Paper short abstract:

We intend to describe the visual experience during one of the most influential single event of Early Modern Mediterranean. Confronting the graphic and textual first-hand accounts, we propose a (re) construction of the image of the Alcácer Quibir battlefield as perceived by eyewitnesses.

Paper long abstract:

There is plenty of historiography dealing with almost every aspect of the battle of Alcácer Quibir: political and military situation of North Africa and Iberian Peninsula, the personal character of the rulers involved such as Abd al-Malik and D. Sebastião. Many historians have also dealt with the most arid tactical data - the "rough details of war", as described by Renee Quatrefages - like the actual construction of battle formations.

The actual experience of soldiers has been left aside. Understandably, as it is hard to confront the veterans directly… nevertheless, we must reflect on the impact - visual impact - that the actual battle formations had upon the soldiers. This is a most important feature in war, especially as sixteenth century warfare was a true massive choreography made both to intimidate opponents, as well as to boost confidence on the friendly side.

We propose to understand the visual experience of soldiers that fought in the most influential single event of Early Modern Mediterranean. Confronting the graphic and textual testimonies of the veterans - like Miguel Leitão de Andrada, on the Christian side, and Joseph Valencia, on the opposite place, who stood almost face-to-face - we propose a (re) construction of the image of Alcácer Quibir battlefield for the most dramatic and crucial moments of this battle, as perceived by eyewitness.

This paper is part of FCT financed project, “Re Militari: From Military literature to the battle field imagery in the Portuguese Space 1521-1621" (PTDC/ ART-HIS/32459/2017).

Paper short abstract:

László Magyar, known as "Enganna Como" among the Africans, was born in Hungary and died in Angola. His journeys from the Zambezi River to Cunene and his works in the fields of geography, ethnography and cartography - including important observations on hydrography -, have great scientific value.

Paper long abstract:

László Magyar, known as "Enganna Como" among the Africans, was born in Hungary and died in Angola. Both his journeys from the Zambezi River to Cunene and his works in the fields of geography, ethnography and cartography - including important observations on hydrography -, have great scientific value. In the bicentenary of his birth, Hungary, in a very symbolic form, returns his legacy to Angola, with the translation of his texts into Portuguese and a parallel exhibition on his life and work. In Portugal (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino) and Angola (Luanda, Benguela, Lubango) the Commission for the Commemoration of the Bicentenary of László Magyar aims at reassessing his importance and role between Livingston and Silva Porto, as a non-colonial European adventurer and self-made-explorer of the inner parts Africa.

Paper short abstract:

Once we lived in Mozambique. How did it happen? How were people selected to live overseas? And how was life there? My paper deals not only with memories but raises many questions on the life in the Portuguese colonial era.

Paper long abstract:

I would like to submit a paper about some aspects of daily life in Mozambique lived during the sixties and seventies, covering experiences gained not only in the Niassa province in the North but also in Lourenço Marques/Maputo in the South.

The proposed lecture/record is based on personal memories, experiences, and subsequent research.

It showcases experiences as seen by the eyes of a 12-year-old girl who leaves for Mozambique with her mother and three siblings. It explores the experiences gained during a trip to Nacala, in first class, followed by a challenging train trip, and travel aboard an old van, finalising in a remote town, Vila Cabral/Lichinga where the mother, Maria Leonor Vieira Paixão, was stationed as a music and choral singing teacher.

The narrative starts with a wish by the author's mother, who at the time was already in advanced stages of Alzheimer's, who wanted to recall the happiest times of her life and her deep attachment to the country she loved the most. Mozambique.

The request by the author's mother, led to these memories being published in a book (Bertrand Editora), thus perpetuating a kind of common legacy for the future. A legacy that the publishing industry ignored for many years, motivating the author, a dedicated historian, to search further the "Why's", "How's" "Where's" and "When's" of a past Portuguese colonial era.

Paper short abstract:

The aim of this article is to map the Portuguese colonial presence on the island of Zanzibar from the 16th century to the ascendancy of the European empires in the partition of Africa in the 19th century, in a reflection that is drawn in the light of postcolonial studies.

