Historically mathematics was part of accounting, both in Ancient China where it was used to calculate taxes, in Egypt and in Babylon. People used numbers to kee

Historically mathematics was part of accounting, both in Ancient China where it was used to calculate taxes, in Egypt and in Babylon. People used numbers to keep count and then developed advanced techniques to do sophisticated things like split non-rectangular land in equal parts. It wasn't until much later, and only in a tiny part of the world called Europe, that physics started using mathematical models. Even at that time and in that place, there were other disciplines making advanced use of mathematics and leading to exciting discoveries, starting from Economics. Jacobi who developed utility theory around the time of Newton. Mathematics was never a subdiscipline of physics. Important parts of mathematics were developed to support models of physics, but claiming that the parts should not exist is intellectually dishonest.