This research examines power relations in the Portuguese Atlantic Empire and their impact on the Portuguese territories in the Americas. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it aims to analyse the mechanisms of domination, negotiation and resistance to the territorialisation of the Portuguese monarchy between the 16th and 19th centuries, focusing on the systemic dimension of power that the concept of territory generates. In the context of jurisdiction and property rights, the project analyses territorialisation, territorialities and extraterritorialities in colonial Brazil. It aims to comprehend the impact of past ethnic, land, and socio-environmental conflicts on social relations, citizenship, and social change.

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).