National Archives Research Articles

Hagiography, heraldry, ideology: Paintings by Johann Jacob Eybelwieser the Younger for the Reformed Franciscan monastery in Wrocław and their funders

This article analyzes paintings by the Wrocław painter Johann Jacob Eybelwieser the Younger (1667–1744) for the cloisters of the former Reformed Franciscan monastery in Wrocław. Only five of the original series of 22 oil paint­ings on canvas depicting scenes from the life of St. Anthony of Padua have been preserved. Today they embellish the interior of the parish church of St. Anthony of Padua in Wrocław-Karłowice. Among them are: Presentation of St. Anthony, St. Anthony’s Sermon on the Rain, Resurrection of the Dead, Confession of St. Anthony and Sermon of St. Anthony. The paintings feature the coats of arms and initials of the funders. Their exact identification is pos­sible thanks to the monastery chronicle written in 1750–1756, deposited in the National Archives in Prague. It re­cords that between 1719 and 1722, the friars received donations from 21 contributors to fund the creation of the cycle. Reading their names leaves no doubt that these were the most prominent representatives of the official elite, holding leading positions in the structures of the imperial administration, and in particular in its two most important institutions in Silesia – the Superior Office and the Silesian Royal Chamber. Therefore, the overarching aim of this article is to revisit the chronicle’s records of the cycle’s funding, to identify the donors, and to describe the surviving paintings, defining their ideological program, function, and purpose.

IN DOCUMENTS FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF IRELAND (1930s-1980s)

The documents that I have included in this article dedicated to the trade agreements and commercial relations between Ireland and Romania in the decades of the 20th century were traced in the National Archives of Ireland in June 2022, when I had the opportunity to collaborate with the team of the Embassy of Romania in Ireland and do research on the bilateral relations between the two countries. One of the earliest trade exchanges (1931) however was found in the library of University College Dublin and I have also made use of other Romanian sources to offer a more comprehensive picture of the difficulties often preventing the two countries from developing more substantial commercial and diplomatic links in the respective period.

The English Divorce Courts, non-physical ‘cruelty’ and ‘coercive control’ in wives’ petitions, 1857–1914

ABSTRACT This article focuses on petitions presented before the English Divorce Court 1857–1914 to investigate women’s personal experiences and understandings of non-physical ‘cruelty’ in marriage and to relate this to present-day understandings of ‘coercive control’. A dataset of 269 petitions is analysed, focusing on three prevalent abuse types: economic abuse relating to a wife’s duties and responsibilities as household manager; emotional and psychological abuse in relation to pregnancy and motherhood; and the use of domestic space and household objects (associated with the marital home). Forms of non-physical cruelty were found in every petition, typically alongside physical actions, highlighting their importance to the disintegration of marital life. This article demonstrates how Divorce Court petitions, located in the UK National Archives, are an exceptional lens that reveal the complex repertoires and patterns of abusive behaviour, combining non-physical cruelty with physical violence, that were recorded by Victorian and Edwardian women. It sheds light not only on women’s experiences of marriage but also their understandings and expectations regarding what was acceptable.

RUSSIAN PEASANTS IN THE ALEXANDROPOL DISTRICT: EMERGENCE, ORGANIZATION OF COMMUNAL LIFE, AND FORMS OF LAND TENURE FROM THE NINETEENTH TO THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

