Casa dos Estudantes do Império

The Casa dos Estudantes do Império (CEI), Portuguese "House of the Students of the Empire", was an institution of the Portuguese state founded in Lisbon in 1944 for Portuguese students whose primary goal was students from the overseas provinces ( Angola , Guinea-Bissau , Ch Verde , Mozambique ) to provide a meeting place. At the same time, the institution also wanted to promote the ideas of colonialism among the students. In the course of the Portuguese colonial wars The house was the nucleus for the Luso-African independence movements, in 1965 the Portuguese secret police PIDE closed the facility.

The seat was at 23 Avenida Duque D'Ávila at the corner of Rua Dona Estefânia between Praça Duque de Saldanha and the Instituto Superior Técnico .

history

The “House of the Students of the Empire” was created in the course of the merger of the Casa dos Estudantes de Angola (founded 1943), the Casa dos Estudantes de Moçambique (founded 1944) and the Casa dos Estudantes de Cabo Verde (founded 1944) in 1944 at the suggestion of the then Colony Minister Francisco Vieira Machado . The idea of the minister was to spread the idea of Portuguese colonialism (“One Portugal on several continents”), especially among the growing Luso-African elite.

After it was founded, Alberto Marques Mano de Mesquita initially headed the house, who had been appointed directly by the Ministry of Colonies. Mesquitas headed the facility only temporarily: as early as 1945, a general assembly of the members of the house, which met in neighboring Liceu Camões, replaced Mesquita with its own student leadership. The students refused to accept a Salazarist house management.

In principle, the house was open to all Portuguese students according to the motto “from Timor to the Minho ”. In addition to a canteen, a hospital ward, and a cultural and sporting program, the house also had around two dozen dormitory spaces. In addition to the house in Lisbon, there were two other branches in the traditional university city of Coimbra . Since 1948 the magazine Mensagem (Portuguese for "message") has been published monthly .

In the course of the increasing tension in the colonies, the house developed into a meeting place for Guinean, Angolan and Mozambican students, who discussed ways and ideas of possible independence movements there. Historians see the house as the nucleus for the Luso-African independence movements. Among other things found in the house Amílcar Cabral (founder of the PAIGC ), Lúcio Lara (the Secretary General MPLA ), Agostinho Neto (first president of Angola) and Marcelino dos Santos (founder of the FRELIMO ) a.

With the beginning of the Portuguese colonial wars in 1961, the tendencies of the students in the house became more and more obvious, so that the Portuguese secret police PIDE closed the "Casa dos Estudantes do Império" in September 1965.

numbers

According to data from the Portuguese National Archives Torre do Tombo , 3291 students were members of the house during the entire period, 2126 in Lisbon, 1071 in Porto and 206 in Coimbra. According to the same data, the members came from the following colonies or countries:

Portuguese Angola : 952
Portugal : 821
Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique) : 455
Cape Verde : 286
Portuguese India : 68
Portuguese Guinea : 66
São Tomé e Príncipe : 49
Macau : 44
Portuguese Timor : 12
From other countries: 51

Known members

Amílcar Cabral , founder of PAIGC
Lúcio Lara , General Secretary of the MPLA
Agostinho Neto , first President of Angola
Marcelino dos Santos , founding member of FRELIMO
Pedro Pires , President Cape Verdes
Vasco Cabral , Cape Verdean minister and later Vice-President
Mário Pinto de Andrade , founding member of the MPLA
Sérgio Vieira , founding member of FRELIMO, later chairman of the Banco de Moçambique
Luandino Vieira , Angolan writer
Manuel Rui Monteiro , Angolan writer
Rui Mingas , Angolan musician
António Jacinto , Angolan poet
Óscar Monteiro , founding member of FRELIMO , Minister of the Transitional Government and in Machel's first cabinet
José Craveirinha , Mozambican poet
Joaquim Chissano , founding member of FRELIMO, later President of Mozambique
Miguel Trovoada , founding member of the MLSTP , later Prime Minister and President of São Tomé and Príncipes
Francisco José Tenreiro , São Tomé poet
Alda Lara , Angolan poet
Pepetela , Angolan writer

Source:

literature

Alfredo Margarido: A Sombra dos Moçambicanos na Casa dos Estudantes do Império (PDF; 487 kB). In: Latitudes 25 (December 2005), 14-16.
António Faria: Linha Estreita da Liberdade - A Casa dos Estudantes do Império , Edições Colibri, Lisbon 1997, ISBN 972-8288-78-6

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d João Carlos: Casa dos Estudantes do Império: berço de líderes africanos em Lisboa. Deutsche Welle, October 13, 2012, accessed June 20, 2015 (Portuguese).
^ Pedro Ferreira: Casa dos Estudantes do Império: pelo regime e contra o regime. In: Atas I Congresso de História Contemporanea. IHC / CEIS20 / Rede História, May 13, 2013, accessed August 4, 2017 (Portuguese).
↑ ^a ^b Listagem dos associados da Casa dos Estudantes do Império. Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo, accessed August 4, 2017 (Portuguese).
↑ Nuno Ribeiro: Cinquentenário do fecho da Casa dos Estudantes do Império vai ser assinalado a partir de Outubro. In: Público. June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2015 (Portuguese).

[:0-1] João Carlos: Casa dos Estudantes do Império: berço de líderes africanos em Lisboa. Deutsche Welle, October 13, 2012, accessed June 20, 2015 (Portuguese).

[2] Pedro Ferreira: Casa dos Estudantes do Império: pelo regime e contra o regime. In: Atas I Congresso de História Contemporanea. IHC / CEIS20 / Rede História, May 13, 2013, accessed August 4, 2017 (Portuguese).

[:1-3] Listagem dos associados da Casa dos Estudantes do Império. Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo, accessed August 4, 2017 (Portuguese).

[4] Nuno Ribeiro: Cinquentenário do fecho da Casa dos Estudantes do Império vai ser assinalado a partir de Outubro. In: Público. June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2015 (Portuguese).