The Portuguese Academy of History was created by government initiative on 19 May 1936, and inaugurated on 1 December  of the same year. In the Rules of Procedure of the National Board of Education, the Academy was described as follows: "Under the auspices of the Head of State, the Portuguese Academy of History is founded, alongside the National Archive of the Torre do Tombo, as a specialised association of scholars dedicated to research and the critical reconstitution of the past, whose main goals are to stimulate and coordinate revisionist efforts to reintegrate historical truth and enrich the documentation of Portugal's inalienable rights." (Rules of Procedure of the National Board of Education, Art. 39). In July 1937, the Setting-up Committee of the Academy, appointed and headed by Carneiro Pacheco, Minister of National Education, would meet for the first time to approve the Academy's statutes, drafted by Carneiro Pacheco himself, although based on the previous work of Afonso Dornelas and Manuel Múrias. Article 2 of the Academy's Statutes (Decree No. 27 913, 31 July, 1937) established the institution's purposes: "1 — To stimulate and coordinate efforts towards the research, revision, and rectification of national history, in the higher sense of the Portuguese contribution to the progress of civilisation, as well as to enrich the documentation of Portugal's inalienable rights; 2 — To systematically publish documents held in both public and private Portuguese and foreign archives relating to and capable of elucidating Portuguese history; 3 — To organise and publish, on its own initiative or by government indication, proceedings concerning historical problems on which there are differences of interpretation, seeking to establish the truth in the national interest; 4 — To publish, in Portuguese and foreign languages, works of reference that facilitate a solid understanding of everything related to Portugal's civilizing expansion in the world; 5 — To cooperate with the National Board of Education in all aspects related to the inventorying and defence of the Nation's documentary heritage, and whenever its opinion is requested."

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