The objective of this study is to examine the emergence of Russian peasants in the Alexandropol district of the Erivan province, as well as their communal life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The study of Russian ethnic groups in foreign environments presents several challenges. One significant question is whether to preserve or alter certain aspects of migrants’ traditional way of life. In new surroundings, some traditions may change, while others may disappear. The significance of this work lies in the examination of local groups of Russians residing in a different ethnic environment. This prompts inquiry into the nature of cultural and economic interplay between Russians and the local populace. The study of cultural and domestic interactions between different ethnic communities has become a significant area of focus in modern historiography as nationalities continue to come closer together. This field of study holds scientific importance and provides practical knowledge. To ensure a comprehensive review, it is important to consider factors such as the number of settlers, duration of residence, settlement features, cultural affinity with the local population, and other relevant factors. This paper examines the migration of Russian peasants to Alexandropol district and their economic and social development as they adapted to new natural, socioeconomic, and political conditions. In the literature produced prior to the revolution, the issues of interest to us were not adequately addressed. Some information on the history of Russian settlements can be found in articles by ethnographer S. Maximov and historian K. Borozdin.1 Small historical and ethnographic descriptions of the Russian settlers in Eastern Armenia can be found in local periodicals in the form of articles, travel notes and correspondence. These works, descriptive in their content, are valuable because their authors observed the life of Russian peasants directly. For example, S. Bunyatov, a priest, lived among Russian peasants for five years and wrote on the basis of his personal impressions.2 The publications on Russian settlers contained in the Memorial Books of the Erivan Province are of some value.3 During the Soviet era, the study of the Russian population of Eastern Armenia began only in the 1960s and was mainly devoted to the religious study of the sectarians of Transcaucasia.4 In recent years, historical works devoted to the issues of tsarism’s resettlement policy toward the Russian peasants of Eastern Armenia have appeared. A. Haityan, along with other issues, tried to trace the process of the formation of Russian villages in Eastern Armenia.5 The monograph by D. Ismail-Zadeh also deserves attention. The author gives a general characterization of the economic and social life of the Russian peasants of Transcaucasia, but the issues of interest to us are reflected only in a general way.6 Thus, in the works of both pre-revolutionary and Soviet authors, the issues of studying Russian peasants in Eastern Armenia and, in particular, in Alexandrolop district, have not the subject of a special study. This study intends to fill the existing gaps on the subject. This paper draws extensively on the archival documents of the National Archives of Armenia, many of which have been introduced for the first time in this study. The documents contain a wealth of information on the history of Russian resettlement in Transcaucasia, the policy of the authorities toward them, relations between Russians and native Armenians, and data on the state of agriculture, including crops and livestock numbers. It is imperative to approach these documents with a critical lens, as they were compiled by officials and reflect the government’s views on the settlers and their role in the new region. 1 Maksimov 1861; Borozdin 1891. 2 Bunyatov 1898; Bunyatov 1902. 3 Pamyatnaya knizhka Erivanskoy gubernii na 1892g., Pamyatnaya knizhka Erivanskoy gubernii na 1904g. 1903. 4 Kozlova 1966; Klibanov 1965. 5 Aytyan 1989. 6 Ismail-Zade 1982.

A Very Diplomatic Response: The British Government’s Reaction to the Killing Fields of Cambodia

ABSTRACT Drawing upon documents from the British National Archives, this article investigates how and why the British government formulated its response to the Khmer Rouge dictatorship in Cambodia. This regime was responsible for some of the worst mass killings in the twentieth century; indeed, in April 1978, President Jimmy Carter referred to it as the “worst violator of human rights in the world today.” 1 1 Statement by Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, on Cambodia, 21 April 1978, UK The National Archives (hereafter TNA), FCO 58/1406. The British have been portrayed, not least by themselves, as championing the international opposition to human rights abuses in Democratic Kampuchea. The fact that Britain was the first country publicly to condemn the violation of human rights by raising the issue at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) in 1978 cannot be denied. 2 2 In his April 1978 speech Jimmy Carter also acknowledged the British initiative in raising the matter at the UNHRC. However, a closer examination of the British reaction to the activities of the Khmer Rouge demonstrates the importance of considerations of Realpolitik both internally and externally. At the same time, this article highlights the fact that British responses were also shaped by other contextual factors, especially the important role played by the British public in pressurizing their government to act as the situation worsened in Democratic Kampuchea. Ultimately, the Vietnamese invasion brought the importance of Cold War geopolitics back to the fore. It was not until December 1979 that the British formally withdrew recognition of the Democratic Kampuchea, but by then the Khmer Rouge were out of power.

