History, citizenship and recent past in times of dictatorship

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide a contribution to the study of the conditions of production of Portuguese historiography in a context of restricted citizenship during the 20th century Iberian dictatorships, with particular emphasis on the complex relationship between present, past, and future expectations. At the fore of this paper is the case of the Portuguese dictatorships (1926-1974), while other national examples are recalled for comparative purposes. Different ways of establishing relations with time are observed, multiple temporalities experienced by different historians from different historical and political backgrounds. Taking into account several individuals - among others, V. Magalhães Godinho, António Borges Coelho and José Tengarrinha and in contrast, João Ameal and Alfredo Pimenta who were supporters of the regime -, to what extent did their life experiences marked by the imposed conditions of the dictatorial regimes restrain their work? How did they experience the tension between political engagement and historiographical practice? Organic historians tried to mobilize their nationals for apologetic and militant causes, assuming their partisanships. Others, more autonomous towards the authorities, inspired by the Annales or somehow marked by Marxism, expressed a tension between the demands of the historian’s work and the urge for political action. A tension between the historian’s professional ethics which demanded critical distance and the challenges posed by their civic duty.