From S. Paulo de Luanda to Luuanda, from Lourenço Marques to Maputo: colonial capitals in postcolonial times
Every city contains its history. Luanda and Maputo are no different. Luanda, facing the Atlantic, reveals Western influence in its Luso-Brazilian architecture. Maputo, facing the Indian Ocean, boasts the mix of Africa, Portugal, India, and South Africa. These cities sediment the temporal, spatial and political. The archaic occurs with the modern; progress with backwardness. Political moments crash into one another. Geography becomes fluid. Skewed temporalities contribute to multiple layers. The precolonial era, coastal settlement, modern colonialism, then independence and postcolonialism, all stake claims to historical attention. This mix impacts and is influenced by collective and individual subjectivities. The result of a European arrival, either for commerce, or to colonize, the mix had a political impact on the ordering of space, and in power relations seen in each city. This project analyses the continuities and ruptures, either in reality or in the construction of the cities’ imaginaries.
Final report, six scientific articles, book. Final International Conference. Website. Workshops for the devolution and discussion of results.
Francisco Noa
Jorge Figueira
Margarida Calafate Ribeiro (coord)
Nuno Gonçalves
Phillip Rothwell
Roberto Vecchi
Walter Rossa