Over the past decade, sociopolitical movements like Black Lives Matter have gained international recognition, bringing systemic racism fostered through colonialism and imperialism to the forefront....Show moreOver the past decade, sociopolitical movements like Black Lives Matter have gained international recognition, bringing systemic racism fostered through colonialism and imperialism to the forefront. These discussions have prompted national discourse in many Western countries, leading to a critical reevaluation of historical narratives and the representation of colonial legacies in various cultural institutions, including museums. Although the decolonization process within museums is still in its early stages, countries such as Portugal and Spain have been criticized for being particularly uncooperative. This thesis scrutinized the current state of several museums in Portugal, including the Navy Museum and the Museum of the Orient in Lisbon, the World of Discoveries digital exhibit in Porto, and the Slave Market Museum in Lagos. These institutions represent the maritime heritage of the Age of Exploration, an integral aspect of Portugal’s collective memory and national identity. The analysis was informed by a literature review of the formation of the Portuguese overseas empire, postcolonial theory, and decolonization practices within museology. Additionally, museum visits provided significant first-hand observations, and extensive engagement with museum archival data through their respective websites offered further insights. The findings revealed that the predominant narrative of these museums centered around the glorification of the Portuguese maritime legacy, portraying it more as an adventure and less as a history of exploitation and oppression. Furthermore, this study compared Portuguese museums to those in other European nations with colonial empires, highlighting differences in how colonial histories are presented. This comparison underscores the need for a more nuanced and inclusive representation of maritime heritage in Portugal, contributing to a broader understanding of the impact of decolonial perspectives and practices on contemporary society.Show less
Why do Member States, that are similar in many aspects, still have varying levels of compliance? As current compliance theories are unable to answer this question a new theory has been developed...Show moreWhy do Member States, that are similar in many aspects, still have varying levels of compliance? As current compliance theories are unable to answer this question a new theory has been developed that adds an historical aspect into compliance research: the challenging attitude approach. This theory proposes that earlier adopted attitudes by Member States, that range from agreeable to challenging, which they display before, during and after infringement proceedings, affect future compliance. Member States initially base these attitudes on a normative assumption about the importance of compliance to a policy field. For this research the Netherlands has been compared to Belgium, which yearly faces twice the amount of infringement proceedings as the Netherlands. Portugal has been to Spain, which faces from 10% more to twice the amount of infringement proceedings as Portugal. Their portrayed attitudes in regards to the Dangerous Substances Directive and the Birds Directive have been studied. This research showed, however, that Belgium did not adopt a challenging attitude more often than the Netherlands. Spain did adopt a challenging attitude more often than Portugal. There was also great variation displayed by Member States in adopted attitude per directive. However, there appears to be a correlation between adopted attitude and future compliance. More research is needed to make substantial claims about the challenging attitude approach.Show less
Casa do Fernandez or Ilojo Bar was a National Monument in the heart of Lagos Island, Nigeria. It was built by the returnees who came back from Brazil to Africa, the homeland that the Transatlantic...Show moreCasa do Fernandez or Ilojo Bar was a National Monument in the heart of Lagos Island, Nigeria. It was built by the returnees who came back from Brazil to Africa, the homeland that the Transatlantic Slave Trade had taken their forefathers away from. Although it was a National Monument and should have been protected under Nigerian heritage law, it was illegally demolished on 11 September 2016. How could this prime example of Brazilian-style architecture have been destroyed in broad daylight? This thesis uses Casa do Fernandez as a case study to explore the challenges of preserving built heritage in Nigeria. In the process, it tries to figure out why there is so little knowledge about the history of a building declared a National Monument over sixty years ago. The story of the monument turns out to be different than always assumed. After researching the building’s history, the focus is turned to heritage: the way the present interacts with the past. Could the way Casa do Fernandez has been defined as heritage have something to do with its sad end? The thesis argues that the rigid definition of Casa do Fernandez as strictly Afro-Brazilian heritage detached the site of its cultural meaning to other groups in society and sowed the seeds of the eventual demise of the National Monument. It is a plea for a wider and more inclusive interpretation of this heritage-site in particular and of heritage in general.Show less
