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1882
Volume 66, Issue 4
  • ISSN: 0008-8994
  • E-ISSN: 1600-0498
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Abstract

Abstract

We generally assume that the encounter with the Americas contributed to the downfall of trust in the ancient authorities. Not only did the ancients have no specific knowledge of the existence of the so-called “New World,” but the knowledge they did possess proved, in some cases, to be contradictory to the new discoveries. One of the main fields in which experience of the New World was used to criticise ancient knowledge was meteorology, and in particular the fact that the torrid zone was not extremely hot and dry as the ancients had claimed, but of a pleasant climate with abundant vegetation. This paper investigates how Juan de Cárdenas (1563–1609) made use of his experience in the New World to support the truth of Aristotle's theories in the field of meteorology. More precisely, Cárdenas employed the hypothesis of subterranean caves to account for the humidity and pleasant climate of the West Indies in the tropics. In this way, he claimed that this new land was exceptional, while he sought to preserve Aristotle's theory that the torrid zone, in normal conditions, is indeed dry and hot. Cárdenas aimed to prove that the peculiarities of the New World can only be explained by his hypothesis, and he used a comparison between Spanish and American vegetation to show why the former is the result of a perfect nature, while the latter is inferior due to its location on top of these caves, which do not allow nature to follow its own course, which in this case would be complete dryness and lack of vegetation.

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2025-12-04

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/content/journals/10.1484/J.CNT.5.151251
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Experience; Juan de Cárdenas (1563–1609); Meteorology; Native American Vegetation; Torrid Zone

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