Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology

Recognizing and defining behaviors is among the most challenging objectives of writing narratives about the past, especially when direct testimony and the evidence of agents’ actions are long lost. Typically, archaeologists look at material remains to reconstruct daily activities, while historians r...

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Main Authors: Tânia Manuel Casimiro, Marco Oliveira Borges
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Heritage
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/2/109
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author Tânia Manuel Casimiro
Marco Oliveira Borges
author_facet Tânia Manuel Casimiro
Marco Oliveira Borges
author_sort Tânia Manuel Casimiro
collection DOAJ
description Recognizing and defining behaviors is among the most challenging objectives of writing narratives about the past, especially when direct testimony and the evidence of agents’ actions are long lost. Typically, archaeologists look at material remains to reconstruct daily activities, while historians read and interpret documents that articulate how agents interacted with their surroundings. Following an interdisciplinary approach combining archaeology and history, the purpose of this paper is to reconstruct how different types of agents co-existed on board Portuguese ships in the Early Modern Age, and how those relations can be interpreted as a household. These ships sailed across different oceans with different purposes and destinations, carrying people, animals, and things, all of which had a level of agency. All these agents led to the development of specific relations and ways of being, characterizing the particular dynamics and associations during voyages.
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spelling doaj.art-8c5dbf21a8024eb891e89a11fb2e0af12023-11-16T20:48:49ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082023-02-01622020203710.3390/heritage6020109Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and ArchaeologyTânia Manuel Casimiro0Marco Oliveira Borges1História Territórios Comunidades, Centro de Ecologia Funcional, NOVA University of Lisbon, 1099-085 Lisbon, PortugalCentre for History, University of Lisbon, 1600-214 Lisboa, PortugalRecognizing and defining behaviors is among the most challenging objectives of writing narratives about the past, especially when direct testimony and the evidence of agents’ actions are long lost. Typically, archaeologists look at material remains to reconstruct daily activities, while historians read and interpret documents that articulate how agents interacted with their surroundings. Following an interdisciplinary approach combining archaeology and history, the purpose of this paper is to reconstruct how different types of agents co-existed on board Portuguese ships in the Early Modern Age, and how those relations can be interpreted as a household. These ships sailed across different oceans with different purposes and destinations, carrying people, animals, and things, all of which had a level of agency. All these agents led to the development of specific relations and ways of being, characterizing the particular dynamics and associations during voyages.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/2/109shipwreckshousehold archaeologyshipboard life
spellingShingle Tânia Manuel Casimiro
Marco Oliveira Borges
Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology
Heritage
shipwrecks
household archaeology
shipboard life
title Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology
title_full Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology
title_fullStr Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology
title_full_unstemmed Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology
title_short Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology
title_sort life on board portuguese ships in the 16th 18th centuries theorizing households through history and archaeology
topic shipwrecks
household archaeology
shipboard life
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/2/109
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