Two Facets of ‘Southern Opening’

The new strategy of ‘Southern Opening’, announced in 2015, has put Africa again in the focus of Hungary’s foreign policy, with Angola being among the priority countries. The reopening of the embassy in Luanda in 2017 and the Hungarian Foreign Minister’s visit in 2018 were further symbolic steps in recognizing Angola’s importance as a potential regional power and a strategic partner in the sub-Saharan region. Bilateral cooperation dates back to much earlier, the late 60s, however, spanning through nearly two decades during the socialist era of both countries’ history. Hungary has provided sizable military aid (to the MPLA), actively ‘exported’ goods, technology, and knowledge through sending experts and offering scholarships, and received wounded soldiers for treatment and rehabilitation. After the mid-90s, bilateral relations have stagnated up until the new turn to the South from 2015. Building on national archive documents and personal accounts of experts and diplomats, this paper presents the heyday of bilateral cooperation in the 70s and 80s. It also gives an overview of the revitalising relations; and analyses how those may fit in the new foreign policy agenda and promotion of Hungarian economic interests in Angola.. The People’s Republic of Hungary was also involved in the ʻsocialist scramble for Africa’. Angola seemed to be the targeted country in the region mentioned above, but in the 1960s another opportunity emerged, namely Namibia. This large, sparsely inhabited country was under South African rule, although the Ovambo, a majoritarian ethnic group, was fighting for independence. Their organisation was known as the SWAPO. This study aims to describe how the Hungarian socialist leadership and the leaders of SWAPO found a way to cooperate with each other. The original documents quoted in this study are from the Hungarian National Archives and the daily newspapers between the 1960s and 1980s, and they have been cited to assist the readers in following the development of the relations.

Preparation of the Future Elites of the Communist Party in the Period of Communism in Slovakia

The research is focused on organization and content of education of the future party elites in Slovakia during the period of communism. In 1953, a special Party College of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (renamed to the Political Institute of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1965, further on Political Institute of the CC CPC) was created in Czechoslovakia for the purpose of their training. It was directly managed by the Central Committee. After the suppression of the Prague Spring and the onset of normalization (the beginning of the 1970s), a new faculty called the Faculty of the Political Institute of the CC CPC was established in Bratislava and it began its activities in 1972. The research is based on the study of archival sources of relevant funds of the Slovak National Archive in Bratislava. The research shows that the faculty 1) provided a relatively wide spectrum of graduate and postgraduate education in both full-time and part-time form, 2) also provided higher forms of education (rigorous examination procedures and scientific postgraduate studies), 3) had a well-thought-out and well-organized comprehensive system of education for the future elites of the ruling Communist Party, including spending their leisure time. The faculty disappeared after the fall of communism in 1990.

Post-Custodialism, Distributed Custody, and Big Data

This reflection piece describes the outcomes of a research project undertaken by the National Archives of Australia that aimed to gather information from other government archives and selected Australian government agencies about their approach to archiving and preserving large-big datasets in the government sector. Big data collections pose a challenge for government archives around the world. Many of these archives have a role in information management in their government domains and provide guidance and advice to their government agency clients on ensuring the integrity and trustworthiness of data over time. The article examines the nexus between theory and practice, exploring issues related to the post-custodial ideas developed by Terry Cook and others in the 1990s and their practical implementation.

Clothing as an Integral Part of the Bashkir Kalym

This article examines the Bashkir institution of kalym (bride price) in the 18th–19th centuries. Using the materials from the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan (fund I-295 “Orenburg Mohammedan spiritual assembly”) and published sources, differences in the composition of kalym are identified depending on the local distinctions among the Bashkirs, as well as their economic and cultural types and socio-economic status. These differences were most apparent in the so-called “smaller” kalym, which consisted of summer and winter clothing with jewelry, headwear, and coin-coral pectoral ornaments. The results of the literature and archival analysis yield a deeper understanding of the specifics of clothing and jewelry included in kalym. A pivotal role of the institution of kalym and dowry in the life of the Bashkirs is shown. The garments in the Bashkir kalym had both practical and symbolic functions — they regulated property rights and indicated the material well-being of a young family. Varying from one to another Bashkir settlement, they also shared similarities with the costumes of neighboring peoples, such as the Tatars. The exchange of clothing garments between the marrying parties, including members of different Bashkir clans and tribes, ended up in the formation of a unique cultural layer.

