Practical mathematics in a commercial metropolis: mathematical life in late 16th century Antwerp

Abstract

Ad Meskens describes the development and the ultimate demise of the practice of mathematics in 16th-century Antwerp. Against the background of the violent history of the Religious Wars the story of the practice of mathematics in Antwerp is told through the lives of two protagonists, Michiel Coignet and Peeter Heyns. The book touches on all aspects of practical mathematics from teaching and instrument making to the practice of building fortifications of the practice of navigation.