Portugal and Morocco in the Face of History and European Politics

Carlos TestaProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.2

Word count: 56K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Portugal e Marrocos perante a historia e a politica europea by Carlos TestaAuthor: Testa, Carlos, 1823-1891,Language: Portuguese, Class: DT: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Africa, Release Date: Jun 30, 2008

Editor's review

Written in Portuguese by the nineteenth-century Portuguese author Carlos Testa, this is a historical and political treatise on Portugal's and Morocco's place and relationship within historical development and the European political order. As an early political tract, its value lies not in offering the latest conclusions of contemporary scholarship, but in showing how the European intelligentsia of the time viewed the historical entanglements and geopolitical imaginings between the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. Readers can observe the vocabulary, concerns, and argumentative methods of nineteenth-century European political discourse; for scholars of the history of Portuguese foreign relations, European colonial discourse, and interactions across the Mediterranean, it is a useful primary source. As a public-domain eBook, the text is easily accessible and suited to reading as historical material and to discourse analysis rather than as an introductory general history. It should be read with a critical eye toward sources, noting the author's period stance and argumentative assumptions and comparing them with later scholarship.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University teachers and students researching Portuguese history and Iberian foreign relations
Readers interested in the historical geopolitical context of Europe and North Africa
Users of historical sources needing original nineteenth-century European political texts
Researchers interested in colonial-era discourse and European political imaginings

Not a good fit for

Beginner readers seeking a quick general introduction to Portugal–Morocco relations
Readers without Portuguese reading ability and without access to a translation
Professionals expecting contemporary academic reviews and the latest research findings

Reading tips

First review the nineteenth-century historical background of Portugal and Morocco before entering the main text, to avoid reading it out of context.
While reading, mark the author's argumentative premises and value judgments as material for discourse analysis.
Read it alongside later research on Iberian–Maghrebi relations to cross-check the historical sources.
The Portuguese text is of limited length; take summary notes chapter by chapter for easier retrieval and citation later.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Portuguese, and what language proficiency is needed?

According to the information, the book is in Portuguese and is a public-domain eBook. Readers need some Portuguese reading ability or should use dictionaries and translation tools. If you have no Portuguese at all, it is advisable to first look for contemporary Chinese or English research on related topics as a substitute.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to the history of Portugal–Morocco relations?

Not really. It is a nineteenth-century political tract reflecting the views and argumentative style of the author's era, not a systematic general history. Beginners should first read contemporary academic overviews to build a framework, then read this book as supplementary primary material; that works better.

What should I keep in mind when reading a public-domain eBook edition?

Public-domain eBooks are prepared by volunteers and may contain formatting or transcription differences. Focus on understanding the content, and check proper names and dates against other editions or research works. Also note that the book was written long ago and its views carry the limitations of its time, so read it critically.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Carlos Testa Author · Portuguese · 1823–1891

Carlos Testa (1823–1891) was a Portuguese naval officer and political writer born in Lisbon. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and taught at the naval school, combining military experience with scholarly work. His writings focus mainly on international law, diplomacy and Portugal's colonial policy in Africa. His representative works include Portugal e Marrocos perante a historia e a politica europea, A politica intercolonial e internacional e o tratado de Lourenço Marques, A Influencia Europea na Africa perante a Civilisação e as Relações, and a study of Lord Palmerston. His works combine historical and political analysis of European rivalry in Africa and of treaty and diplomatic questions concerning Portuguese colonies, in a style that is both argumentative and empirical. Public information on the details of his life is limited, and scholarly attention centres chiefly on his political and colonial-policy writings.