These cultural interests, combined with the liberal ideology that regarded the Nation-State as one of its core values, also influenced the new conception of the Crown Archive. Following the “French model,” the Torre do Tombo adopted a new identity, closely resembling the Archives Nationales . It transitioned from a Crown Archive to a National Archive, and in the “provisional regulation” of 1823, it was designated as the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (although it later reverted to being called the Royal Archive and only regained the title of “National” definitively in 1911). It also took on the role of managing the numerous registries that were incorporated into it. This fundamentally altered the original framework of the Crown Archive, which became not only the repository for the “historical” information of the State’s central administration but also for a wide range of other information systems integrated into it. Thus, it was transformed into a public archive/service.

The decree of May 28, 1834, which abolished male religious orders, is one of the most significant legislative acts that led to incorporations into the Torre do Tombo archive, in this case, the registries of the dissolved religious institutions. However, throughout the 19th century and the early 20th century, various legislative measures regarding incorporations were enacted, aiming to centralise in the National Archive the documentary sources deemed important for historians (M. S. Estevens, Sinopse… [Synopsis...], 1949). Nevertheless, this entire process ultimately caused the disintegration of many archives due to the disorganised manner in which it was carried out (C. Erdmann, “A Secularização…” ["Secularisation..."] 1927). On this matter, it is worth quoting from the Roteiro de fontes da História Portuguesa Contemporânea [Guide to Sources for Contemporary Portuguese History]:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | (Pdf)