Empires, colonialism and post-colonialism

Empires, colonialism and post-colonialism promotes scientific dialogue on the historical trajectories of empires, in different chronological periods and geographical areas. Promoting comparative approaches and adopting methodologies derived from transnational and global history, the distinct ‘Portuguese empires’ in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania are the central focus of this field of research.

Attention is paid to imperial and colonial dynamics, i.e., both on the policies, representations, and institutions that governed and legitimised the imperial structure, particularly in its relationship with other formations (imperial or otherwise), and on policies directed at specific territories and populations, which aimed to stimulate colonisation and organise the social, political, cultural, religious, and economic life of local populations and colonisers. Approaches connecting these different dimensions as well as the articulation of analytical scales are promoted. Among the set of historiographical objects addressed in this field of research are religious and missionary dynamics in empires, the history of colonial “politics of difference”, the history of labour and the economy, and the question of property and land in imperial contexts.

Given the important consequences of colonial experiences, this research field will promote the historical understanding of the societies that emerged from the different processes of imperial disintegration, including the dynamics that marked post-imperial societies, as well as those that shaped the newly independent countries. In this context, the processes of imperial expansion and contraction originating in Europe and their impact on formerly colonised territories, including the independent nations in America, Asia and Africa that were part of the Portuguese empire, are a fundamental stream of research.

Coordination: José Pedro Monteiro | ze.pedro.monteiro@gmail.com