, History and Philosophy of Biology, History of Biology, and 11 moreHistory of Bioethics, Portugal (History), Portugal, History of Zoology, Jesuits, History of Botany, History of Science Molecular Biology Biochemistry, Communication / scientific popularization, History of Biochemistry, Jesuits and Science, and Brotéria
Fourth and final volume of the Selected works of the Portuguese geneticist Luís Archer, S.J. It includes the articles on Bioethics published between 1998 and 2007.
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Third volume of the Selected works of the Portuguese geneticist Luís Archer, S.J. It includes the articles on Bioethics published between 1980 and 1997.
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Second volume of the Selected works of the Portuguese geneticist Luís Archer, S.J. This volume includes the articles written by Luís Archer on the relationship between Science and Religion.
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First volume of the Selected works of the Portuguese geneticist Luís Archer, S.J. This volume includes Archer's articles on History and Philosophy of Science.
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Annals of Science has just published a Special Issue on the Inquisition and the Censorship of Science. Free eprints of the Introduction can be found here.... more
Annals of Science has just published a Special Issue on the Inquisition and the Censorship of Science. Free eprints of the Introduction can be found here.
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YNFYUHJAIMUPDBAJRTSF/full?target=10.1080/00033790.2020.1725317
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YNFYUHJAIMUPDBAJRTSF/full?target=10.1080/00033790.2020.1725317
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During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Inquisition was the institution most invested in the censorship of printed books in the Portuguese empire. Besides publishing the Indices of Forbidden Books, the Holy Office was also... more
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Inquisition was the institution most invested in the censorship of printed books in the Portuguese empire. Besides publishing the Indices of Forbidden Books, the Holy Office was also responsible for overseeing their implementation and ensuring their efficacy in preventing the importation, reading, and circulation of banned books. Overall, the sixteenth-century Indices condemned 785 authors and 1081 titles, including 52 authors and 85 titles of medicine, natural history, natural philosophy, astronomy, chronology, cosmography, astrology, and divinatory arts. By looking at the largest collection of early modern scientific books in Portugal, I will argue that a closer inspection of marginalia and ownership, and the establishment of a typology of expurgations is essential for the comprehension of the actual practices and the mechanisms of censorship. By examining the material evidence of censorship, in order to reconstruct expurgation practices, this paper reveals the processes and effectiveness of ecclesiastical control in the Portuguese Inquisition and highlights the differences between what inquisitors wrote in the Indices and what others put into practice.
Free eprints of my article on Putting the Indices into Practice can be accessed here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RNKIZJQTHNRCX5B7XQXY/full?target=10.1080/00033790.2020.1714295
Free eprints of my article on Putting the Indices into Practice can be accessed here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RNKIZJQTHNRCX5B7XQXY/full?target=10.1080/00033790.2020.1714295
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Brotéria was founded in 1902 as a taxonomy journal of a small Jesuit college in the interior of Portugal. Because the revenue from individual subscriptions was insufficient to cover the costs of publication, Joaquim da Silva Tavares... more
Brotéria was founded in 1902 as a taxonomy journal of a small Jesuit college in the interior of Portugal. Because the revenue from individual subscriptions was insufficient to cover the costs of publication, Joaquim da Silva Tavares decided to create a magazine in 1907 called Vulgarização científica, which became very popular. Especially designed to make a profit, the journal published more than 450 articles on agriculture, commerce, industry, chemistry, physics, medicine, and hygiene until 1924, and played a very significant role in disseminating knowledge of these subjects to a non-specialist Portuguese readership. Full paper available here (open access): https://brill.com/view/journals/jjs/7/2/article-p221_221.xml
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Em Setembro de 1902, Joaquim da Silva Tavares, S.J. (1866–1931), Cândido de Azevedo Mendes, S.J. (1874–1943) e Carlos Zimmermann, S.J. (1871–1950), professores do colégio de São Fiel, em Louriçal do Campo (Castelo Branco), publicaram o... more
Em Setembro de 1902, Joaquim da Silva Tavares, S.J. (1866–1931), Cândido de Azevedo Mendes, S.J. (1874–1943) e Carlos Zimmermann, S.J. (1871–1950), professores do colégio de São Fiel, em Louriçal do Campo (Castelo Branco), publicaram o primeiro número da Brotéria. Concebida como uma revista de taxonomia, a Brotéria foi dedicada ao botânico português Félix de Avelar Brotero (1744–1828). A revista dos jesuítas alcançou uma longevidade, circulação e influência notáveis em Portugal e no estrangeiro. Ao longo de um século, publicaram-se na Brotéria (1902–2002) mais de 1300 artigos de investigação científica de taxonomia, genética e melhoramento de plantas, bioquímica, genética molecular, engenharia genética e bioética. Identificaram-se, descreveram-se e classificaram-se mais de 2000 novas espécies de animais e plantas recolhidas não só em Portugal, mas também em Espanha e na Alemanha, em Angola e Moçambique, no Brasil e na Argentina. Além disso, entre 1907 e 1924, os jesuítas portugueses editaram uma série dirigida a um público alargado, intitulada Vulgarização Científica, onde publicaram cerca 350 recensões e 450 artigos de divulgação de agricultura, geografia, física, química, medicina e higiene. Em 1925 a revista foi restruturada e a série de divulgação científica deu origem a uma revista de cultura,
actualmente publicada com o subtítulo Cristianismo e Cultura. Publicada há 118 anos pelos jesuítas portugueses, a Brotéria continua a exaltar o nome de um naturalista nascido no século XVIII. Mas quem foi Brotero? E porque é que os jesuítas portugueses lhe dedicaram a sua revista?
