[POSTPONED to July 2021] Congress dedicated to the history of the Azores Archipelago in periods of war, this year in Corvo. Call for papers open until 31 May 2020.

Resilience, Isolation, Deprivation and Poverty in Environments of Armed Prevention

IV International Congress

The History of the Azores is made of cycles of peace and war, and a permanent fight against isolation, Nature and forgetfulness. Solitary in the North Atlantic, the Azores geostrategic position has always placed the nine islands as the outermost territory, in peacetime, or as an area of interest for control and logistical refuelling in mid-oceans, if in a war context. Naturally difficult in the first case, communications and connections only worsen in the second case. The bottleneck of exports and imports; serious financial difficulties; the need for defence; hunger and lack of resources; the absence of medicine and the development of epidemics, or even the presence of foreign naval and air units in Azorean waters, marked the daily life of the population whose life became even more difficult, further aggravating social crises and lack of public order, aspects already marked by political volatility. Under normal conditions, emigration was one of the best solutions, the struggle for control of the Atlantic implied a paradigm shift and interaction between civil and military authorities, given the change imposed by factors of external and internal order, usually anomalous to the country and induced by war: economic blockages, lack of raw materials, food and transportation, rise of inflation, black market, lack of purchasing power, social unrest and hoarding, among other factors. Military mobilization further aggravates the decrease of local workforce and the municipal capabilities of each island, made worse by the need to sustain the presence of military contingents for defence, whether national or foreign, regardless of material, food, human and financial lacks. Given the insecure communications and weather conditions, history has shown that the archipelago can quickly be cut off from communication, therefore generating scarcity, insecurity, increased price and transportation costs, and demanding that Azoreans partner with institutions in their collective capability of sacrifice.

The organizing committee calls for proposals that deal with, but are not limited to the following themes:

– Maritime and terrestrial dimension, both national and regional throughout history;
– Portugal and the Azores in international politics;
– Political and ideological metamorphosis of local to national powers;
– The Atlantic and communications;
– Emigration, isolation and social misery;
– Support infrastructure: ports, airfields, hydro-ports and airports;
– Conditions of public health: the proliferation of diseases, pests and epidemics.

Submission of proposals between 15 March 2020 and 31 May 2020.

Please send your coordinates (name, institutional affiliation and email address), the title of communication, summary (maximum 700 words) and CV (1 page) to the following email: azoreswar@gmail.com

Working languages: Portuguese and English (there will be no simultaneous interpretation).

Regarding air travel: Inter-island Service does not carry additional charges for the customer, on trips inside the Autonomous Region of the Azores, originating, or departing from Portuguese mainland or Funchal, by those who wish to use in travel through any gateways of the RAA, and from these, reach any other island in the archipelago. Check 🔗 this link.

>> 📎 Call for papers (PDF) <<

Organisation:

Ana Paula Pires, IHC — NOVA FCSH
Andreia Silva, Ecomuseu do Corvo
Rita Nunes, IHC — NOVA FCSH and Comité Olímpico de Portugal
Sérgio Rezendes, IHC — NOVA FCSH

Scientific Committee

Maria João Dodman, York University
Carlos Manuel Gomes Lobão, ESMA/CHAM-A
Mário Fernando Oliveira Moura, CMRG
Jorge Augusto Paulus Bruno, Museu de Angra do Heroísmo
Luís Godinho Rato, Museu Militar dos Açores

Honorary Committee

Susana Goulart Costa, ex.ª Diretora Regional da Cultura
José Manuel Alves da Silva, ex.º Presidente da Câmara Municipal de Vila do Corvo
João Luís Gaspar, ex.º Reitor da Universidade dos Açores
Edgar Bastos Ribeiro, ex.º Comandante Operacional dos Açores
Vítor Manuel Meireles dos Santos, ex.º Comandante da Zona Militar dos Açores
Miguel Nuno Pereira de Matos Machado da Silva, ex.º Comandante da Zona Marítima dos Açores

Picture: Col. Pe. Leonete V. Rego, kindly provided by Pedro Domingos, Corvo Ecomuseum