Calling Out the Catalogue

The implicit and explicit silencing of Romani and Traveller voices in museum and archive collections, and in the wider narrative of British history, has been increasingly recognised over the last decade (Matthews 2015). In the pursuit of decolonising museums and archives, however, institutional recognition of the significant contributions of Romani and Traveller peoples to the traditional music heritage of the UK and Ireland has largely been absent. Throughout the 20th century and increasingly since the 1960s, folk song collectors around the British Isles have turned to Romani Gypsies and Travellers in search of traditional songs and music. Hamish Henderson, Ewan MacColl, and Peggy Seeger, amongst others, admired Romani and Traveller singers for preserving what collectors perceived to be native song traditions. Recordings of Romani Gypsies and Travellers, held in national and regional sound archives, have had a lasting impact on folk repertoires in the UK and Ireland. However, the incorporation of such recordings into specialist collections has tended to erase Romani and Traveller identities. As the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of the singers are rarely acknowledged in the catalogues, and are searchable only with specialist knowledge, their songs are implicitly added to the canon of English, Scottish or Irish folk music. The songs are thus co-opted, not to tell Romani Gypsy and Traveller stories and history, but those of a majority population. This article addresses specific issues pertaining to an English archive collection held at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in Cecil Sharp House, London. Recognising the precariousness of funding that many specialist collections face, we do not simply critique a lack of progress regarding representation. Instead, we outline how Romani and Traveller communities might collaborate with archivists, cultural events organisers, and universities, to connect archival collections with various publics in England today.

ბარათაშვილის ეპიგონი „კლდე-კანელის“ ლექსების ატრიბუციისათვის

The article echoes Professor Gocha Kuchukhidze's letter "Who is hiding behind the pseudonym Klede-Kaneli (unknown poems of Nikoloz Baratashvili?)". According to the author, two po­ems under the pseudonym Klede-Kaneli in the Censor Committee Fund of the National Archives of Georgia (folder 480-1-718), titled: "I found the temple" and "God-parent", may belong to Nikoloz Bara­tashvili, and the family name Palavandishvili written underneath refers to them. On the origin from the archive of Nikoloz Palavan­dishvili. The poems were submitted for publication in the "Theatre" newspaper. On January 26, 1886, the chief censor, Solomon Me­lik-Megrabov, was forbidden to print the poems, taking into account the 6th and 9th clauses of the statute of the censorship committee. Is it possible that Nikoloz Baratashvili is the author of the presented poems? In addition to the public's great interest in the issue, it is my duty as a textologist and scientific head of the Bara­tashvili project to answer this question! (Project FR-23-10216. 2023 19.12.– 2026 19.12 "Preparation of a new academic volume of the works of Nikoloz Baratashvili and a digital chronicle of the poet's life and work" is supported by the Rustaveli National Science Foundation). Determining attribution (issue of authorship) in textology requires com­plex research and is based on the following necessary data: 1. Documen­tary references (writer's archive, autograph and prin­ted sources, bibliog­raphic lists, biographical references, memo­ries of contemporaries, various types of records, censorship commi­ttee materials, prints, etc.); 2. Ideological analysis of texts 3. Lin­guistic-stylistic research (see studies: Reiser, Opuls­kaya, Shtokman, Lortkipanidze). However, due to the lack of sufficient docu­mentary material, the researcher may not be able to reach the exact result even by using these methods, that's why in the academic editions of the essays, a section is allocated the so called "Dubia" ("The suppo­sed"), where texts are printed, about the authorship of which there are more or less credible arguments (see studies: Prokhorov, Chrelashvili). The article presents all the arguments, considering which allows us to prove that the opinion about the origin of the poems from Nikoloz Pala­vandishvili archive is based only on the assum­ption of the researcher, and we do not have any other credible argu­ment yet. Also, it is impossible to attribute these poems to Nikoloz Baratashvili, since we do not have enough documentary material for the present time; Ideological and stylistic com­patibility of the poems with Baratashvili's poetry is not observed. Hence, the arguments presented by the researcher are insuffi­cient to determine the attribution of the text. For the same reason, we do not con­si­der the mentioned poems as probable texts, and we do not consider it appro­priate to include them in the "Dubia" sec­tion at this stage.

