Les correspondances féminines du XVIIIe siècle participent à l’émergence d’un nouveau public, dont le jugement a progressivement été pris en compte au siècle précédent : celui des « amateurs des Lettres ». Le rôle de ces personnes qui cultivent un goût pour les Lettres sans faire profession d’écrire ou de jouer est encore mal défini, à une époque où le champ de la discipline littéraire, qui s’est constitué de manière autonome au XVIIe siècle, subit des mutations. Longtemps cantonnées à des travaux voués à l’anonymat ou à une divulgation restreinte, les femmes font du commerce épistolaire un lieu d’accomplissement privilégié de leurs pratiques culturelles en amateur, apportant, sur le sujet, une connaissance essentielle. Notre étude porte sur les lettres de sept épistolières : Mmes de Graffigny, du Deffand, du Châtelet, d’Épinay, de Charrière, et Roland, ainsi que Mlles de Malboissière et de Lespinasse. Dans la première partie sont envisagées les conditions familiales et sociales qui favorisent l’accès des épistolières à une culture lettrée indispensable à l’éveil de leur goût pour les Lettres. La seconde partie s’intéresse à la formation et à l’appropriation de cette culture par les femmes, au gré d’expériences de lecture et de représentations de spectacles dramatiques. La recherche porte ensuite sur le rôle des épistolières dans la transmission des textes et dans l’arbitrage des Lettres, à telle enseigne qu’elles deviennent les agents privilégiés de la médiatisation de la vie littéraire de l’époque. La fréquentation quotidienne des œuvres, qu’elles soumettent à la critique, finit par nourrir leurs pratiques d’écriture. Celles-ci, étudiées dans la dernière partie, sont fondées sur des procédés d’emprunts aux textes littéraires, qui favorisent le badinage avec les interlocuteurs, et sur des initiatives nombreuses de composition qui repoussent les limites du genre épistolaire. Ainsi, en mettant à l’épreuve les goûts des épistolières à travers l’exercice de la plume, les correspondances s’avèrent une pierre de touche du savoir et de la sensibilité littéraire des femmes lettrées, un lieu d’expression et, dans la lignée des lettres de la marquise de Sévigné, l’espace par excellence de la création en amateur. / In the XVIIIth century, women’s correspondences were representative of the emergence of a new readership whose judgment had progressively been acknowledged in the course of the previous century ― namely, that of the “amateurs of Letters”. We still know comparatively little about the role played by these people ; they cultivated their taste for Letters without aspiring to earn a living by writing or acting, in an era when the discipline of Letters, that had emerged as such in the XVIIth century, was undergoing significant changes. Writings by women had long been restricted to anonymous or confidential publication; women now elected epistolary intercourse as a locus for their cultural practice as amateurs, thus contributing essential knowledge on the subject.This study focuses on the letters by eight letter writers : Mmes de Graffigny, du Deffand, du Châtelet, d’Épinay, de Charrière, Roland, and Mlles de Malboissière et de Lespinasse. The first section is about the aspects of these ladies’ domestic and social conditions which facilitated their access to the literary culture that was indispensable to the birth of their taste for Letters. The next section concentrates on these women’s apprenticeship and their appropriation of this culture according to their reading and theatre-going experiences. Our research then shifts to the women letter writers’ role in the transmission and the assessment of texts, to the point that they became the prime agents in the mediatization of the literary life of their time.Their daily acquaintance with the texts that they submitted to their critical judgment turned out to nourish their writing practices. These practices are placed under scrutiny in the last section of our study ; they rely on borrowing, which favours banter with one’s interlocutors, as well as on numerous composing initiatives, which push back the boundaries of the letter as a genre. By challenging their writers’ tastes through the practice of writing, the correspondences thus prove to be a cornerstone of the women of Letters’ literary knowledge and sensibility, a place for expression and, in line with the letters of the marquise de Sévigné, the space par excellence for an amateur’s creativity.

