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In Lisbon, this line of ethnographic research saw considerable development with Adolfo Coelho (1847-1919) and, especially, J. Leite de Vasconcelos (1858-1941), while in the north, it was carried forward by a group centred around the publication Portugalia: materiaes para o estudo do povo portuguez [Portugalia: materials for the study of the Portuguese people], including figures such as Ricardo Severo (1869-1940), Rocha Peixoto (1866-1909), and Artur da Fonseca Cardoso (1865-1912), among others.
The focus on ethnographic aspects gained renewed interest and depth at the end of the 19th century. The combined effect of developments in the human and social sciences and the cultural trends of the time, such as neo-romanticism and nationalism, contributed to the late-century generations enriching studies in fields such as ethnography, anthropology, philology, archaeology, and history. The fruits of this endeavour became evident in the 20th century. These developments were also influenced by the country's sociocultural evolution, with the slow growth of the middle classes, advances in education, the expansion of the regional and local press, and the availability of resources that made it possible to produce and publish these works. Local scholars were often priests, some bachelor graduates, and local autodidacts, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and civil servants, who were part of the small circle of notable figures in their towns. In some cities, it was possible to establish associations and cultural societies with periodical publications where studies were published (Instituto de Coimbra, 1852; Sociedade Martins Sarmento, Guimarães, 1881). Their motivations are evident: a deep love for their homeland, that is, a deep-seated local patriotism that challenges them to write its history and memories; the claim for the importance and value of the region or locality in the national context, emphasising, for instance, how they participated in major national events—the Restoration, the fight against the French invasions, the Liberal Revolution, etc.; lamenting the neglect by governments and public services in general and demanding essential improvements for their towns, which often appears in introductions and prefaces or in the press when presenting the works. Thus, regional and local studies contribute to the construction of imaginations and identities, but also to legitimising claims, political proposals, and subnational powers.