Een kort samenvattend overzicht van de gebeurtenissen rondom de christenvervolging op Japan in de 17e eeuw. Hierbij is er gekeken naar de aanleidingen die er voor hebben gezorgd dat de Portugezen...Show moreEen kort samenvattend overzicht van de gebeurtenissen rondom de christenvervolging op Japan in de 17e eeuw. Hierbij is er gekeken naar de aanleidingen die er voor hebben gezorgd dat de Portugezen niet meer welkom waren op Japan wegens de geloofsverspreiding en hoe het de Nederlanders gelukt is om deze handelspositie met Japan van de Portugezen over te nemen met betrekking tot religieuze verschillen.Show less
China and the European Union have, for a long time, sustained a cooperative, yet at the same time, antagonistic relationship. The surge in Chinese FDI in Europe, after the global financial crisis,...Show moreChina and the European Union have, for a long time, sustained a cooperative, yet at the same time, antagonistic relationship. The surge in Chinese FDI in Europe, after the global financial crisis, exacerbated unfavorable opinions of China, due to skepticism surrounding the intentions behind this investment increase. There is in place the belief that Chinese investment is negatively contributing to EU cohesiveness, by putting member states against each other to curry for China’s favour and secure investments, thus putting at risk the European order. The period post-2008 financial crisis saw Portugal becoming an important recipient of Chinese FDI, and as such, this paper analyzes the impact Chinese FDI has in Portuguese foreign policy and its integration in the EU. Portugal proves to be a unique case in comparison with other member states, due to its long-lasting relationship with China, and positive track record as a member of the EU. This dissertation examines this issue by using liberal intergovernmentalism and motivations behind Chinese investment, to argue that Portugal’s domestic interests play an important role in how it handles both China and the EU, as well as to defend that Chinese investment in Portugal as shown to be economically motivated. The results suggest that Portugal maintains a consistent and unchanged, for the most part, China policy. Furthermore, since most of Portugal’s domestic interests are met by the EU, according to liberal intergovernmentalism, in this way, it continues to contribute to its integration in the union. All in all, Chinese FDI in Portugal shouldn’t pose as a concern to the EU, seeing as the data reveals that Portugal’s top investors continue to be fellow member states, with China comprising a modest and slowly decreasing percentage. Therefore, the novelty of Chinese FDI in Europe continues to perpetuate an exaggerated anxiety, along with often unnecessary concerns, regarding the impact of said investment in Portugal.Show less
Since the start of the European debt crisis in 2010, there have been signs of decreasing faith in the European Union. In this text, an effort is made to determine if there is a relationship between...Show moreSince the start of the European debt crisis in 2010, there have been signs of decreasing faith in the European Union. In this text, an effort is made to determine if there is a relationship between the worsening economic situation in European Union member states, and the rise of Euroscepticism in the last decade. The research examines three of the countries that were the most severely damaged by the European debt crisis: Ireland, Portugal, and Greece, and analyzes the trends of Euroscepticism in surveys and election results, comparing these trends to the respective economic situations. The research shows that while the crisis appears to have affected Euroscepticism to an extent, but also suggests that this is primarily a resurgence of latent Euroscepticism, present in Greece.Show less
This is a biography of several members of the Gildemeester family, who moved from the Netherlands to Portugal during the 18th century. In Lisbon, Daniel Gildemeester managed to get highly involved...Show moreThis is a biography of several members of the Gildemeester family, who moved from the Netherlands to Portugal during the 18th century. In Lisbon, Daniel Gildemeester managed to get highly involved in the Brazilian diamond trade. At the same time family members were involved in the administration of the Dutch Nation in Portugal as consuls. The Gildemeester brothers acted as trading partners and were active in the Netherlands and Portugal. As a family, they managed to become commercially successful and rise on the Dutch and Portuguese social ladders.Show less
Between 1750 and 1773 the three Catholic kingdoms of Portugal, Spain and France expelled the Order of Jesuits from their respective realms. The motives for this expulsion were by and large the same...Show moreBetween 1750 and 1773 the three Catholic kingdoms of Portugal, Spain and France expelled the Order of Jesuits from their respective realms. The motives for this expulsion were by and large the same, as were the procedures taken to expel the Jesuits. Altogether, these three national expulsions can be seen as part of a trilateral diplomatic effort to convince the pope, the unequivocal leader of the Jesuits, to do the same. This article discusses the 'stages of expulsion' and the transnationality of the suppression of the Jesuits.Show less