actualmente publicada com o subtítulo Cristianismo e Cultura. Publicada há 118 anos pelos jesuítas portugueses, a Brotéria continua a exaltar o nome de um naturalista nascido no século XVIII. Mas quem foi Brotero? E porque é que os jesuítas portugueses lhe dedicaram a sua revista?
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Generally, historians emphasize the role of the Marquis of Pombal and his brothers in the Jesuit affairs, mentioning only briefly the activities of two other decisive figures: Francisco de Almada Mendonça (c.1720–83), Pombal’s first... more
Generally, historians emphasize the role of the Marquis of Pombal and his brothers in the Jesuit affairs, mentioning only briefly the activities of two other decisive figures: Francisco de Almada Mendonça (c.1720–83), Pombal’s first cousin and minister plenipotentiary to the Holy See, and Cardinal Francisco Saldanha da Gama (1713–76), who was appointed visitor and reformer of the Portuguese assistancy on April 1, 1758.
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Upon the restoration of the Society of Jesus in Portugal in 1858, the Jesuits founded two important colleges that made significant efforts in the promotion of hands-on experimental teaching of the natural sciences. At the Colégio de... more
Upon the restoration of the Society of Jesus in Portugal in 1858, the Jesuits founded two important colleges that made significant efforts in the promotion of hands-on experimental teaching of the natural sciences. At the Colégio de Campolide (Lisbon, 1858–1910) and the Colégio de São Fiel (Louriçal do Campo, 1863–1910) the Jesuits created modern chemistry and physics laboratories, organized significant botanical, zoological and geological collections, promoted scientific expeditions with their students to observe eclipses and to collect novel species of animals and plants, and engaged in original research work in physics, botany, and zoology. The successful implementation of modern scientific practices gained these colleges public recognition as the most prominent secondary institutions in nineteenth-century Portugal, and this made a major contribution to countering the widespread and commonly accepted anti-Jesuit accusations of obscurantism and scientific backwardness.
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Fundados na segunda metade do século XIX, os colégios de Campolide (Lisboa, 1858-1910) e de São Fiel (1863-1910) foram particularmente relevantes no ensino e divulgação da física em Portugal até 1910. Neste artigo, serão apresentadas e... more
Fundados na segunda metade do século XIX, os colégios de Campolide (Lisboa, 1858-1910) e de São Fiel (1863-1910) foram particularmente relevantes no ensino e divulgação da física em Portugal até 1910. Neste artigo, serão apresentadas e discutidas brevemente as principais actividades dos jesuítas portugueses relacionadas com o ensino e prática da física neste período, como a criação de gabinetes de física, a realização de expedições com os alunos para observação de eclipses, a instituição de observatórios astronómicos e meteorológicos, a organização de demonstrações públicas e a realização de experiências originais sobre a radioactividade de águas minerais portuguesas.
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Even though almost a hundred years separate the expulsion (1759) and the effective restoration (1858) of the Society of Jesus in Portugal, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century historiography was still deeply influenced by the Pombaline... more
Even though almost a hundred years separate the expulsion (1759) and the effective restoration (1858) of the Society of Jesus in Portugal, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century historiography was still deeply influenced by the Pombaline accusations. In this period, opposition to the Jesuits was publicly displayed and broadly disseminated through plays, books, treatises and journals which portrayed them as sinful, decadent, ambitious, deceitful, reactionary, and mediocre. The need to counter these hostile works shaped in quite visible ways Jesuits’ new apostolates and initiatives. Besides putting scientific activities at the front of their educational priorities, they reinstated the practice of writing monumental apologetic works. From the early decades of the twentieth century, there emerged a generation of scholars committed to the new methods of scientific history. Since the last few decades of the twentieth century, historians have been focusing their attention on the history of education, science, architecture, art, missions, and spirituality; these works are gradually counterbalancing the apologetic and anti-Jesuit modern historiographical traditions.