La scène littéraire du XVIIIe est marquée par la profusion des romans épistolaires et libertins, qui connaissent un succès parallèle. Par l'imposition d’une structure communicationnelle propre à la lettre, le roman épistolaire trouve la voie de l'introspection et de la subjectivité et prend progressivement certaines libertés quant à l'expression de la passion : si La Nouvelle Héloïse de Rousseau et les romans anglais tels que la Clarissa de Richardson contribuent à accroître la popularité du roman par lettres, la quantité de romans épistolaires qui délaissent le thème de l’amour « pur » au profit de la peinture des exploits libertins témoigne de l’engouement du public pour ce genre nouveau. Selon nous, le roman épistolaire libertin relève d’une association particulièrement probante qui fait de la lettre le support privilégié du récit des anti-héros libertins. La recherche d’authenticité en littérature fait de la lettre un moyen d’expression privilégié, tandis que les conséquences d’une société en pleine mutation occupent une place particulière dans les récits libertins. Nous postulons une adéquation spécifique entre les deux genres : la subjectivité de la lettre permet au libertin de s’exprimer sans filtre narratif, tandis que le principe libertin de l’intrusion d’un tiers (dans les aventures amoureuses ou, comme ici, dans la correspondance) permet au lecteur de prendre connaissance de l’ensemble des lettres. Notre étude portera sur trois romans qui associent de différentes façon la parole du libertin à l’épistolaire : Les Heureux Orphelins de Crébillon, Le Paysan et la Paysanne pervertis de Rétif de la Bretonne et Les Liaisons dangereuses, de Laclos. / The eighteen-century literary scene is marked by the success of both epistolary and libertine novels. Through the imposition of a communicational structure specific to letters, the epistolary novel deals with introspection and subjectivity, and takes some liberties with the expression of passion: if La Nouvelle Héloïse by Rousseau and English novels such as Clarissa by Richardson contribute to the popularity of the epistolary novels, the aforementioned novels forgo the theme of “pure” love in order to describe the exploits of libertine characters. This major shift provokes the interest of the public towards this new genre. We think that letters are used as the favoured medium for the libertine’s narrative because of the successful combination of epistolary and libertine novels. The search for authenticity in literature makes letters the most pertinent means of expression, while the consequences of a changing society occupy a particular place in libertine novels. We suggest a specific compatibility between the two genres: the subjectivity that is inherent in letters allows the libertine character to express himself without any apparent narrative filter, and the libertine’s principle of intrusion allows the reader to access all the letters. The novels in our study (Les Heureux Orphelins by Crébillon, Le Paysan et la Paysanne pervertis by Rétif de la Bretonne et Les Liaisons dangereuses by Laclos) each associate the libertine’s speech and epistolarity in a different way.

La faïence est une céramique caractérisée par son revêtement vitreux blanc opaque, grâce à l’adjonction d’oxyde d’étain ; sur ce fond on peut apposer les décors polychromes. Résultant d’une technologie abbaside (VIIIe siècle), elle connait son apogée en France au XVIIIe siècle. Les précédentes études menées sur la faïence moderne ont mis en évidence la nécessité de procéder à une approche pluridisciplinaire pour appréhender ce matériau complexe, ses techniques de fabrication, et cerner les enjeux de sa production. Ce travail de recherche s’inscrit dans la continuité pour s’élargir aux productions faïencières du Sud Ouest de la France quelques peu délaissées du point de vue archéométrique. La manufacture Babut, première faïencerie établie à Bergerac, fut sélectionnée dans ce but. La production perdure sur cinquante ans environ, jusqu’à la Révolution Française.En prenant en considération ces observations, cette thèse a permis tout d’abord d’identifier la production du point de vue des matériaux et des techniques, de mettre en place un référentiel géochimique, ainsi qu’établir un corpus stylistique de base pour cette manufacture. Ensuite l’étude a porté sur l’évaluation du potentiel de méthodes d’analyses non destructives pour l’attribution de provenance directe à partir de la surface des glaçures. Et enfin ce travail a permis d’examiner la place de la faïence bergeracoise et de sa production au sein du tissu industriel régional, et les replacer dans le contexte plus général de la production faïencière française à l’aube de la Révolution industrielle. / Faiences are ceramics defined by a white and opaque glaze, due to the addition of tin oxide decorated or not. This technology appeared during the Abbasid period (VIIIth) and was imported in France around the XIIIth century; they peaked in the XVIIIth century. The previous studies realized on the modern faïences, underline the importance of proceeding to a pluridisciplinarity approach to comprehend this complex material, in the frame of a more global research program on faiences, this work focuses on the production of the South West of France, which have only received limited archaeometrics studies over the last years. The manufacture selected is the fabric of Jean Babut established in the city of Bergerac. The production lasted fifty years until the French Revolution. By analysing all the different results, this work establishes the possibility to proceed to the identification of the production site from technical and material standpoints, to establish a reference group based on the chemical analysis and to design a stylistic reference corpus. A non-destructive methodological approach was developed to evaluate the potential of non-destructive methods to reattribute faiences to a center of production. In addition, this work also reestablishes the production of faiences in the local industrial context and in the french production before the Industrial Revolution.

