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THE TEAM
CONTACT
First and foremost, the work of the Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses [National Committee for the Commemorations of the Portuguese Discoveries] (which lasted from 1987 to 2002) should be noted for its vigorous projection of the image of this historical period on both a domestic and international scale; this included staging exhibitions, promoting conferences, funding research projects (this aspect was less visible to the public eye) and editing or supporting a large number of publications, both scientific and for the general public, with special attention to the younger generation, which was the focus of the Grupo de Trabalho do Ministério da Educação para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses [Ministry of Education's Working Group for the Commemorations of the Portuguese Discoveries], for which he was co-responsible. One of the most important features of these commemorations was the creation of Mare Liberum. Revista de História dos Mares [Mare Liberum. Journal of the History of the Seas], a journal published in an unusual format (A4) with the aim of enabling the publication of articles that required illustration that was not compatible with the normal size of scientific journals, i.e., mainly Cartographic and Nautical Studies; until the disbandment of the CNCDP, Mare Liberum was the body of this organisation's Scientific Committee, directed since its inception by Luís de Albuquerque (it was further supplemented by the journal Oceanos [Oceans], of a dissemination nature). The journal was also committed to internationalisation, as may be seen by the panoply of authors from its very first issue, and the acceptance of texts in six languages (including German and Italian), which had been unheard of in Portuguese history journals until then.
To some degree, the drive to enhance and promote Portuguese History and Culture in the time of the Discoveries continued. This had already been the theme of the XVII Exposição Europeia de Arte, Ciência e Cultura [XVII European Exhibition of Art, Science and Culture] (1983), developed around five nuclei, and Luís de Albuquerque had been in charge of the Jerónimos [Hieronymites Monastery] exhibition. This time, for the intrinsic quality of his writings, but also for his choice of more obscure topics, even within the professional history field. Additionally for the expository capacity of his elegant, straightforward writing, within the reach of an educated non-specialist audience, however complex the subject (a good example is precisely the História da Náutica [History of Nautical Science], an elaborate subject even for the professional reader), and which in no way sacrificed scientific rigour.