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When dealing with the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal and with the building of anti-Jesuitism in the eighteenth century, historians usually focus on their alleged involvement in the attempt to murder king Dom José I and on the... more
When dealing with the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal and with the building of anti-Jesuitism in the eighteenth century, historians usually focus on their alleged involvement in the attempt to murder king Dom José I and on the complex economical questions related with the foundation of the state trade company in Brazil. However, the Pombaline accusation of obscurantism and scientific illiteracy also played a central role in the history of anti-Jesuitism in Portugal, mainly due to its wide acceptance and longevity. This argument was not only directly relevant for the expulsion of the Jesuits in the eighteenth century but it was also a keystone of the anti-Jesuit propaganda that eventually led to the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from Portugal in the twentieth century.
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Carlos Zimmermann SJ was an important pedagogue and one of the most influential naturalists working in Portugal at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was an active promoter of an experimental approach to the teaching of the... more
Carlos Zimmermann SJ was an important pedagogue and one of the most influential naturalists working in Portugal at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was an active promoter of an experimental approach to the teaching of the natural sciences, and one of the founders of the leading Portuguese scientific journal, Brotéria. His main area of research was the identification and classification of novel species of diatoms (one of the largest groups of microscopic algae). In the aftermath of the expulsion of the religious orders in 1910, the newly-established Portuguese Republic confiscated Jesuit scientific books, instruments and collections, including those produced by Zimmermann. Exiled to Brazil from 1911, he remained there until his death in 1950. This article focuses on the main questions relating to the organisation, apprehension, and partial restitution of these collections. By analysing a set of sixteen unpublished documents, recently found in a private archive and now published as an appendix, the article reconstructs the trajectory and significance of Zimmermann’s body of work. It elucidates, furthermore, the complex diplomatic and political circumstances, as well as the central role of correspondence networks, that led to the retrieval of these documents.
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A acusação de que os jesuítas teriam sido os principais responsáveis pelo “geral idiotismo” em Portugal alcançou uma longevidade, uma transversalidade e uma influência absolutamente invulgares na nossa história. Apesar de remontar a... more
A acusação de que os jesuítas teriam sido os principais responsáveis pelo “geral idiotismo” em Portugal alcançou uma longevidade, uma transversalidade e uma influência absolutamente invulgares na nossa história. Apesar de remontar a meados do século XVIII, a tese de obscurantismo pombalina influenciou não só a restauração da Companhia de Jesus, mas também a definição das suas prioridades educativas e das suas estratégias apostólicas ao longo dos séculos XIX e XX. Dada a centralidade do obscurantismo científico na argumentação utilizada por Pombal, os jesuítas procuraram, em primeiro lugar, rebater as críticas relacionadas com a educação e com a prática das ciências e, por isso, promoveram o ensino experimental das ciências naturais nos seus colégios e fundaram uma revista científica que acabaria por se revelar central para o desenvolvimento no nosso país de áreas científicas como a botânica, a zoologia, a bioquímica e a genética molecular.
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Research Interests: History, History of Mathematics, History of Science, Science and Religion, Jesuit history, and 10 moreHistory of Astronomy, History of Biology, History of Geology, Jesuits, History of Science Molecular Biology Biochemistry, Jesuits in China, History of Seismology, History of Biological Sciences, Jesuits in Latin America, and History of Geophysics
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O Santo Ofício também foi responsável pela censura de livros. No caso de obras que tratavam de matérias científicas, os tópicos mais visados eram a medicina, a história natural, a astrologia e as artes divinatórias.
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António de Oliveira Pinto (1868 – 1933) passou uma temporada, entre o final de 1909 e início de 1910, no laboratório de Marie e Pierre Curie, onde se familiarizou com os equipamentos e técnicas mais recentes ligadas ao fenómeno da... more
António de Oliveira Pinto (1868 – 1933) passou uma temporada, entre o final de 1909 e início de 1910, no laboratório de Marie e Pierre Curie, onde se familiarizou com os equipamentos e técnicas mais recentes ligadas ao fenómeno da radioactividade.
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The Society of Jesus was one of the most important institution involved in the teaching and practice of mathematics and astronomy in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and East Asia.In Portugal,from 1540 to 1759,the Jesuits... more
The Society of Jesus was one of the most important institution involved in the teaching and practice of mathematics and astronomy in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and East Asia.In Portugal,from 1540 to 1759,the Jesuits developed and maintained a vast network of colleges and were responsible for the education of around 20000 pre-university students. With the expulsion of the Orderby the Marquis de Pombal,in 1759,the Jesuit colleges were closed and the educational system was dismantled.The secularization of the educational system was accompanied by a massive political campaign in which the Jesuits were considered the major obstacle to scientific progress.This accusation of obscurantism and scientific illiteracy was largely accepted in Portugal in the 18th century and persisted throughout the 19th century.When the Jesuits returned to Portugal,in the 1850s,in order to recover their scientific and social credibility,they made scientific education and research a priority.Among their initiatives,they founded the colleges of Campolide (Lisboa,1858) and São Fiel (Louriçal do Campo,1863),two of the most important secondary schools in Portugal that made relevant efforts in the teaching of science,and established Brotéria,a scientific journal with original research papers.Considered one of,the most significant learned journals printed in Portugalin the 20th century,it published 400 popularization articles and more than 1300 research papers on zoology,botany,biochemistry and molecular genetics.By analyzing the scientific and pedagogical activities of the Portuguese Jesuits in the 19th and 20th century,I expect to shed some light into the outer tensions and the inner desires that led a religious order to deeply engage in scientific practices in order to recover its social and scientific credibility.
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"Cystic Fibrosis (CF), the most common lethal autosomal recessive disorder among Caucasians, is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes for the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR). With more than 1600... more
"Cystic Fibrosis (CF), the most common lethal autosomal recessive disorder among Caucasians, is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes for the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane
Conductance Regulator (CFTR). With more than 1600 mutations
reported, a single mutation– the deletion of phenylalanine residue at position 508 – accounts for more than 70% of chromosomes worldwide. The presence of this mutation causes CFTR retention at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and its early degradation at the proteasome.
We have studied the effect of AMPK phosphorylation on a CFTR
variant (S573C) found in non-CF patients with pancreatitis. This variant was found to be less functional than wt-CFTR and more sensitive to AMPK phosphorylation. Our results suggest that S573 plays an important role in channel gating.
We have also studied the effect of CK2 phosphorylation upon
CFTR function and found that TBB inhibits wt-CFTR currents without affecting F508del-CFTR. Further insight was achieved by mutating three putative CK2-phosphorylation sites. (S422, S511 and T1471). Mutating S511 (A or D) did not have any detectable effect upon wt-CFTR function, while mutating S422 (A or D) significantly , decreases or increases CFTR function, respectively. Both T1471A- and T1471DCFTR are less functional than wt-CFTR, and significantly inhibitable by TBB, similarly to S422 mutants. These data suggest that CK2 may be a positive effector for CFTR biogenesis, trafficking or function.
Mutating Y512, the SYK consensus phosphorylation site, into an A results in a significant increase in CFTR function in both wt- and F508del backgrounds. This mutation may cause a conformational change that favours channel gating.
Altogether, these data provide novel insight into CFTR regulation
by phosphorylation and thus to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern its trafficking and/or function.
Key words: CFTR, Cystic Fibrosis, Phosphorylation, CK2, SYK,
AMPK, Metformin"
Conductance Regulator (CFTR). With more than 1600 mutations
reported, a single mutation– the deletion of phenylalanine residue at position 508 – accounts for more than 70% of chromosomes worldwide. The presence of this mutation causes CFTR retention at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and its early degradation at the proteasome.
We have studied the effect of AMPK phosphorylation on a CFTR
variant (S573C) found in non-CF patients with pancreatitis. This variant was found to be less functional than wt-CFTR and more sensitive to AMPK phosphorylation. Our results suggest that S573 plays an important role in channel gating.
We have also studied the effect of CK2 phosphorylation upon
CFTR function and found that TBB inhibits wt-CFTR currents without affecting F508del-CFTR. Further insight was achieved by mutating three putative CK2-phosphorylation sites. (S422, S511 and T1471). Mutating S511 (A or D) did not have any detectable effect upon wt-CFTR function, while mutating S422 (A or D) significantly , decreases or increases CFTR function, respectively. Both T1471A- and T1471DCFTR are less functional than wt-CFTR, and significantly inhibitable by TBB, similarly to S422 mutants. These data suggest that CK2 may be a positive effector for CFTR biogenesis, trafficking or function.
Mutating Y512, the SYK consensus phosphorylation site, into an A results in a significant increase in CFTR function in both wt- and F508del backgrounds. This mutation may cause a conformational change that favours channel gating.
Altogether, these data provide novel insight into CFTR regulation
by phosphorylation and thus to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern its trafficking and/or function.
Key words: CFTR, Cystic Fibrosis, Phosphorylation, CK2, SYK,
AMPK, Metformin"