Mon travail porte sur les sociétés minières du centre-nord de la Nouvelle-Espagne au XVIIIè siècle, notamment à Zacatecas, Fresnillo et Sombrerete. Dans ce cadre précis, je m'intéresse aux « plèbes urbaines », groupe hétérogène dans lequel se retrouvent les castas mais aussi la foule des Indiens ladinos et des Espagnols déclassés qui adoptent des comportements similaires ou qui s'accrochent désespérément à leur « hispanité ». Cette définition mène en premier lieu à l'analyse de la stratification sociale d'un point de vue socio-économique. Toutefois, le comportement de crispation des « petits-blancs » conduit à ne pas évacuer totalement la prégnance d'une stratification socio-raciale dans les mentalités et les représentations. Une telle approche induit non seulement un questionnement sur la constitution de la société coloniale mais introduit aussi la notion du discours sur autrui, autant de problèmes qu'il faut résoudre en confrontant la réalité coloniale, le vécu des « plèbes urbaines » et le discours dont elles font l'objet. C'est donc tout un jeu de va-et-vient entre ces pôles qui doit révéler une société infiniment complexe et mouvante dans laquelle stratifications concrète et mentale se combinent et produisent une véritable mosaïque sociale. / My current doctoral research is about the mining societies in Northern and Central New Spain during the 18th century, and especially the region of Zacatecas, Fresnillo and Sombrerete. Within this particular context, I centred my study on the lower classes, a rather heterogeneous social group composed of castas, ladinos and poor Spaniards. This definition leads the reflection towards the analysis of the social stratification from a socio-economical perspective. However, the case of the poor Spaniards, their behaviour and the way they tend to reject the mestizos and other castas (as potential spouses for instance), stressing on their ties to the more powerful group of the Creoles in the process, indicates that the socio-racial component of the social stratification should not be ignored, at least as far as individual and collective mentalities are concerned. This point of view orientates a questioning about the formation of the colonial society and introduces the notion of the perception of one another as well. The confrontation between the colonial reality and the lower classes‟ perception can be a way of answering this interrogation. The result of this work is the depiction of an extremely complex and fluid society in which several levels of stratification (real / perceived) add up to produce a social mosaic. / El tema de mi investigación doctoral actual trata de las sociedades mineras en el Centro Norte de la Nueva España a lo largo del siglo XVIII, más precisamente en la región de Zacatecas, Fresnillo y Sombrerete. En este contexto, el estudio sigue las “plebes urbanas”, un grupo social muy heterogéneo que integra a las castas pero también a los indios ladinos y a la muchedumbre de los criollos pobres, cuyos comportamientos son muy parecidos a los de las castas, o, al contrario, cuya esperanza es demostrar su legítima pertenencia al grupo superior de los Españoles. Este tipo de definición conduce naturalmente a analizar la cuestión de la estratificación social desde una perspectiva esencialmente socio-económica. Sin embargo, el fenómeno de crispación social que se puede observar entre los criollos pobres que rechazan a las castas (sobre todo al momento de eligir una pareja) conduce también a considerar la importancia de las consideraciones de natura socio-racial en las mentalidades y los discursos del siglo XVIII novohispano. Por estas razones, la problemática de mi trabajo es dual: no sólo se interesa a la formación y la evolución de la sociedad colonial pero no olvida los discursos y las percepciones. Por eso elegí un proceso de confrontación entre la realidad colonial reconstituida gracias a la documentación y los discursos elaborados por y sobre las plebes urbanas. Resulta de este esfuerzo la reconstitución de una sociedad sumamente compleja y fluida en la cual diferentes niveles (concreto / mental) de estratificación se añaden para producir una mosaica social.

Cette thèse a pour ambition de contribuer à la reconstitution de la géographie religieuse et de l'histoire des XVIIe et XVIIIe provinces de Haute-Égypte, provinces communément désignées par l'appellation « nome cynopolite » à partir de l'époque ptolémaïque. Fondée sur une analyse diachronique des sources épigraphiques égyptiennes issues des domaines sacré et profane, son principal objectif est de déterminer à quel moment ces deux provinces ont fusionné, mais aussi d'appréhender le rôle joué par Hardaï, la Cynopolis des Grecs, dans cette modification territoriale. L'examen de la toponymie et des traditions cultuelles locales associé à une étude prosopographique des individus ayant œuvré dans les XVIIe et XVIIIe provinces de Haute-Égypte permettent ainsi d'éclaircir ces faits afin de mieux retracer l'histoire mouvementée de cette région. / This thesis aims to contribute to the reconstruction of the sacred geography and history of the XVIIth and XVIIIth provinces of Upper Egypt commonly referred to as « Cynopolite nome » from the Ptolemaic period. Based on a diachronic analysis of the Egyptian epigraphic sources from the sacred and profane realms, its main purpose is to determine when these two provinces have merged but also to understand the role played by Hardaï, the Greek Cynopolis, in this territorial change. The examination of toponymy and local religious traditions together with a prosopographical study of individual office-holders in the XVIIth and XVIIIth provinces of Upper Egypt enable us to clarify these facts in order to better trace the eventful history of this region.

