Félix Avelar Brotero
Encyclopedia
Félix Avellar Brotero was a Portuguese
botanist and professor. He fled to France
in 1788 to escape persecution by the Inquisition
, and there published his Compendio de Botanica in order to earn his living. It immediately established his reputation as a botanist, and upon his return to Portugal in 1790 he was given the chair of botany
and agriculture
at the University of Coimbra. His two best known works, Flora lusitanica, 1804, and Phytographia Lusitaniae selectior, 1816–1827, were the first lengthy descriptions of native Portuguese plants. As director of the botanical gardens at Coimbra (see Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra
) and Ajuda (Lisbon
), he reorganized and enlarged them.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
botanist and professor. He fled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1788 to escape persecution by the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
, and there published his Compendio de Botanica in order to earn his living. It immediately established his reputation as a botanist, and upon his return to Portugal in 1790 he was given the chair of botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
at the University of Coimbra. His two best known works, Flora lusitanica, 1804, and Phytographia Lusitaniae selectior, 1816–1827, were the first lengthy descriptions of native Portuguese plants. As director of the botanical gardens at Coimbra (see Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra
Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra
The Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra is a botanical garden in Coimbra, Portugal. It was founded in 1772-1774 and it was integrated in the Natural History Museum established by the Marquis of Pombal...
) and Ajuda (Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
), he reorganized and enlarged them.