This book is the result of three intensive years of PhD study at Kingâs College London (2013â2016) and would not have been possible without the many people who supported me throughout this journey.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Francisco Bethencourt and Toby Green, for the productive discussions, insightful comments and suggestions that helped me to think and shape this project. The challenges posed to a self-funded researcher were overcome through their invaluable advice and support throughout those three years and I cannot thank them enough for having always believed in me and in my work.
Second, I am most grateful to my examiners, Linda Newson and Philip Havik, for enhancing the potential of my research for publication and guiding me throughout the reviewing process with their insightful comments and suggestions. Here I have also to thank Joseph C. Miller, whose patience and generosity in reading and commenting on the study helped me to further refine and shape the manuscript.
Third, this book would not have been possible without the support of the John Carter Brown Library. As a Mary L. and William R. Hartland Fellow, I had the privilege of engaging in exciting and enthusiastic brainstorming with the JCB family of staff and fellows, which greatly helped me to think about my argument and how to present it to an academic and non-academic community. I am most indebted to the friendly support and advice received from Roquinaldo Ferreira and Neil Safier, along with all the generosity and availability of the JCB staff and the valuable sources found at the library and archives. Also, to my fellows and friends Bertrand Van Ruymbeke, Ken Banks, Mark Lentz, Cristobal Silva, Rebecca Earle, Gretchen Henderson, Rachel OâToole, Nathan Marvin, Minta Zlomke, Emily Floyd, Jeffrey Erbig and all the other fellows who crossed paths with me. I cannot forget the inestimable kindness and generosity of Onésimo de Almeida and Leonor Simas-Almeida, who truly welcomed me within the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies and made me feel at home. Last but not least, to the Portuguese family I found at Providence and who made my days lighter and brighter, my dear friends Brianna Medeiros, Pedro Almeida and Patricia Ferreira.
Fourth, a special thanks to Ted Beatty, Jesse Lander, as well as to all the PhD colleagues from Notre Dame University who read and commented on my first chapter during the summer workshop Global Domes: A Dissertation Accelerator in the Humanities. The structure and argument of the book greatly
I am most grateful to Daniel Nunes, for having opened his unique and private library of African studies to me, as well as for the precious knowledge shared through his rich and helpful discussions. Many thanks to Diogo Ramada Curto, for his inestimable support during my period in Lisbon and for his critical and insightful comments that helped me to build the argument and structure of this study. A special thank you to Pedro Pinto and Miguel Geraldes Rodrigues, who sent me sources and references of inestimable importance for this project, as well as to Isabel de Castro Henriques, José Horta, and Carlos Almeida, who also shared their knowledge and some documental and bibliographical material with me. Finally, to Pedro Cardim, who accompanied me on this whole journey, sharing his knowledge, providing a net of peers and friends abroad to connect with, and ensuring his support all the way through. For all of this I will always be grateful.
This list would be incomplete without the people who became my family in London and provided me with the fundamental social and friendly support to pursue this project until its end: Ana Paula Lloyd, Craig Jones, Maria Pia Tissot, Frederico Ãgoas, LuÃs Lacerda, Carla Semedo, Flávia Donadelli, Bruno Boti Bernardi, Paula Gonçalves, and Izabella Corrêa. I owe them my deepest gratitude, as well as to all the friends in Portugal and abroad who remained supportive and confident that I would be able to pursue and finish the thesis that was behind this book.
Finally, I would like to thank my sister Joana and Miguel, who were and are invaluable friends and supporters along this journey, and to express my deepest gratitude to my outstanding parents, without whom nothing would have been possible.