Les études sur la réception des Liaisons dangereuses de Laclos sont abondantes, mais elles portent le plus souvent sur un petit nombre d’œuvres et très peu examinent l’ensemble des diverses écritures créées sous l’influence de Laclos et de son roman. Circonscrite aux imitations romanesques et dramatiques, ainsi qu’aux adaptations théâtrales et cinématographiques, cette thèse analyse une quarantaine de romans, une vingtaine d’œuvres théâtrales et neufs films, tous inspirés à des degrés divers du roman de Laclos. Cette étude a visé moins à démontrer son statut de chef-d’œuvre qu’à analyser sa valeur et son rayonnement au travers des œuvres considérées, à examiner leur rapport et à en discerner la manière particulière dont elles le perçoivent. L’exemple de Laclos démontre qu’un auteur est tributaire de la tradition littéraire. Il a su parfaitement associer les apports littéraires de son temps et l’héritage de l’époque précédente auquel son roman fait écho par des références et des allusions implicites ou explicites. À son tour, Laclos joue le rôle de référent dans les œuvres postérieures. Son roman est sans doute l’une des rares œuvres littéraires dont la réception riche et de longue date permet d’appréhender l’évolution selon l’époque et selon le genre. Les auteurs s’inspirent de son roman et leurs œuvres constituent un espace d’interprétation et de recréation alors que Laclos leur doit la reconnaissance de son œuvre. Le deuxième volume comprend entre autres la liste des représentations des Liaisons dangereuses et de Quartett de Heiner Müller et les extraits des critiques journalistiques, la transcription du film de Charles Brabant et la traduction du film coréen Scandale. / Studies on the reception of Laclos’ novel “Dangerous Liaisons” are numerous but they mostly focus on a small number of works and very few have a look at all the writings created under the influence of Laclos and his novel. Limited to romantic and dramatic imitations as well as to film and theatrical adaptations, this thesis analyses around forty novels, twenty plays and nine films all more or less inspired by Laclos’ novel. The first aim of this study is not to demonstrate its masterpiece status but to analyze its value and its influence through those adaptations, to examine their connections and to discern the peculiar way they comprehend it. The example of Laclos demonstrates that an author depends on the literary tradition. He was able to perfectly combine the contributions of his days and the legacy of the previous times to which his novel echoes through references and explicit or implicit allusions. In his turn, Laclos plays the role of referent in the works that came after him. His novel is probably one of the very few literary works the rich and long-time reception of which allows comprehending the evolution according to the time and the genre. Authors draw their inspiration from his novel and their works constitute an area of interpretation and new creation while Laclos owes them the recognition of his work. The second volume includes, among other things, the list of the performances of the Liaisons Dangereuses and of Quartett by Heiner Müller as well as excerpts of journalistic critics, the transcription of Charles Brabant’s film and the translation of the South Korean film Untold scandal.

Dentre as práticas mágicas realizadas pelos africanos e crioulos no Império Português, tiveram destaque os amuletos em formato de bolsinha contendo ingredientes que protegiam contra armas e doenças. Sua popularidade atiçou os inquisidores do Santo Oficio que a denominou bolsa de mandinga, e os confeccionadores de mandingueiros, e interpretaram a prática como uma manifestação de feitiçaria. Essa pesquisa propõe uma análise das bolsas de mandinga utilizadas nas sociedades atlânticas como resultado da recriação de tradições africanas no mundo do cativeiro e da circulação de saberes entre africanos de diferentes origens, a partir de um fundamento da cultura banto associada ao cristianismo. / Among the magical practices done by Africans and Creoles in the Portuguese Empire, we can point out charms in shape of small bags containing specific ingredients that protected against harm made by guns and illness. Their popularity intrigued the Inquisition and their agents had called them bolsa de mandinga, and the people who made them mandingueiros, interpreting those practices as manifestations of sorcery. This research tries to analyze the bolsas de mandinga utilized in the Atlantic societies as a result of the recreation of African traditions in the world of slavery and circulation of knowledge related to Africans from different origins, based in a Bantu culture associated with Christianity.

