The Empire´s African Cycle: Colonialism, War and Decolonisation in Contemporary Portugal - 2nd semester
Code
722051269
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
História
Credits
10
Teacher in charge
Pedro Aires Oliveira
Weekly hours
3 letivas + 1 tutorial
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a) Acquire an overview of the last stage of Portugals overseas expansion the African empire (c. 1890-1975) - and make sense of its historical legacies
b) Understand the various influences that shaped the political, institutional and economic configuration of Portugals contemporary empire
c) Make sense of the modes of collaboration and resistance which shaped the relationship of the Portuguese with the different peoples which came under their rule
d) Acquire a comparative perspective of Portuguese and European decolonization, in a longue durée time scale.
e) Be familiar with some of the major historical debates related with the various topics of the course
f) Be able to locate and work with historical sources for different periods of Portugals contemporary empire and acquire the necessary skills to develop a Masters dissertation
Prerequisites
None
Subject matter
a. The historiography of the Third Portuguese Empire: major interpretative lines
b. Key theories concerning the New Imperialism of the late 19th century.
c. The crisis of the Ultimatum and the emergence of a modern imperial and nationalistic ideology.
d. The empire after 1890: Portugals civilizing mission and African labour; the neo-mercantilist policies and the chartered companies; the military conquest and the setting up of the colonial state.
e. The racial question in the Portuguese empire: from the late 19th century to the Estado Novo.
f. The Portuguese empire and the evolution of international politics up to the Great War. The colonial politics of the First Republic.
g. Salazars New State: from the Colonial Act to the adjustments of the 1950s.
h. The moral disarmament of colonialism: origins and development of the decolonization movement. The Cold War and the end of the European empires.
i. Portugals African Wars and their international setting. The independence movements and the late colonial state.
j. The military coup of 1974 and decolonization: the international context. Beyond empire: the quest for a new national identity and Portugals strategic options
Bibliography
ALEXANDRE, Valentim Velho Brasil, Novas Áfricas. Porto: Afrontamento, 2000
BETHENCOURT, Francisco e CHAUDHURI, Kirti (coord.) História da Expansão Portuguesa. Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores, 1998, 5 volumes
HARGREAVES, John D Decolonisation in Africa. London: Longman, 1996
MACQUEEN, Norrie A Descolonização da África Portuguesa. Lisboa: Inquérito, 1998
SHIPWAY, Martin Decolonization and its Impact. A comparative Approach to the End of Colonial Empires. Oxford: Blackwell, 2008
SMITH Gervase Clarence The Third Portuguese Empire (1825-1975). Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985
Teaching method
Lectures by the teacher and oral interventions by the students based on selected articles or book chapters.
Tutorial meetings with teacher to prepare students for the writing of their essays.
Evaluation method
Oral presentation (30%)
Written essay based on scholarly bibliography and historical sources (70%)