Historical Dictionary on Portuguese Sephardim: A prosopography of men of culture and science

27.7.2015

Project status

Concluded

Execution period

2006-2007

REF

POCI/HAR/61825/2004

Main research unit

Centre for History of the University of Lisbon​

Principal Investigator

António Marques de Almeida (ULisboa)

Research team

João Carlos da Silva de Jesus (ULisboa); Paulo Mendes Pinto (Ulisboa), Florbela Cristina Veiga Frade (Ulisboa), Miguel José Rodrigues Lourenço (ULisboa); Ana Teresa Mendes Pinto (ULisboa)

Project fellows

Susana Bastos Mateus (ULisboa)

This project aims to collecting and organising biographic and bibliographic materials concerning the most important men of science and culture of Sephardic-Portuguese origin. The last stage of this work includes the publication of an edited volume to the titled Historical Dictionary of Portuguese Sephardim, volume 2, in continuing the work of volume 1 – Prosopography of Merchants and Tradesmen (POCTI project funded by FCT). To note that there will be new information concerning the field of medicine, where the scientific weight of the Sephardim – at least until the end of the 19th century – has been increasingly documented. By providing a biographical treatment of the main figures involved in the building of the Sephardic scientific heritage, this project will reach into an entirely modern dimension of the relationship between science and culture and economy and power, thereby launching the prosopography research in the fields of the cultural and scientific patronage activity, which is symbolic and leads to the consolidation of a set of power legitimising discourses that will help in building the concept of Modern State. Furthermore, by treating the Diaspora dimension of a particular community, this project leads us to the roots of the modern concept of “science-making” including international networks, alliances between opposed poles, means of verification and validation of contents and credibility systems. These systems were all deeply rooted in the manner Jews had adopted to conducting their daily lives and businesses stemming from the religious and ethnical contingencies that surrounded them. In Portugal, there is a need to conduct not only new research but also to create a credible and systematic organisation to the information already available. It is our belief that a biographic inventory as the one proposed by this project is the best tool to complete this task.