Cette recherche doctorale s'intéresse à la culture matérielle maritime et plus particulièrement à un mobilier de bord, à usage individuel et collectif, dont les modalités d’acquisition restent très généralement marginales. Pour cela, la céramique, produite entre le XVe et le XVIIIe siècle provenant de dépotoir portuaire et d'épave répartis majoritairement sur le littoral nord-méditerranéen français, constitue notre support d’analyse. Considérée comme un artéfact majeur des contextes archéologiques, la céramique permet d'appréhender les échanges maritimes, la composition du vaisselier et une part de l'instrumentum de bord. L'approche diachronique de cette recherche donne lieu à une cartographie exhaustive de la répartition des épaves et des dépotoirs portuaires nord-méditerranéens afin de caractériser les aires de diffusion des céramiques rencontrées. Ces dernières, une fois analysées d’après une méthodologie adaptée aux problématiques de la recherche et confrontée aux sources écrites, nous fournissent de précieuses informations sur les relations et les usages en Méditerranée occidentale, selon les séquences chronologiques considérées et permettent de porter un autre regard sur des instants du quotidien des gens de mer. / Our doctoral research deals with maritime material culture and especially in onboard furniture, used in a personal and collective way, whose modalities of acquisitions are usually marginal. Our analysis support is composed of ceramics produced between the XVth and the XVIIIth century coming from harbour dumpsite and shipwreck generally located on the north mediterranean French coast. Think as one major archaeological artéfact, ceramic may help to understand maritime exchanges, dishes and one part of the onboard instrumentum. The diachronic approach of this research leads to a repartition map of harbour dumpsite and shipwreck in north Mediterranean French coast. Our study shed light on the areas of ceramics distribution. We analyzed ceramics according to an adapted issue methodology and confronted with written sources. The results gives us valuable information on relations and uses in western Mediterranean, according to the sample chronology considered and allow us to better understand the everyday life seafarers.

Este trabalho tem por fim construir uma história, fundamentalmente com base em fontes primárias, da formação dos engenheiros militares na primeira metade do século XVIII em Portugal e no Brasil, no que se refere principalmente aos conteúdos estudados, com destaque para a álgebra. O tema escolhido deriva do trabalho de iniciação científica que posteriormente teve continuidade na dissertação de mestrado intitulada: A Obra Lógica Racional, Geométrica e Analítica (1744) de Manoel de Azevedo Fortes (1660-1749): um estudo das possíveis contribuições para o desenvolvimento educacional luso-brasileiro, orientada pelo professor Sérgio Roberto Nobre e defendida em 2003, no Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, da UNESP, campus de Rio Claro. Para a presente investigação, foi fundamental a busca em arquivos, indícios e pormenores das fontes. Por isso, todo esse estudo tem como fundamento essa proximidade com as fontes, documentos manuscritos da administração pública da coroa portuguesa e textos caracterizados como notas de aula ou teóricos, ou seja, produção de alunos e professores, impressos ou manuscritos. O contato com as fontes permitiu contribuir para perspectivar o campo econômico, político e cultural do reino português, no tempo estabelecido, nomeadamente no reinado de D. João V. Nesse contexto, estudou-se a atividade profissional de engenheiro militar, as condições de acesso à profissão e o seu enquadramento institucional, as aspirações de ascensão social e as relações com os superiores hierárquicos. Pode-se entender melhor as circunstâncias da formação do engenheiro militar, estudando o quadro dos alunos que frequentaram a Academia Militar de Lisboa e dos professores dessa instituição. Assim, foi possível perspectivar como se teriam dado as Aulas de formação dos engenheiros militares nas capitanias brasileiras, identificando-se os professores e alunos da época. Por fim, apresentam-se alguns textos que serviram à formação dos engenheiros militares desse tempo, especialmente à formação matemática, procurando entender como foram produzidos, as circunstâncias dos seus usos e os conteúdos neles veiculados. / This paper studies the historical construction, based on primary sources, of military engineers background in the first half of XVIIIth century in Portugal and in Brazil, according to the studied contents, focusing on algebra. The chosen subject is based on a scientific work that became a dissertation named as: A Obra: Lógica, Racional, Geométrica e Analítica (1744) of Manoel Fortes de Azevedo (1660-1749): a study of possible contributions for the education development between Portugal and Brazil, advised by professor Sergio Roberto Nobre and presented in 2003, at the Geoscience and Exact Sciences Institut, of UNESP, in Rio Claro. The search in files and details of sources were essential for this research. Therefore, this study looked for those sources, manuscripts of the public administration from portuguese crown as well as notes of lesson or theoretical documents, which mean, the students and professors production, printed papers or manuscripts. The contact with the sources allowed predicting the economic, political and cultural fields from the portuguese kingdom, in that period, during D. João V reign. In this context, military engineer professional activity, conditions of access to the profession and their institutional adequation, social ascension aspiration and their relationship with hierarchic superiors were studied. It was possible to better understand the military engineer backgraund, studying the students and professors who made part of Lisbon Military Academy. So, it was possible to predict how they would have taught the Lessons for the military engineer background in the Brazilian captainships, in order to identify the professors as well as the students who attended the classes. Finally, some texts that were used to prepare the military engineers of that time are presented, mainly the mathematical background, looking for understanding how the circumstances of their uses and their contents were produced.

