Between History and Periodicity: Printed and Hand-Written News in 18th-Century Portugal

Belo, André

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Overview

Year:: 2004
Contributor:: Belo, André (author)
Genre:: articles
Subject:: Gazettes; Scribes; Gazeta de Lisboa; Books and reading > Portugal > History > 18th century; Information networks; Lisbon Earthquake, Portugal, 1755
Extent:: 11 p.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26300/kbz8-pa93

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Description

Abstract:: What news became printed news in 18th-century Portugal? How was information conceived, exchanged and read? Drawing on Ph.D. research, this paper attempts to make sense of the most important Portuguese periodical printed during the first half of the 18th century: the Lisbon gazette, called Gazeta de Lisboa. The analysis is undertaken from a comparative perspective, considering the Portuguese gazette as part of an intertextual European whole. The paper will concentrate on two particular aspects: in the first place, the production of the Gazeta as “literary genre” from the point of view of its editor, stressing the affinities between the writing of the news and the task of the historian’s analysis. This will lead us to the periodical’s main paradox: information about events occurring in the present was somehow systematically devalued. Historical discourse was also present in the hand-written newspapers that circulated in Portugal in the same period. Together with the information transmitted by simple letters, manuscript periodicals, possessing a title and a regular date of issue, played a major role in the exchange of information in the 18th century, circulating within the same networks as the printed periodical press. I will show that, rather than speak of possible conflict, we should speak of the complementary roles of these two media. In the end, beyond the surface of the written text, there lies a complex landscape of social relations involved with information.; Que notícias foram impressas no século XVIII em Portugal? Como a informação era concebida, trocada e lida? Com base em investigação doutoral, este artigo estuda o mais importante periódico português da primeira metade do século XVIII: a Gazeta de Lisboa. A análise é empreendida de forma comparativa, considerando a gazeta portuguesa como parte de um contexto europeu intertextual. O artigo concentra-se em dois aspectos particulares: em primeiro lugar, a produção da Gazeta como «género literário» do ponto de vista editorial, enfatizando-se as afinidades entre a escrita de notícias e o trabalho de análise histórica. Isto levar-nos-á ao principal paradoxo do periódico: a informação sobre eventos ocorrendo no presente era em geral sistematicamente desvalorizada. O discurso histórico também estava presente nos jornais manuscritos que circulavam em Portugal no mesmo período. Junto à informação transmitida por meras cartas, os periódicos manuscritos, apresentando títulos e datas de publicação, desempenhavam um importante papel na disseminação de informação no século XVIII, circulando nas mesmas redes dos periódicos impressos. Pretende-se demonstrar que, em vez de se falar em possíveis conflitos, dever-se-ia falar dos papéis complementares desses dois meios. No fim das contas, além da superfície do texto escrito, percebe-se um complexo quadro de relações sociais envolvendo a troca de informação.

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Citation

Belo, André, "Between History and Periodicity: Printed and Hand-Written News in 18th-Century Portugal" (2004). e-Journal of Portuguese History. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.26300/kbz8-pa93

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e-Journal of Portuguese History Vol. 2, no. 2

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e-Journal of Portuguese History

The e-Journal of Portuguese History (e-JPH) (ISSN: 1645-6432) is an international peer-reviewed scholarly journal with the objective of providing publication of work on historical subjects, especially those concerning themes and topics of Portuguese history analyzed in a comparative perspective. It …

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