Sovjetsko-Češkolovačka naučno-tehnička saradnja u Hruščovom i ranom Brežnjevom periodu

Economic and scientific-technical cooperation was a popular topic of research for socialist economists and political scientists during the Cold War. Already in the 1950s, a series of studies on the merits of this form of international rapprochement were written up. The outputs of these papers, however, are largely imbued with ideologized reasoning and conclusions. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, historians turned mainly to the study of the negative aspects of intra-bloc cooperation, such as show trials or environmental degradation, and the topic of scientific- technical cooperation became marginalized for decades. The aim of this article is to illustrate the impact, constraints, and evolution of the main currents of scientific-technical cooperation in the Khrushchev and early Brezhnev eras through the case of Czechoslovak-Soviet interaction. Archival sources suggest that it was the period of the 1950s and 1960s that was characterized by a fundamental transformation of the system of cooperation within the Eastern Bloc. The choice of the cooperation partners to be subjected to research is also not random. The Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia were among the countries with the strongest scientific- technical base within the Eastern Bloc, and their R&D activities were to a large extent complementary. The article seeks to propose a new periodization of the development of intra-bloc cooperation, map the main forms and fields of cooperation, and explore its impact on the economy and scientific-technical progress of both cooperation partners. The emphasis is placed on the sectors of heavy industry, nuclear physics, infrastructure, education, chemistry and other areas of science and technology that were of particular importance during the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras. An additional research task is to determine the extent to which cooperation was implemented because of political and ideological pressures and goals, and to what extent it was a „bottom-up“ activity initiated according to the genuine needs of research and manufacturing. Both micro and macro echelons of cooperation are analyzed to ensure the comprehensiveness of the present study. The first category is represented by individual scientists, technical staff, manufacturing companies and research institutes. At the macro level, the objectives and roles of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, and the industrial ministries of both countries are examined. To achieve a depth of research, it was necessary to analyze a wide range of primary and secondary sources. In this respect, the fonds of the industrial ministries at the Czech National Archives were studied, supplemented by other primary sources from the Security Services Archive, the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva, and the Škoda Auto Archive. These primary sources were then complemented by the findings of both the communist-era literature, and the post-Velvet Revolution studies which offered a depoliticized critique of selected aspects of intra-bloc cooperation.

The Wage Stop and Restricting Benefit Income in the United Kingdom: Discretion, Wages and Hardship

ABSTRACTIn 2013 the UK government introduced a household benefit cap to restrict the benefit income of its poorest people. Although taking different forms, such restrictions are not new there. Drawing upon files held at the UK's National Archives, this article focuses upon the years 1935 to 1975 during which the main benefit restriction that operated was the wage stop. The wage stop affected claimants categorised as unemployed. As the article demonstrates, those claimants not expected to do wage‐labour, such as lone mothers and sick people, could also have their benefit limited, though not via the wage stop. The article examines these benefit restrictions through notions of discretion. In doing so, it engages with the misconception that the wage stop was wholly discretionary. And through discussion of the main decisions that were embedded in discretion demonstrates how the discretionary potential to mitigate the impact of benefit restrictions, was often constrained by broader state concerns with labour and social discipline. Consequently, the potential positive use of discretion was limited by a desire not to incentivise behaviours and lifestyles deemed problematic. Hence, like the operation of today's benefit cap, wage‐stopped households faced lives marked by poverty, by, for example, poor diets, and inadequate clothing and essential household items.