Este trabalho tem por fim construir uma história, fundamentalmente com base em fontes primárias, da formação dos engenheiros militares na primeira metade do século XVIII em Portugal e no Brasil, no que se refere principalmente aos conteúdos estudados, com destaque para a álgebra. O tema escolhido deriva do trabalho de iniciação científica que posteriormente teve continuidade na dissertação de mestrado intitulada: A Obra Lógica Racional, Geométrica e Analítica (1744) de Manoel de Azevedo Fortes (1660-1749): um estudo das possíveis contribuições para o desenvolvimento educacional luso-brasileiro, orientada pelo professor Sérgio Roberto Nobre e defendida em 2003, no Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, da UNESP, campus de Rio Claro. Para a presente investigação, foi fundamental a busca em arquivos, indícios e pormenores das fontes. Por isso, todo esse estudo tem como fundamento essa proximidade com as fontes, documentos manuscritos da administração pública da coroa portuguesa e textos caracterizados como notas de aula ou teóricos, ou seja, produção de alunos e professores, impressos ou manuscritos. O contato com as fontes permitiu contribuir para perspectivar o campo econômico, político e cultural do reino português, no tempo estabelecido, nomeadamente no reinado de D. João V. Nesse contexto, estudou-se a atividade profissional de engenheiro militar, as condições de acesso à profissão e o seu enquadramento institucional, as aspirações de ascensão social e as relações com os superiores hierárquicos. Pode-se entender melhor as circunstâncias da formação do engenheiro militar, estudando o quadro dos alunos que frequentaram a Academia Militar de Lisboa e dos professores dessa instituição. Assim, foi possível perspectivar como se teriam dado as Aulas de formação dos engenheiros militares nas capitanias brasileiras, identificando-se os professores e alunos da época. Por fim, apresentam-se alguns textos que serviram à formação dos engenheiros militares desse tempo, especialmente à formação matemática, procurando entender como foram produzidos, as circunstâncias dos seus usos e os conteúdos neles veiculados. / This paper studies the historical construction, based on primary sources, of military engineers background in the first half of XVIIIth century in Portugal and in Brazil, according to the studied contents, focusing on algebra. The chosen subject is based on a scientific work that became a dissertation named as: A Obra: Lógica, Racional, Geométrica e Analítica (1744) of Manoel Fortes de Azevedo (1660-1749): a study of possible contributions for the education development between Portugal and Brazil, advised by professor Sergio Roberto Nobre and presented in 2003, at the Geoscience and Exact Sciences Institut, of UNESP, in Rio Claro. The search in files and details of sources were essential for this research. Therefore, this study looked for those sources, manuscripts of the public administration from portuguese crown as well as notes of lesson or theoretical documents, which mean, the students and professors production, printed papers or manuscripts. The contact with the sources allowed predicting the economic, political and cultural fields from the portuguese kingdom, in that period, during D. João V reign. In this context, military engineer professional activity, conditions of access to the profession and their institutional adequation, social ascension aspiration and their relationship with hierarchic superiors were studied. It was possible to better understand the military engineer backgraund, studying the students and professors who made part of Lisbon Military Academy. So, it was possible to predict how they would have taught the Lessons for the military engineer background in the Brazilian captainships, in order to identify the professors as well as the students who attended the classes. Finally, some texts that were used to prepare the military engineers of that time are presented, mainly the mathematical background, looking for understanding how the circumstances of their uses and their contents were produced.