The administrative autonomy of the Torre do Tombo could have enhanced its efficiency in fulfilling its assigned functions. However, in practice, it resulted in a lack of coordination between general archival policy and the National Archive, which was excluded from the s tate's archival network. From what is known about this phase in the archive’s history—which lasted until June 1992, when the coordination of the archival network was unified under a single service called the National Archives / Torre do Tombo—there were no evident positive outcomes of this autonomy, as no significant improvements in key areas were observed.

In 1990, the archive relocated to its current purpose-built facility, which brought an expansion of the documentary holdings. This growth was due to the definitive integration of the Archive of Settled Cases, the Historical Archive of the Ministry of Finance, the “Secretariats of State archives” housed at Quinta da Amora and the National Library, records from institutions dissolved after April 25, 1974, and the personal archives of António de Oliveira Salazar, Marcelo Caetano, among others.

Decree-Law No. 106-G/92 of June 1 merged the responsibilities of the defunct Portuguese Institute of Archives, created in 1988, into the National Archives / Torre do Tombo. Consequently, the National Archive was integrated into the s tate’s archival network but became “subsumed” within the overarching body responsible for general archival policy, losing its legal identity. Additionally, it inherited significant issues from the past while bearing the weight of the s tate archival network. This situation changed in 1997, when it was renamed the Institute of National Archives / Torre do Tombo (IAN/TT), with expanded responsibilities that included the oversight of current records and the protection of the rights of the s tate and citizens. However, the previous model persisted, meaning the National Archive remained indistinguishable from the coordinating body of the s tate archival network.

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