On the Legal System of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920)

Abstract This article examines the development of the judicial and legal systems in the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), highlighting key reforms and challenges. It explores the establishment of various courts, including conciliation, district, and appellate courts, as well as the introduction of a jury court and notarial activities. Despite progressive reforms aimed at democratizing the legal system, such as the creation of jury courts and the regulation of investigatory bodies, widespread malfeasance plagued state administration. Efforts to combat corruption through the establishment of the Extraordinary Investigative Commission and Extraordinary Court proved ineffective, leading to their abolition in 1920. The article also discusses the failure to adopt a constitution, largely due to the republic’s short-lived existence and unresolved political crises. This research draws on primary sources including materials from the National Archives of the Republic of Armenia, parliamentary and government session minutes from 1918–1920, official records, statistical data, periodicals, and contemporary writings.

Presidential prerogative, congressional inaction, and the problem of presidential libraries

PurposeIn the context of an analysis of stopgap and reactionary presidential library and records act, the purpose of this paper is to consider how the separation of the Obama Presidential Library from the Obama Presidential Center illuminates fundamental flaws in the public-private model that demand a more comprehensive legislative solution.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon government, academic and public sources, this paper examines the legislation of presidential records and libraries to gain perspective on the presidential library system and the Obama Presidential Center, the first post-Presidential Records Act institution to operate independently of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).FindingsThis paper traces the evolution of presidential library statutes and standards to reveal how the genesis of an independent Obama Presidential Center strained an already stressed system, creating significant questions about its future.Originality/valueThis paper offers an original treatment of the statutes governing NARA’s administration of presidential libraries, framing a cycle of calls and responses, with the acts of individual presidents eliciting acts of Congress. Also original, and timely, is the treatment in this paper of how these laws created the conditions for an independent Obama Presidential Center.

“All is withered and burnt”

In the years 1923-1929 the Clanwilliam Ring of the Dutch Reformed Church was struck by a drought that left the area’s traditionally rural and agricultural population struggling with issues of food security, unemployment, and bankruptcy. Occurring in the early 20th century, the still nascent Union government was unwilling to dedicate the resources to direct food assistance schemes under flawed sociological reasoning and lacked the institutional capacity necessary to provide direct alleviation for the impacts of the drought. Consequently, the Dutch Reformed Church became the main overseer of food provision and charitable relief efforts among stricken communities through its Algemene Armesorg Kommissie. Local Dominees, deacons and elders of the church bodies in the arid Karoo acted as a grass roots organization in the monitoring and distribution of assistance (primarily through clothing and food donations) for local communities. This article focuses on the social and political realities that led to the Dutch Reformed Church playing a central role in combating the impact of the 1923–1929 drought in the ring of Clanwilliam. The study made use of archival primary sources mostly from the Dutch Reformed Church Archive in Stellenbosch, with additional sources from the Western Cape Archival Repository System and the National Archive of South Africa. Secondary research sources such as published journal articles and books, as well as unpublished dissertations were used to contextualize primary information and to add previous studies’ discussions on the topic. The study proves that the church, through its well-organized Algemene Armesorg Kommissie charity wing, acted as a much-needed intermediary often organizing and distributing donations of food, clothing and money from donors in other congregations to drought-stricken areas in a time when the government could not or would not provide such assistance.

