Esta pesquisa centra-se no estudo das relações de poder no império português do Atlântico e a sua projeção nos territórios lusos da América. Com uma abertura interdisciplinar, busca-se recuperar a dimensão sistêmica do poder que o conceito de território engendra, para analisar os mecanismos de dominação, negociações e resistências à territorialização da monarquia portuguesa entre os séculos XVI e XIX. Tendo como pano de fundo o problema da jurisdição e da implementação dos direitos de propriedade, o projeto examina processos de territorialização, territorialidades e extraterritorialidades no Brasil colonial. Busca-se compreender como os conflitos étnicos, fundiários e socioambientais do passado foram moldando as relações sociais dinâmicas e complexas, o exercício da cidadania e os processos de mudança social.   

Economic inequalities, social exclusion, discrimination against minorities, cultural resistance and disruption of social cohesion – these are all key concerns in the current European and global agenda, both in scholarly work and policy-making. RESISTANCE aims at analysing these issues by focusing on the processes of resistance carried out by social actors that have been historically disadvantaged, discriminated against and dominated. By using a concept of resistance that connects continued and less visible forms of resistance, cultural dissent and violent revolts, the ultimate goal of RESISTANCE is to produce a reinterpretation of the universe of “the dominated”. RESISTANCE will provide an understanding of how these actors could influence processes of social change, either by opening up societies to diversity and making them more inclusive and equal, or, conversely, by causing the increase of repression. Rooted in the disciplinary field of history, RESISTANCE uses the past as a laboratory for the analysis. Focusing on the former Portuguese and Spanish empires, this project privileges a comparative approach in time and space in order to investigate an extended time frame (sixteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries) and a spatial framework that encompasses Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. The past experiences of their societies, strongly grounded on ethnic, social, economic, cultural, religious, and gender inequality, still shape current political and social dynamics. RESISTANCE is led by the University of Évora, and made up of seven beneficiary universities in Portugal, Spain and Germany, plus six universities in third countries (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mexico and USA). In addition to academic-type deliverables, RESISTANCE proposes an extensive range of dissemination and communication outputs specifically targeted at wide-ranging audiences (schools, museums, international agencies, think tanks, policy-makers, and more).