Abstract
The martyrdom of the Jesuit father Gonçalo da Silveira is considered both in early Portuguese documentation and in modern scholarship as a very significant event which had substantial implications on the course of the history of the Portuguese presence in southeastern Africa. The present article provides a new interpretation of this event by reconstructing and unfolding its local meanings using contemporary and subsequent Portuguese historical and ethnographic written documentation and oral traditions of the population of the region. By doing this, this article challenges orthodox historical narratives of a region relatively rich in written historical documents by demonstrating our ability to understand the manner in which historical events were interpreted from an indigenous point of view.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 467-487 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines |
Volume | 219 |
Issue number | 3 |
State | Published - 28 Sep 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Gonçalo da Silveira
- Monomotapa
- Monomotapa
- Mwene Mutapa
- Mwene Mutapa/Gonçalo da Silveira
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- History
- Development