L’historiographie sur l’Amérique portugaise en dialogue : vilas et cidades dans la période coloniale

Abstract

This article aims to discuss some of the models used to interpret the process of territorial occupation in Portuguese America. Our goal is to establish a dialogue between different historiographical studies which includes authors from urban history and political and economic history. We seek to present the interpretive limits of these models and also put forward ideas that might contribute to this debate. These ideas came from the discussions and research developed under the project known as “Digital Atlas of the Portuguese America”. The data organized and analyzed inside this project resulted in contributions that diverge from aspects traditionally presented by historiography. Thus, considering these results, we propose to rethink the historiographical debate on this subject.

Keywords

• conquest
• colonial urbanism
• vilas and cidades
• colonial history interpretive models