Colonial projects, african experiences: the village of Nova Oeiras and its iron factory. Angola, the second half of the eighteenth century.

• Grant number: 13/12458-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): March 01, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History
• Principal Investigator: Silvia Hunold Lara
• Grantee: Crislayne Gloss Marão Alfagali
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/19445-5 - Research internship in Portuguese archives for the study of the iron factory Nova Oeiras (Angola, the second half of the Eighteenth Century), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The main goal of this project is to analyze life and work conditions of the people who lived in the village of Nova Oeiras, especially those who worked with the iron transformation in the Royal Iron Factory of Nova Oeiras. On one hand, the factory installation was part of the portuguese colonization project in Africa, and it was related to mineralogical and scientific studies that were growing in the second half of the eighteenth century, in the context of Pombal's policies to develop the manufactories. On the other hand, it involved workers from a diverse cultural, social and legal matrix: europeans, africans, deportees, prisoners. This research aims to discuss how this mosaic of individuals, which was united by the knowledge about the iron smelting and forging, was related to the most important interests of the colonial and metropolitan authorities. The study of African techniques that were employed in the iron smelting and forging will be used as thread of analysis, since it allows to understand the disputes, conflicts, customs and traditions involving both the portuguese colonization strategies of domination, and also the forms of resistance articulated by africans.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ALFAGALI, Crislayne Gloss Marão. Smiths and smelters of Ilamba: a social history of iron production and of the Royal Foundry of Nova Oeiras (Angola, second half of 18th century). 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas Campinas, SP.