Biography

Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History at NOVA University Lisbon. Previously, he was a FCT doctoral student and visiting researcher at the Pedagogical University of Maputo and ARPAC in Mozambique (2022). His doctoral thesis, completed at Iscte and approved with distinction, focuses on the narratives of Ngungunhane developed in Mozambique and Portugal from the late 19th century to the present day. He is the author of scientific articles, has participated in international conferences and in a narrative podcast about the last Emperor of Gaza.

Research fields

• History of mentalities
• Colonialism and post-colonialism
• Oral history
• Colective memory
• History in the Anthropocene

Selected publications

• Vacha, Andrea. “Era uma vez Mundugaz: Narrativas da figura do rei Ngungunhane em Moçambique e em Portugal (1890-2024)”. PhD Thesis in History, Iscte, 2025. [link]
• Vacha, Andrea, “Nwamatibejana- Roberto Zixaxa. The man who lived twice,” in One Atlantic, many perspectives. Valuing diversity in the age of competition, edided by Licínia Simão, António Monteiro, Ana Mónica Fonseca, José Domingues de Almeida, and Diniz Borges, 131-152. Ponta Delgada: Letras Lavadas, 2025. [link]
• Vacha, Andrea. “Iconography of Gungunhana: representations of the black king in Portugal (1890-1940),” Práticas da História 12 (2021): 53-93. [link]🔓
• Vacha, Andrea & Manuel Vene. “Memoriais como recursos didáticos para o ensino de história da resistência anti-colonial em Moçambique: Análise dos monumentos Acivaanjila e Ngungunhane,” Capoeira 9 (2024): 386-416. [link]🔓
• Vacha, Andrea, “Imagined elsewhere through Gungunhana. Representations of the exiled king in Azores and Mozambique,” in The Azores, the Atlantic, and the Global Challenges, edited by Dulce Maria Scott, Diniz Borges, Ana Mónica Fonseca, and António Monteiro. Ponta Delgada: Letras Lavadas, 2024. [link]

Main projects

• Postdoctoral research fellow of the project ‘SMS — Shared Memories of Solidarity. An oral and visual history (Portugal 1960-1974)‘ — Coordinated by Giulia Strippoli (IHC — NOVA FCSH) and funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (2024.06866.RESTART).
• ‘Era uma vez Mundugaz: Narrativas da figura do rei Ngungunhane em Moçambique e em Portugal (1890-2024)‘ [Once upon a time in Mundugaz: Narratives of King Ngungunhane in Mozambique and Portugal (1890–2024)] — PhD project hosted by Iscte, under the supervision of Carlos Maurício (Iscte). Individual project funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT 2020.05713.BD).