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ULLOA, Antonio de (ool-lo'-ah), Spanish naval
officer, born in Seville, 12 January, 1716; died on the island of Leon, 3 July,
1795. After studying at Seville, he entered the navy in 1733, and was ordered to
serve under the French astronomers who measured an arc of the meridian in South
America.
With Jorge Juan he sailed from Cadiz in May, 1735, and
arrived in Carthagena five months before the French scientists, but occupied his
time with botanical explorations. In the geodetic observations that followed,
which were begun in June, 1736, and continued four years, Ulloa was attached to
La Condamine, the head of the expedition. In September. 1740, in the midst of
their astronomical observations, the Spanish officers were called away by the
war with England, and received orders from the viceroy to put the port of Callao
in a state of defense, and in 1742 he organized the forces at Guayaquil against
the British under Admiral Anson which captured Payta.
For two years afterward he cruised, in command of a
frigate, along the coast of Chile and the island of Juan Fernandez, and on his
return to Quito in 1744, where he found only Godin, the other French
academicians having terminated their labors, he assisted in the observation of
the comet that appeared in that year. In October, 1745, he embarked at Callao on
a French merchant vessel which entered for repairs in the harbor of Louisburg,
Canada, decoyed by the French flag which the victorious English floated on the
fortress.
He was taken prisoner, and his valuable collections were
confiscated, but he was released in England and recovered his collections
through the intercession of the Royal society of London, which elected him an
associate member in 1746. On his return to Spain in July he was promoted
post-captain, and appointed superintendent of the mercury-mines at Jalapa in
Peru. He was made rear-admiral in 1760, and became in 1764 governor of
Louisiana, which had just been ceded by France; but, failing in his efforts to
win over the colonists to Spain, he was recalled in 1766.
In 1770 he was made lieutenant-general of the naval
forces, and in 1779 he was sent with a fleet to the Azores with sealed orders to
proceed to Havana and take command of an expedition for the reconquest of
Florida. But, being entirely occupied with scientific observations, Ulloa forgot
to open his sealed orders, and, returning to Cadiz after a cruise of two months,
was arrested and tried by a court-martial in December, 1780, which acquitted
him, but recommended him for land duty. During the remainder of his life Ulloa
was president of the naval school for cadets at Cadiz. Ulloa formed the first
cabinet of natural history in Spain and the first school of metallurgy,
established at Legovia a factory where cloth was made from American products,
and founded a naval observatory at San Fernando, and other useful institutions.
His works include "Relación historica del viaje a la
America Meridional y observaciones sobre Astronomia y Fisica" (5 vols., Madrid,
1748; with Jorge Juan, French translation, Paris, 1752 ; English, London, 1758)
; "Noticias Americanas; entretenimientos phisico-historicos, sobre la America
Meridional y la Septentrional" (1772); "Observaciones hechas en el oceano sobre
un eclipse de sol con el anillo refractario" (1779; French translation,
Toulouse, 1780); and " La Marina y fuerzas navales de la Europa y del Africa"
(1781). David Barry published in 1828 a secret memoir on South America which he
claimed to be Ulloa's work, but its authenticity is doubted.
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, by John Looby Copyright ©
2001 StanKlos.comTM
ULLOA, Antonio de (ool-lo'-ah), Spanish naval officer, born in Seville, 12 January, 1716; died on the island of Leon, 3 July, 1795. After studying at Seville, he entered the navy in 1733, and was ordered to serve under the French astronomers who measured an arc of the meridian in South America. With Jorge Juan he sailed from Cadiz in May, 1735, and arrived in Carthagena five months before the French scientists, but occupied his time with botanical explorations. In the geodetic observations that followed, which were begun in June, 1736, and continued four years, Ulloa was attached to La Condamine, the head of the expedition. In September. 1740, in the midst of their astronomical observations, the Spanish officers were called away by the war with England, and received orders from the viceroy to put the port of Callao in a state of defence, and in 1742 he organized the forces at Guayaquil against the British under Admiral Anson which captured Payta. For two years afterward he cruised, in command of a frigate, along the coast of Chili and the island of Juan Fernandez, and on his return to Quito in 1744, where he found only Godin, the other French academicians having terminated their labors, he assisted in the observation of the comet that appeared in that year. In October, 1745, he embarked at Callao on a French merchant vessel which entered for repairs in the harbor of Louis-burg, Canada, decoyed by the French flag which the victorious English floated on the fortress. He was taken prisoner, and his valuable collections were confiscated, but he was released in England and recovered his collections through the intercession of the Royal society of London, which elected him an associate member in 1746. On his return to Spain in July he was promoted post-captain, and appointed superintendent of the mercury-mines at Jalapa in Peru. He was made rear-admiral in 1760, and became in 1764 governor of Louisiana, which had just been ceded by France; but, failing in his efforts to win over the colonists to Spain, he was recalled in 1766. In 1770 he was made lieutenant-general of the naval forces, and in 1779 he was sent with a fleet to the Azores with sealed orders to proceed to Havana and take command of an expedition for the reconquest of Florida. But, being entirely occupied with scientific observations, Ulloa forgot to open his sealed orders, and, returning to Cadiz after a cruise of two months, was arrested and tried by a court-martial in December, 1780, which acquitted him, but recommended him for land duty. During the remainder of his life Ulloa was president of the naval school for cadets at Cadiz. Ulloa formed the first cabinet of natural history in Spain and the first school of metallurgy, established at Legovia a factory where cloth was made from American products, and founded a naval observatory at San Fernando, and other useful institutions. His works include "Relacion historica del viage a la America Meridional y observaciones sobre Astronomia y Fisica" (5 vols., Madrid, 1748; with Jorge Juan, French translation, Paris, 1752 ; English, London, 1758) ; "Noticias Americanas; entretenimientos phisico-historicos, sobre la America Meridional y la Septentrional" (1772); "Observaciones hechas en el oceano sobre un eclipse de sol con el anillo refractario" (1779; French translation, Toulouse, 1780); and " La Marina y fuerzas navales de la Europa y del Africa" (1781). David Barry published in 1828 a secret memoir on South America which he claimed to be Ulloa's work, but its authenticity is doubted.