Although the period of colonial rule by the Netherlands and Portugal is a thing of the past, there is a plenitude of ‘overseas cultural heritage’ (OCH) around the world, referring to unmoveable...Show moreAlthough the period of colonial rule by the Netherlands and Portugal is a thing of the past, there is a plenitude of ‘overseas cultural heritage’ (OCH) around the world, referring to unmoveable heritage sites that were created under the colonial influence or former presence of nation states on a territory that is not part of these states today. Policy regarding OCH offers complex challenges and possibilities to present-day governments as the heritage is at the crossroads of the cultural and political involvement of both the former colonized and colonizer and thus bridges the colonial past into the current postcolonial reality. Nevertheless, research analysing and comparing OCH policy of former colonial powers at several levels of governance is rare. This thesis builds on, and adds to, the existing research by conducting a multidisciplinary (policy analysis and heritage definition analysis) and multilateral (bilateral and multilateral) comparative analysis of the OCH-policy of the Netherlands and Portugal. At core is the research question: what policy strategy have the Dutch and Portuguese governments developed concerning their OCH in the past century at both bilateral and multilateral level of governance, and to what extent are the policy strategies comparable? To answer this main research question, the thesis conducts a multidisciplinary analysis that combines a policy analysis of the OCH-policy of the Netherlands and Portugal at bilateral and multilateral level of governance at UNESCO, with the examination of the heritage definition at the heart of the existing policy, the latter by examining how the policy deals with the challenging commonality of OCH. The research enabled to map the differences and commonalities of the Dutch and Portuguese OCH-policy strategies.Show less
This research focus on the construction of Portuguese imperial nostalgia, especially through the Lusotropicalism theory, and the poems of Fernando Pessoa. In it I analyze the Portuguese narrative...Show moreThis research focus on the construction of Portuguese imperial nostalgia, especially through the Lusotropicalism theory, and the poems of Fernando Pessoa. In it I analyze the Portuguese narrative of colonial history and its place in the Portuguese identity. In order to best understand the development of Portuguese Imperial Nostalgia, and how it affects the Portuguese perspective about its place in Europe and the World, this thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is a critical reading of the works of Gilberto Freyre, introducing and analyzing his theory and how it became central to the Lusotropicalism embraced by the ‘Estado Novo.’ The second chapter focus on Nostalgia and the influence of Fernando Pessoa’s works, analyzing how the Salazarism’s Lusotropicalism was adapted into a contemporary form of imperial nostalgia within the context of the democratization of Portugal. The last chapter discuss how the narrative of imperial nostalgia affects Portugal both internally and externally, showing how imperial nostalgia became central to Portuguese society and identity, as the official narrative recentered Portuguese self-perception around the poetic nostalgia of their past glories and empire. Consequently, this national nostalgia is so prevalent that even when rejected by a percentage of the population, it still lead many others to embrace their connection to their former empire. This created a division in focus that makes Portugal, despite the country being an integral part of Europe, unwilling to truly embrace the unification and aspirations of the continent.Show less
In this thesis, I will research the academic practices of some selected historians during the first years of the Portuguese New State. These can be divided in two kinds of practices: those directly...Show moreIn this thesis, I will research the academic practices of some selected historians during the first years of the Portuguese New State. These can be divided in two kinds of practices: those directly implicated in the histories they wrote — the final product —and those which are related to their habits and work ethics, be it of socialization with other scholars in academic organizations and correspondence, or work-habits related to how they thought history should be researched and transmitted. This approach provides a holistic view of particular cases within the Portuguese historiography landscape, focused on epistemic, political and moral aspects, and their connection with the Regime in which they were inserted. It also provides the key features of the phenomenon of Discipline at the time, given its emergence in Portuguese Academia, and in History in particular, highlighting the goods, virtues, skills and habits which defined History as collective endeavor.Show less
Portugal was the least developed country to join the European Communities before the Eastern enlargement. Its economy was characterized by weak commercial ties to Europe, a large agricultural...Show morePortugal was the least developed country to join the European Communities before the Eastern enlargement. Its economy was characterized by weak commercial ties to Europe, a large agricultural sector employing more than one fourth of the labor force, lacking infrastructure and capital-intensive industries, and having a high illiteracy rate. Integration into the Communities influenced the transformation of Portugal into a modern market economy through three different channels. Firstly, the liberalization brought about by the common market attracted important foreign investments, induced domestic investment activity, promoted the competitiveness of light industries, and consolidated trade relations with Spain. Secondly, the modernization of sectors governed by the specific national or European policies (agriculture, fisheries, banking), was largely affected by the capabilities of the Portuguese administration. Thirdly, the EC Cohesion Policy contributed largely to the convergence with other Member States, but did not eliminate the regional disparities inside of Portugal. Most of the findings regarding the effects of the European economic integration prove to be applicable also in case of the Czech Republic and Hungary, undergoing their transformation and Europeanization two decades later.Show less
