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This article establishes an interpretive dialogue between the historiography of João de Barros (sixteenth century) and the intellectual figure of Charles R. Boxer (twentieth century), arguing that, despite their chronological distance, both are connected by a long duration of common concerns: the writing of History as an erudite and didactic practice, the mastery of chronicle sources from the Portuguese East, and the recognition of the human and documentary value of their "chroniclers" as privileged mediators of the empire. Through an analysis of Boxer's texts that thematize João de Barros—with particular emphasis on the use and appreciation of the Décadas da Ásia—the authors demonstrate how Boxer legitimizes Barros as a credible source and model of historiographical inspiration, underscoring the centrality of the historical context and geographical framework in reconstructing the imperial trajectory. Methodologically, the study proceeds through critical reading and bibliographical contextualization, confronting biographical works and historiographical assessments produced by Boxer and by subsequent historiography. As a result, the article concludes that the Boxerian exaltation of Barros is not merely literary recognition but a methodological gesture: in choosing Barros as a reference, Boxer reaffirms a conception of the history of the empire founded on the quality of coeval narratives, on the triangulation between information and setting, and on the historian's responsibility toward sources.
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The article analyzes the thought and action of Benjamim António Videira Pires, SJ, based on his contribution to the Portuguese journal in the East *Religião e Pátria* (R&P), interpreting this participation as an articulated expression between Catholic faith and the Lusitanian identity project. The authors argue that, between 1955 and 1968—the period during which BVP assumed editorial and directorial duties—the journal functioned as a platform for historical research, educational intervention, and literary diffusion, enabling him to consolidate a public narrative about the Portuguese in the East and the conditions for propagating the Gospel message. Methodologically, the study proceeds with a contextual and documentary reading of R&P, reconnecting the author’s activities to the journal’s institutional trajectory, its circulation within the Lusitanian diaspora (with emphasis on Macau and also Hong Kong), and the political and cultural landmarks that marked the territory in the twentieth century. As results, the authors highlight the internal coherence of BVP’s program: the articulation between pedagogical work and intellectual production; the recourse to archives, books, and historical sites as empirical basis; and the defense of a cultural Lusitanity anchored in religious values. It concludes that BVP’s activities in R&P constitute a paradigmatic case of cultural mediation in the East, in which religion and homeland mutually reinforce each other through the printed word.
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João de Barros, humanist and Orientalist, and a contemporary chronicler of the Portuguese expansion in the sixteenth century, tells us of China at that time of encounter with new worlds, particularly in the Third of his *Décadas da Ásia*. This country of the Far East is treated with delight, expressing great admiration for those distant lands and peoples, which led him to baptize China as the Flourishing Middle Empire.
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- Journal Article (3)