Portugal and Southeast Asia: historical and contemporary connections

Attending the presentation were Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Principal of the School), Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim (Vice Principal of the School), Dr. Andrew Hardy (Director of the French School of the Far East) and many scientists and students of the school.

Prof. Paulo Castro Seixas is an Anthropologist and Sociologist at the University of Lisbon. His research interests include politics, urbanism and territory from an anthropological perspective. His presentation will focus on the current state of Southeast Asian studies in Portugal.

Prof. Paulo Castro Seixas

Portugal is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, the westernmost country of Europe, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south, and Spain to the east and north. Portugal was one of the first European countries to set foot in Asia and has had a long-standing relationship with Southeast Asia since the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1513, Portugal first came to China and in 1516 it first came to Vietnam. In 1957, the Chinese government officially recognized the Portuguese presence in Macau. Portugal was also the latest colonial power to leave Asia in 1999, after returning Macau to China.

Professor Paulo Castro Seixas said that Portuguese studies on Southeast Asia were quite limited, focusing mainly on countries in the East Asian region. In the early stages of history, these studies were mainly descriptive, did not go into in-depth analysis, and were intended to serve administrative management activities, including information on anthropology, politics, religion, etc. of this region.

In the 19th century, Portugal began to rule the colonies in the Southeast Asian region, leading to the need for in-depth research on physical anthropology, political anthropology, relations between different ethnic groups... to serve colonial governance and administrative management. At the end of the 19th century, the Portuguese began to pay more attention to the study of Oriental culture, especially literature. After 1999, studies on Southeast Asia revolved around two focuses: Macau and East Timor.

The focus of interest in Southeast Asia has also shifted from historical, linguistic, cultural studies to areas such as international relations, economics, etc. In fact, each research center in Portugal has different interests in Southeast Asia. There are centers specializing in historical studies, while others focus on economic and development studies. The Institute of Oriental Studies, School of Political and Social Sciences, University of Lisbon focuses on political issues, international relations, and public administration. Some other centers are interested in comparative studies in the fields of culture and language.

At universities in Portugal, there are currently training programs for Masters in Oriental Studies, Masters in Europe-Asia Relations, etc. These training activities are supported and cooperated by a number of foreign units such as the Confucius Institute (China). East Timor, Macau, China, etc. are the names that attract the most attention in theses and dissertations on Southeast Asia. Research contents such as: the impact of the process of returning Macau to China, the right to self-determination and state building of East Tomor, etc.

In Vietnam, Portuguese missionaries left their mark in contributing to the creation of the national language, popularizing Christianity, and building churches with unique architectural features that have become cultural heritages of Vietnam...

The presentation by Professor Paulo Castro Seixas was evaluated as helping to "awaken" a lot of broad knowledge related to the historical relationship between Vietnam, Southeast Asia with Europe and the world. The speaker also received many questions from the audience about: the mark of the Portuguese in the history and culture of Vietnam? The situation of exploiting and using archival documents on Southeast Asian history and culture in the archives in Portugal? Portugal's current policy towards the Southeast Asian region?...