Geoscience Reference
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Fig. 25
Louis Godin painted by Jeaurat. He caresses a terrestrial globe at the equator of South
America, sensing its shape with his finger tips. © Observatoire de Paris
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Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre Giral (1716-1795)
Ulloa became a sailor at the age of 14 and eventually rose to the rank of admiral in the
Spanish navy. He volunteered for the Peru expedition after someone else dropped out and
an opportunity opened. While on the expedition, he was recalled to naval duty for four
years to fight against England and rejoined the expedition as it ended, with only Godin left
to complete some of its non-geodetic aims. Separate from the expedition, he discovered the
metal platinum by separating it from gold and silver. On his return from the Peruvian
expedition in 1745 he was captured by the British navy and was imprisoned, first in
Louisburg, Canada, and then in England. He seems to have been at liberty within London
and was made an associate of the Royal Society, which helped him return to Spain where
he was assigned various duties for the Spanish Navy. He was also governor of Spanish
Louisiana but was expeled by the French colonists, then assigned to a voyage to the Azores
with sealed orders to proceed to Havana and lead a campaign intended to recapture Florida
for Spain. Preoccupied with scientific observations, he forgot to open his sealed orders and
returned to Cadiz after a cruise of two months. Presumably surprised to see him back so
soon, the authorities arrested and tried him. He was acquitted but assigned to land duty in
charge of a military academy. Ulloa established the observatory at Cadiz, and his name is
remembered as a meteorological phenomenon called Ulloa's Halo, a ring of light around
the antisolar point seen in mountain mist.
King Louis XV wrote to his “dear uncle” on April 6, 1734 that there was no
reason for the Spanish to be suspicious of French motives because his mapmakers
