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THE TEAM
CONTACT
In 1962, Alfredo Fernandes Martins succeeded Amorim Girão in the geography chair at Coimbra. Having earned his doctorate in 1949, he clearly expressed his views: “Let us not be deceived into seeking a full interpretation of historical events in the physical environment, but let us say, with Vidal de La Blache, that if such an expectation is illegitimate, it would be equally unreasonable to dispense with geography in explaining history” (Martins, “À Guisa...,” ["By way of..."] pp. 9-10). He and his school are credited with a remarkable integration of historical knowledge with geographical concepts and analysis. He set an example in a notable pamphlet dedicated to the history and geography—or geography and history—of his native Coimbra (Martins, Esta...). As he himself states in the preface to his translation of La Blache’s foundational work, “it is not this or that geographical factor that can assist in interpreting History, but rather the geographical study of the relationships between humans and their environment” (Martins, “À Guisa,” p. 13). Thus, geographers with a strong awareness of history, who were able to use history in geographical construction, stood out following the work and research activity of Orlando Ribeiro. Let us c onsider the case of José Manuel Pereira de Oliveira, who worked closely with Fernandes Martins and did not hold back when writing : “Human geography cannot legitimately dispense with history in its theoretical process” (Oliveira, Trabalhos..., [Works...] p. 419), o r, in a different context, regarding the work of Aristides Amorim Girão: “A geography that seeks to move beyond mere description to assert itself scientifically as an explanatory field must root itself in the knowledge of the past” (Ibidem, p. 413). This was the approach that guided his interpretation and explanation of the urban layout of Porto (Oliveira, O espaço... [Space...]).