Illusion Theatres of Orhei in the Beginning of XX Century. History of their Construction and the Legislation in the Field of Cinematography

Starting in 1910, the illusion theaters and other performance buildings appeared in Bessarabia, which later became quite widespread in all provinces. The National Archive Agency holds some documents on the consideration of the inquiry of the Orhei townspeople Shlema Gurevich and Froim Pagis for permission to open the first cinema in the center of Orhei town at the end of 1910. This cinema worked successfully in that town for about a half of year. However, on May 12, 1911, the so-called normal rules on cinematography No. 688 were adopted, also published in the Bessarabian Provincial Bulletin No. 74 of July 18 (31), 1912. The illusion theater of Pagis and Gurevich did not meet all the new standards. Despite anonymous complaints to the Bessarabian governor, in May 1913 a new illusion theater opened in Orhei, owned by Shlema Tomashin. He was allowed to hold theatrical and concert evenings in his own cinema. The National Archive Agency has preserved the projects and plans of the first illusion theatres in Orhei.

Ordinary letters, extraordinary findings

Abstract This project proposes an innovative approach to the history of French by replacing the ‘tunnel vision’ (Watts/Trudgill 2002) which characterizes the vast majority of studies of ‘Classical French’ by a wider approach, based on an extraordinarily valuable source, i.e. the ‘Prize Papers’. The Prize Papers are a collection which includes 50,000 undelivered private French letters, confiscated between 1652 and 1815 during the frequent military conflicts between France and England. The documents are held by the National Archives of the United Kingdom in London, and are remnants of the privateering era, a longstanding legitimate activity of capturing enemy ships. These countless captured letters are becoming known to historians, who have recognized them as an invaluable source of information on the period in question, but have so far attracted little attention from linguists, even those focusing on diachrony. The MACINTOSH project is the first French initiative to explore this collection, and aims to show how the alternative data provided by these private documents can broaden the scope and fill the gaps left by traditional historical linguistics. The research focuses on the first French colonial era, shedding new light on the dynamics and mechanisms that led to the French and Creole varieties existing in America and the Indian Ocean.

Portuguese cinema and its discontents: a view from the film archive

ABSTRACT The article revisits the main arguments and underlying premises of the protracted debate on ‘national art cinema’ that has shaped Portuguese film studies for many decades. Drawing on international scholarly work on national cinemas and on my own experience as a researcher in the National Archive of the Moving Images (ANIM) of the Portuguese Cinematheque (Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema), I argue for a definition of ‘Portuguese cinema’ that takes into account the vast collections of non-fiction films that have been excluded from this debate. My proposal entails a shift away from prescriptive to descriptive understandings of Portuguese cinema, thus recognising its diversity, in the past as well as in the present. I therefore endorse a conception of national cinema that takes heed of wider and deeper historical processes, international ‘constellations’ and other (often contested or unacknowledged) traditions and practices. The argument builds on the analysis of Adriano Ramos Pinto – Vinho do Porto (attributed title), a short non-fiction utility film made in the late 1930s that belongs to ANIM’s holdings.

A Portrait of imagined hemispheric power relations: Contested visualities in archival photographs of the Pan-American Highway

Constructed from the 1930s onward, the Pan-American Highway was envisioned as a massive artery connecting the American continents. In addition to its practical uses, the road also served as a reflection of the often-conflicting aspirations and self-representations of the United States on the one hand and the Latin American countries on the other. This article explores how the power relations and conflicting aspirations and goals embedded in the Pan-American Highway were constituted through, and given expression in, the thousands of photographs taken during the road’s construction in Central America between 1930 and 1960. The article draws on two corpora. The first belongs to the US Bureau of Public Roads, and is housed in the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The second actually comprises two separate corpora, both initially belonging to two Costa Rican men who were involved in the construction of the road and archived in the Costa Rican National Archive. Considering photographs taken by agents of various nationalities, ethnicities, and classes enables us to extricate the road from its consideration as a US initiative and underscores its Latin American and transnational framing. While acknowledging the US imperialism inherent in the PAHW initiative, the article brings to the fore the complexities within the dichotomy of an imperial visuality vs. countervisuality that is based on a division between US American images vs. Latin American ones, in favour of a more nuanced examination of relations of power that takes into account inter-Latin American relations of power and coloniality.