FASCÍNIO ORIENTAL E EXÍLIO TIMORENSE: O ‘DIÁRIO DE UMA VIAGEM A TIMOR (1882-1883)’ DE MARIA ISABEL TAMAGNINI
This article proposes a critical reading of *Diário de uma viagem a Timor* (1882–1883), by Maria Isabel Tamagnini, in order to address the Oriental fascination and the Timorese exile as traces of a Portuguese presence in Southeast Asia in the nineteenth century. The work, written by a young companio...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
April 2003
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40006/2716 |
| Summary: | This article proposes a critical reading of *Diário de uma viagem a Timor* (1882–1883), by Maria Isabel Tamagnini, in order to address the Oriental fascination and the Timorese exile as traces of a Portuguese presence in Southeast Asia in the nineteenth century. The work, written by a young companion of the new governor of Timor, Bento da França, and of a small group, stands as a unique documentary testimony of the expedition, even though the original notebook Lisboa–Singapura is missing. The analysis focuses on the three preserved notebooks (II–V), comparing them with the narrated itinerary (Singapore, Batavia, Java, Surabaya, Macassar) and with the conditions of textual production: the *Diário* is not organized in a strictly daily manner, presenting scattered periods of notes followed by blocks of reflective, memorialistic, and sociocultural observational writing. From this reading, the central themes are identified and discussed: Oriental fascination, descriptions of societies and urban practices in the visited regions, and the relationship between travel literature and the colonial administrative mission. Among the main contributions, the *Diário*'s function stands out as a rare source for the historiography of East Timor, offering a critical perspective that questions official narratives and broadens the understanding of the Portuguese presence in the East, especially with regard to Timor and its exile. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |