Once Colonizing Territories: the Disputed Lands at the Portuguese Official Public Works Records

Abstract

Colonial archives congregate intricate webs of information and knowledge articulating numerous historical public and private services. What may represent a colonial public works archive? Are these archives solely collections of historical administrative documents? It seems that these archives can’t be merely the result of colonial administrative and bureaucratic procedures as they perform similarly to territory. Public works records testify to a dense landscape, summoning actors from numerous arenas – politicians, architects, engineers, entrepreneurs, and subalterns – with European uses, customs, and technology overseas. To provide answers to some interrogations surrounding disputed land, we will address Portuguese colonial Public Works records as references to the debate on colonizing territories.