The Pedagogical Congresses of Portuguese Secondary Teaching : the participation of female teachers (1927-1928)

This paper was written within the context of the research project ���The development of teacher��� associative organizations and unionism (1889-1990)��� funded by the Funda����o para a Ci��ncia e Tecnologia (Foundation for Science and Technology). Five important congresses about secondary education were organized in Portugal between 1927 and 1931. These congresses served to claim the rights of teachers and the consolidation of the class, as well as to promote the discussion of scientific and pedagogical problems. In these congresses, the presence of female teachers was residual. However, the few teachers who participated had a significant contribution to the definition of secondary education during the following decades. Among other issues, it contributed to the discussion of female education and to analyze the importance of Biology and Physical Education in high schools. This paper presents the analysis of the minutes of the 1927s and 1928s Congresses. This analysis allowed the assessment of the important role played by a group of teachers to define, at the end of the first third of the 20th century, the future guidelines of Portuguese secondary education. It also reported that these teachers were pioneers who opened the way for the increasing number of teachers in secondary education during the 20th century.

New source-material for the socio-economic history of the Hindus of Goa

The Mhamai brothers were the suppliers of daily commodities / stationery to the viceroys / governors of Goa. Since late 18th century their agency house worked in partnership with several other trading houses all over the west coast of India. They also served as brokers for the French East India company in Goa during the critical period of anglo-french wars. The Mhamais were also revenue farmers, particularly customs and tobacco tax farming. I had the privilege of taking their family archives to the Xavier Centre of Historical Research in 1979 and making the history of the family known worldwide.

Goa: A history of many liberations

The Portuguese will not to be the last in the series of foreigners who sought to make Goa their home. The developments of the past fifty years need to be observed and analysed to understand the trend that will make the so-called ��post-liberation�� history of Goa. Goa���s history should be more dispassionately viewed as made up of many ��liberations��, and more may follow.