Portuguese contribution to engineering history 2

[0707]

I am Portuguese. Portuguese will be today 16 million people, 10 million resident in Portugal and the remains spread all over the world (mainly in US and Brazil). Culturally we suffer successively influence from Romans, Muslims, French, Spanish and English. Great part of our territorial independence will be due to the old alliance with the English (the oldest in Europe). Like the Spanish, Portuguese navigators were those who discovered which is today modern world. Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, Cabo Verde, St. Tomé and Principe and East Timor are today independent nations whose national language is the Portuguese. We have done good things and bad things.

We have had a great deal on navigation instruments naval construction and “portulhanos” maps design in XV century.

What is the forum opinion about Portugal and the Portuguese?

luis

 

[plasgears]

My wife has a distant relative in Brazil. He is a perfect gentleman who calls for everybody's birthday, etc. We have an open invitation to join him in Sao Paulo.

Many years ago we took in a Brasilian exchange student who fit in very nicely. The first night she made me a cup of coffee that put me on a coffee high for 8 hrs. We enrolled her at the local catholic private school. They were happy to have her without the burden of paying tuition. She made many special friends at the school.

I would like to hear more about engineering and historical museums in Portugal. Thank you. As usual, we have limited knowledge of our neighbors across the sea.

 

[GregLocock]

The Marine Museum in Lisboa has a fascinating collection of navigation instruments, from cross-staffs through to modern sextants, and gunnery estimators from around 1880-1920. Actually Gunnar (Skogs) would probably like those, they are 3 (or more) dimensional slide rules. I foolishly didn't photograph them.

The other museum I really liked was a Roman town about 3 hours drive North of Lisboa. It is massive, and the mosaic floors were in excellent condition.

http://www.uc.pt/conimbriga/CONIMBR.HTM

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[unclesyd]

My favorite person of Portuguese descent is none other than Emeril Lagasse.

When I first moved to the Gulf Coast there were several of the old Snapper Smack, boat, captains first and second generation Portuguese still around and all had many tales from their fishing days on the Grand Banks or in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

It always caused me a lot consternation in reading and talking about the Portuguese Cod Fishermen that after spending the majority of the year at sea fishing that when he returned home he didn't share out enough money to buy his family some of the salted cod he had caught.

All the captains that I was acquainted with were very good fishermen and excellent navigators.

 

[25362]

There are famous portuguese, whom almost everybody has heard of, who had a strong impact on humanity:
Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Amalia Rodrigues, Carmen Miranda, Eus[é]bio, Figo, and, of course, Pedro Alvares Cabral; many more can be found in:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Portuguese_People

 

[UcfSE]

What are some of the ways the Portuguese have contributed to engineering knowledge?

 

[0707]

Tank you all for the good appretiation of Portugal and Portuguese.

Recent most visible eCommerce success stories in Portugal
Between others are related to:

Via Verde – RFID implementation (apparently pioneered in Portugal) that allows toll automation for cars. It is now being used also to automate gas pump payments and other applications (such as fleet control)

MULTIBANCO – an ATM network shared by the banking community – similar to the Danish (PBS) – has achieved very large penetration (almost all citizens have a card and use it) and it has helped launch other kiosk-based technologies to the public

Sapo – a Portuguese-language web browser engine developed in Portugal That has had wide acceptance by the public (due to removing the language barrier) and has allowed the creation of virtual communities
· RuralNet

 

[BJC]

Watch your local substation, Eface is selling some big (400 MVA } transformers in the US. I don't think there are any big transformers made in the US.
They do more than make corks for wine bottles, although that is very important.

http://www.efacec.pt/PresentationLayer/efacec_home_00.aspx?idioma=2

 

[Zogzog]

ABB and whoever owns the old Ohio trnasformer plant in FL make large transformers.

Many wineries are going to plastic corks, most people believe a plastic cork means cheap wine, but the fact is they dont fail like a cork can. I was suprised to hear this on my last Napa tour.

 

[25362]

On the other hand, did you know that the highest TB incidence rates in Western Europe are in Portugal - 42 per 100,000, compared with 113 per 100,000 in China, and 64 per 100,000 in Brazil ? The city of Porto has the highest rates of TB positive cases -53 in 100,000 (2004).

 

[DrillerNic]

I live in Portugal and work on a rotation basis in the North Sea- it's a great place, although the bureaucracy is a little annoying!

 

[0707]

DrillerNic

you are being too generous...Portuguese bureaucracy is much more than annoying!

 

[MintJulep]

0707,

Why not stop in at Pat's Pub and answer my non-engineering questions about Portugal?

thread1088-178101

 

[0707]

MintJulep

Once In Portugal Stay the weekend in Lisbon Points to visit

Monuments:

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and Belém Tower.

Near the mosteiro there is a famous pastry shop were you can eat the famous cake called “Pastel de Belém”.

Church of Madre de Deus,

Church Sé de Lisboa,

St.Jorge Castle,

A casa dos Bicos,

Museums;

Janelas Verdes.

Museum Berardo in Centro Cultural de Belem near Jerónimos here you can see also cultural spectacles,

Foundation Caloust Golbenkian here you can see also cultural spectacles,

Culturgest here you can see also cultural spectacles,

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga to see the famous paintings Painéis de S.Vicente from Nuno Gonçalves and the temptations of St.Antão fro Jeronimus Boch,

Lisbon Sites:

Bairro Alto with narrow mourish style streets

Down town Rua do Carmo and Chiado with the famous café Brasileira where Fernando Pessoa used to stay

Praça do Comércio and the Restaurant Martinho da Arcada also where Fernando Pessoa used to stay

Praça da Nações where EXPO98 took place with examples of modern architecture of Alvaro Siza Vieira

Towns around Lisbon:

Cascais, Estoril, Sintra

After the the Lisbon weekend, rent a car and drive trough the hole Portugal to see;

On south of Portugal 150 Km west Atlantic coast try Costa Vicentina and Visit city of Sines where Vasco da Gama has lived and go down till the Algarve at Sagres

On the North Visit Porto City and travel along Douro River to seen the famous vines of Oport wine

Also in the North visit O Minho which is called Portuguese Suiss

Other cities to visit in Portugal are:

Coimbra in the centre of Portugal with the old university

City of Tomar also in the centre of Portugal with great influence of the Christian order of the Templários

In the south visit the Alentejo province and taste the good red wines don’t forget to see the city of Évora.

I have tried to give you an overview of my country which is obvious superficial

Regards

Luis marques

 

[DrillerNic]

0707: you missed out the Port Wine Institute in Lisboa, in the Barrio Alto- it's sort of a creche for adults.....Mrs Driller often deposits me there when she want's to go shopping.

A spectacular type of hotel to stay in in Portugal are the pousadas- converted castles, palaces and abbeys- they may be expensive, but it's not often you get to sleep in a genuine 15th century castle!

 

[corus]

Another part fo Lisbon to see is the 1999 Vasco da Gama Bridgeover the river. My friend has an apartment near there and the bridge looks superb at night when lit up. I think it's 10 miles long and is the longest in europe. As well as a fine piece of engineering, it is good to look at. Not everything has to be 15th century to be appreciated!

corus

 

[GregLocock]

"Not everything has to be 15th century to be appreciated! "

Aye, lad, M. Eiffel created an edifice most would recognise.

Not to mention (so I will) the Chrysler Building, Tower Bridge, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, et cetera.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.