Producing Skills for an Empire: Theory and Practice in the Seville School of Gunners during the Golden Age of the Carrera de Indias

Through the case study of the school of gunners created in Seville in 1576, this article aims to shed light on the emergence of teaching practices which were not only essential to the development of seaborne empires but also allow us to question the relationship between technology and science in the late Renaissance. The Seville school of gunners was established by the Spanish monarchy in the last quarter of the sixteenth century with the purpose of providing the Carrera de Indias—the transatlantic fleets—with technicians capable of using cannons. Changing the scale of apprenticeship, every year this innovative institution trained dozens of seamen, soldiers, and craftsmen in the art of gunnery. Intertwining theoretical lessons and training sessions on a practice ground, the teaching program was completed by a formal "examination" of the candidates with questions. The study of this school, one of many which existed not only in the territories of the Spanish monarchy but also in England and in Venice, reveals how, at the dawn of the "scientific revolution," skills of technicians could progressively merge with more formalized knowledge.