Paper long abstract:

The aims of this article are twofold: to chart the Portuguese colonial presence in Zanzibar from the 16th century on and to map the growing influence of the European empires in the 19th century 'Scramble for Africa'. In the 16th century Zanzibar became the gateway to the Portuguese Indian Ocean when a trading post and a mission were established there. It was later conquered by the Sultanate of Oman in 1698, two hundred years after Vasco da Gama's arrival, but then during the 19th century it became an important stage for European imperial hegemony in a continent heavily affected by the experience of colonial domination. While the interweaving of the western powers' geopolitical and commercial interests was centred on Africa, Zanzibar became the biggest slave entrepôt in East Africa, a fact that led to the development of transnational lines of force that are now analysed in the light of postcolonial studies.

Paper short abstract:

I will frame discoursive modalities within the context of coeval textual and visual representations in extra-European spaces: decoding how narrative modalities depicted military events, and their actors, in a historical context, and the way the concepts of War and Peace were thus revisited.

Paper long abstract:

My paper is part of FCT financed project - Re Militari: From Military literature to the battle field imagery in the Portuguese Space 1521-1621 (PTDC/ ART-HIS/32459/2017). I start by perceiving how the writing of the war was shaped, in late 16th century Portugal, within the context of an imperial imaginary. Michel Foucault's notion of Other and Paul Ricoeur's concept of Memory allow me to understand then how discoursive modalities which were conceived at the time. These I frame within the context of coeval historiographical discourse, e.g., textual and visual representations of new experiences, namely military disputes, in extra-European spaces. Besides decoding how narrative modalities depicted military events, and their actors, in a historical context, I ponder on the way the concepts of War and Peace were revisited in different texts, namely in Jorge de Henin's memorial - Descripción de los reinos de marruecos (1603-1613), which stands at the core of my whole analysis.

Paper short abstract:

In 1471 the Portuguese reach Elmina (in today Ghana) or Sao Jorge da Mina and built a fort there in 1482. Were they the first Europeans in Elmina? Were they the first "foreigners"? What about trade connections of the indigenous people? These questions of "precolonial" history will be discussed.

Paper long abstract:

In the European way of describing history, it looks as if the Europeans were the first to reach the Pacific Ocean, the first who reached America and so on. Concerning Africa, it is the "first" circumnavigation of Africa which is seen as the first big achievement of the Portuguese discoveries. On the other hand, it is clear that the Pacific Ocean was "full of ships" already in the 15th century before the Portuguese ships reached the "Cabo da Boa Esperança", ships of Chinese, Indian, Arabic, and other origins. Similarly, maybe the ancient Egyptians and/or the Phoenicians circumnavigated Africa.

In the focus of this paper, an easier question will be discussed, which, however, is very much debated. In 1471, the Portuguese reached Elmina (or Almina?) in today Ghana. This soon became the most important fort and port along the African coast which served the Portuguese as a stepping stone on the long way to India.

However, who lived there until 1471 and also after 1471? How were the trade relations along this coast between the Muslim North of Africa and the regions further south? Where does the name Elmina come from? Were there earlier European ships from Italy (Venezia), from France or from other countries? How should this part of early African history be written? What does colonial and precolonial mean here? I shall try to answer some of these questions, at least partially.

Paper short abstract:

This research discusses the approximation between Brazil and the African continent, a South-South cooperation, throughout the history. It shows the scientific-technical and informative period, as a globalization facilitatoer, leading to a strengthening of economics and geopolitics relations between them.

Paper long abstract:

This research aims to discuss the approximation between periphery and semi-peripheral countries, known as South-South cooperation, making a mention to "North-South" cooperation. Emphasizing the approximation attempts between Brasil and the African continent since colonial period, going through militarism and reaching the republican period, always considering the historical context. Presenting a link between the current period, called scientific-technical and informative, as a globalization faciliter, leading to a strengthening of the economics and geopolitics relations experienced in the last decade. Mentioning the growing number of Brazilian companies and technical-cooperation projects In African continent and alluding to the agreement signed with Ethiopia.

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