About

Research Context

Malasia | Indonesia | Singapore | China

Research Interests

Portuguese descendant communities | Southeast Asia | Identity

Institutional Subunit

ISCTE

Biographical Note

BA in International Affairs, and MA in Intercultural Relations (Gulbenkian Foundation Scholar), and a PhD in History (Orient Foundation Scholar). Maria de Jesus Espada specialized in the Portuguese presence in Southeast Asia, particularly the subject of the Portuguese-descendant communities. The thesis, written in Portuguese, covered an analysis of some previous Portuguese studies dedicated to the existence of “luso-descendant” communities in Asia, with a time-line beginning at the birthplace of our colonial roots – 16th century Malacca. She argues how three communities that have perpetuated through the centuries in Malacca, Tugu and Singapore could have also contributed to increase the cultural diversity of the various other indigenous communities in Southeast Asia. She makes a comparison on the successive formation of cultural images from the perspectives bounded by ethnic traces, language and religion as seen in Macao and India over various periods, and the influence of other colonial empires and their “civilising missions” in the region. Since then, she has published a book and several articles.