Maria Barreto Dávila

e-mail | mariabarretodavila@gmail.com

Maria Barreto Dávila is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon and an Integrated Researcher at its Centre for History. She holds a PhD in the History of the Portuguese Discoveries and Expansion from the NOVA University of Lisbon, with a dissertation titled “Ruling the Atlantic: Infanta Beatriz and the House of Viseu (1470-1485)”, which explored power dynamics and Atlantic administration in the late 15th century.

Previously, she earned a Master’s degree in Medieval History and Archaeology from the same university, with a dissertation on “D. Fernando I, 2nd Duke of Braganza: Life and Political Action”. Her main research interests include Court Studies, particularly the relationship between women and power in the Late Middle Ages and the early Modern Age, as well as Atlantic History, focusing on the intersections of monarchy, aristocratic networks, and expansion processes.

She is the author of “A Mulher dos Descobrimentos” (Esfera dos Livros, 2019) and has developed research on power and gender dynamics, the political and social history of monarchy, and the Didactics of History.