Paper short abstract:

The Portuguese power in the Indian Ocean has always been based on a careful network of fortresses and the State of India only existed thanks to the men who were constantly going from Portugal to these region, to represent their king there. It was these men who allowed Portugal to dominate the ocean.

Paper long abstract:

It was a demonstrated relevance of the strengths of the Indian and his officers to the maintenance of Portuguese power in the Indian Ocean that led us to try to understand how the captain's selection process was managed during years of conflict and insecurity like those who were contemporaries of the reign of Philip II of Portugal. The task of appointing these officers was considered at the time one of the most important things to the administration of the portuguese overseas space.

In fact, we can say that if Portugal was able to dominated the waters of the Indian Ocean for centuries, it owes to the network of factories that has never stopped growing since the reign of King Manuel I. And, consequently, the role that was played by the men who were being named as captains of these fortresses.

Based on Andreia Martins de Carvalho's study of the Indian captains in the time of Nuno da Cunha, and applying to the ten years of the Council of India (1604-1614) the same topics of analysis that were used by the historian in his work, we could find a series of continuities and ruptures associated with the process of choosing the fortress captains between the reign of King John III to Philip III and relate them closely to the continuities and ruptures of the empire that these men served.

Paper short abstract:

The current coastal areas urban occupation is incompatible with the biophysic landscape transformation. In this sense, the present communication seeks to explain an intrpretation methodology of the relationship between biophysical functional systems and human occupation processes for sea architectures.

Paper long abstract:

In Portugal, the traditional urban occupation of coastal areas (as a sea-land transition, with a high ecological dynamic and complex ecosystem) was confined to the biophysical suitable conditions (hydrography, soil and climate) based on sea resources subsistence, complemented by land exploitation. In this context, the Sea Architectures, as a cultural expression of its potential, respected those conditions by applying traditional materials and construction techniques available in the region. However, an urban occupation model based on industrial production methods became later unsuited to the natural transformation processes of the landscape. Since then, the memories of the local communities were disconnected from their temporal borders and spatial experience, which resulted in a progressive uprooting due to a loss of affection, making the coastal areas' preservation pointless.

In this sense, the present communication proposal intends to present an alternative analysis and diagnosis methodology of coastal areas, according to an integrated interpretation of their landscape. It consists in a morpho-typological characterization of its biophysical functional systems and human occupation processes, with an approach simultaneously morphological (related to the physical) and typological (related to the symbolical). A set of methodological steps will be described, comparing different sources of information and scales of observation, to determine the main territorial specificities and local culture framework, ensuring the natural transformation processes of the landscape. This methodology allows us to understand the relationship between the human needs and biophysical conditions, by which we'll be able to develop a suitable preservation strategy of coastal areas, recovering their Sea Architectures.

Paper short abstract:

Early modern accounts of exotic marine mammals and fantastic beings, such as manatees and mermaids, allow a discussion about the circulation of the well-established encyclopedic knowledge about Nature and the construction of an empirical natural history of the new marine world across Europe.

Paper long abstract:

Most of early modern accounts about exotic fauna, for the Portuguese Atlantic, did not enter the European natural history treaties and encyclopaedia. Several 15th and 16th centuries Overseas' observations from the natural world are not included, particularly for exotic marine animals. While some African and Brazilian terrestrial animals and birds are comprised in the works of several European authors, the only two marine mammals that are mentioned are Gândavo's sea monster and the manatee. With a couple of noticeable exceptions, European naturalists relied essentially on Classical authors to describe marine species and in some cases made use of contemporary examples from European occurrences, or some new information gathered through their networks of collectors and naturalists, to add some originality. On the contrary, authors travelling the Atlantic relied on empirical information gathered by themselves or obtained through circles of contact regarding information from the overseas. Mermaids, and manatees offer a case for debating the production and circulation of information for an history of exotic natural history, patterns of knowledge evolution and key actors. Based on written and visual sources is possible to analyse the construction and transfer of knowledge about mermaids as real elements of the old and new natural marine world in comparison to the slow development of natural knowledge related to manatees in Europe. This will allow to establish a long-term chronology of marine knowledge production and circulation and to compare it with the persistence and relevance of monsters from the sea, during early modern Europe and Atlantic.

Paper short abstract:

The urban rehabilitation of one of the most important locations of Lisbon waterfront, Campo das Cebolas, has been under an archaeological intervention. The aim of this poster is to show the main results of this project and the archaeological complexity and historical richness of the site.

Paper long abstract:

Since the beginning of the Portuguese expansion in the early 15th century till the 19th century, all the riverfront of Lisbon had been important for the relations between the hinterland and the vorland. From there people, ships and cargoes were interconnected, not only to Overseas but also through the river. Ships were built and repaired, business had been made, port structures had been built, others adapted or destroyed to give place for new occupations and activities.

During the archaeological works in Campo das Cebolas most of these realities had been found, by the remains of wood and stone quays, shipyards, stairways, shipwrecks and landfills.

The data collected throughout the excavation of the site will be crossed with historical data, iconographic and cartographic records trying an interpretation of the different occupation periods and cultural contexts. The poster will present archaeological records, pictures and old maps articulated with the studied information.

Paper short abstract:

A Religious Order at the margins of Padroado, the Grand Duke Cosimo III from Florence-Italy and Guarino Guarini, they all relate to shape the baroque of Goa churches.

Paper long abstract:

The historical documentation in the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology in Goa as enabled to reach interesting conclusions regarding the artistic modus operandi of the Theatines in Goa. This religious order started its action in Goa in 1640 without the knowledge of the Portuguese Padroado and after a few mishaps where able to build the church of Divine Providence between 1656 and 1661. In c.1675 and 1710, they launch two distinct and important artistic campaigns for the altarpieces in the church. Both have artistically shaped Goa.