Cartas inéditas de D. Francisco de Lemos de Faria Pereira Coutinho para Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (1772-1773)

Abstract

The letters transcribed here were the result of a vast correspondence exchanged between the Minister of D. Jose, Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Melo, and the Rector of the University of Coimbra, D. Francisco de Lemos, during the Pombaline Reform. Some of these letters had already been published by Teofilo Braga (1989) and Manuel Lopes d’Almeida (1937), but after an attentive search in Torre do Tombo (Lisbon), in the Ministerio do Reino , it was possible to find little more than a dozen letters still unpublished. Thus, the publication of this correspondence of two of the most notable minds and executors of the reform of the University of Coimbra in 1772 may bring additional information and clarification of this important moment in the history of university education in Portugal. As for the years in evidence, 1772 and 1773, they are no less important. It was during this period that the implementation of the reform was more intense due to the profound change in the teaching staff, the adoption of new compendiums, changes in curriculum, the various building constructions then re-created. For this reason, it was during this period that the correspondence was greater. At present, the studies that seek to understand the reform are vast, but the contributions of this correspondence lie in a greater clarification of the relationship between the Minister of D. Jose I and the Rector of the University of Coimbra and a better understanding of the action of D. Francisco de Lemos as Rector of the University of Coimbra during the Pombaline Reform. Keywords: Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Melo, D. Francisco de Lemos, University of Coimbra, Pombaline Reform, Correspondence.