“Where Islands Speak Through Art and History – From the Heart of the Azores to the Diaspora”

José Guilherme Reis Leite

[Born in Sé, Angra do Heroísmo, December 25, 1943] Historian and autonomist politician. He studied at the high school in his hometown and at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, where he graduated in 1968. He holds a PhD in History from the University of the Azores (1994). Supervised by A. H. Oliveira Marques for his doctorate, he remains loyal to his alma mater.

After graduating in 1968, he completed compulsory military service in northern Angola as a militia second lieutenant and infantryman (1969-1971). In 1971, he began his professional career at the National High School of Angra do Heroísmo, first as a temporary teacher, then as a permanent teacher in 1976, after completing his teaching internship and state exam at the Camões High School in Lisbon (1972-1973). In April 1976, he was appointed headmaster of the school, a position he left the following September to take up political office. He has collaborated with several Portuguese universities, teaching postgraduate courses and serving on master’s and doctoral thesis committees.

As a historian, he has dealt with numerous aspects of Azorean culture, namely historical, literary, and political, in different periods, with particular emphasis on those that are relevant to the understanding of the Azorean autonomy process. He is the author of numerous scientific publications in the Bulletin of the Historical Institute of Terceira Island, in the magazines Atlântida and Arquipélago, and in others. Many of his works are also published in the proceedings of scientific meetings, in collective works, and in others that he has edited. Together with others, he has organized various colloquiums and scientific meetings, namely the VIII and IX Weeks of Azorean Studies, and has been or is a member of juries evaluating works submitted for awards and competitions. A fluent speaker, he is the author of numerous lectures, many of which have been published. A journalist of considerable resources, he is a regular contributor to the newspapers A União and Diário Insular, of which he was editor (1975-1976), and Expresso das Nove, on RTP-Açores and Antena 1-RDP-Açores.

With a long political career in the Social Democratic Party, he was elected to the Azores Regional Political Commission as vice-president (1980-1992), President of the Congress Bureau (1992-1995; 2003-2005) and representative of the Azores Regional Political Commission in the National Political Commission. In the Regional Assembly of the Azores, he was a deputy for the Terceira constituency in 1984, 1988, and 1991, elected President of the Assembly in the first sessions of the third and fourth legislatures, and a deputy to the Assembly of the Republic in the sixth and seventh legislatures for the Azores constituency (1991, 1996). He was Regional Secretary for Education and Culture in the first and second regional governments of the Azores (1976, 1980).

As a national deputy, he was a member of the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the Western European Union (1992-1995), the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Assembly of the Republic (1991-1999), the ad hoc committee to monitor the situation in East Timor (1991-1995) and the Ad Hoc Committee for the Enhancement of the Heritage of the Assembly of the Republic (1997-1999).

His political activity also manifested itself as a member of the Administrative Committee of the General Assembly of Angra do Heroísmo (1976) and as a representative of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in the negotiations between the Governments of Portugal and the United States of America for the renewal of the agreement on the transfer of facilities in the Azores (1979, 1983).

A full member of the Historical Institute of Terceira Island (1973), he was secretary of the board (1976-1993), responsible for preparing the institution’s newsletter, deputy president (1993-1999), and president (2001-2005). A member of the Azorean Institute of Culture (1978), he was president of the board and director of Revista Atlântida, the Institute’s publication (1985-1990). He is also a member of the Horta Cultural Center, the Ponta Delgada Cultural Institute, the Afonso Chaves Society for Azorean Studies, the Lisbon Geographical Society, the Portuguese Academy of History, the Naval Academy, and the Historical and Geographical Institute of Santa Catarina.

His civic activity was also evident at the Lawn Tennis Club of Angra do Heroísmo, where he was president of the board (1972-1976), and Rádio Clube de Angra, where he was president of the General Assembly (1992-1994).

In 1989, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Infante D. Henrique by the President of the Republic.

A well-known figure in Portuguese cultural and political circles, he is one of the most prominent contributors to the Enciclopédia Açoriana (Azorean Encyclopedia) and one of those who has contributed most to the scientific production of this monumental work on Azorean culture.

His bibliography is published in the Bulletin of the Portuguese Academy of History, 52: 56-60 and 63-64 (1992 to 2004).

By Luís M. Arruda

Main works on the Azores. (1971), Administração Sociedade e Economia nos Açores (Administration, Society, and Economy in the Azores) (1766-1793), Arquivo Açoriano, (edited by Dr. Victor Hugo Forjaz), XVI: 267-475 + 2 maps. (1977), Os Fisher – esboço histórica duma família açoriana (The Fishers – Historical Sketch of an Azorean Family). Angra do Heroísmo, Azorean Institute of Culture. (1983), Towards a reading of João Soares De Albergaria de Sousa’s Corografia Açórica, Arquipélago, Special issue of 1983: 279-317. (n.d.) [1985], A Controversy over Atlantic Policy in the 20th Century. The Azores and the British Empire. With an unpublished work by Dr. João Cabral de Meio, in Proceedings of the Interdisciplinary Symposium on Portuguese Studies – Dimensions of Otherness in Portuguese-speaking Cultures – The Other. Lisbon, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, II: 289-317. (1985), The Sources of Francisco Ferreira Drumond in the Annals of Terceira Island, Bulletin of the Historical Institute of Terceira Island, XLIII, vol. II: 459-633. (1987), Father José António Camões. An Attempt at a Biography, Bulletin of the Historical Institute of Terceira Island, XLV, vol. II: 1141-1203. (1987), The Autonomy of the Azores in Portuguese Legislation. Horta, Regional Legislative Assembly of the Azores [organization, preface, and notes]. (1988), Codex 529 of the Overseas Historical Archive – The Captaincy-General of the Azores During the Pombaline Consulate, reading, text editing, and preface. Angra do Heroísmo, Regional Secretariat for Education and Culture. (1988), The Royal Courts – The Azorean Branch and its significance, Oceanos, 1: 87-90. (1989), Clandestine Emigration from the Azores to Brazil in the 19th Century, in Proceedings of the Second Congress of Azorean Communities, Angra do Heroísmo: 219-230 [and in Revista de Cultura Açoriana, Lisbon, Casa dos Açores, year 1, L, 1989: 53-64]. (1989-1990), The Historian António Ferreira de Serpa. The Possible Bibliography, Bulletin of the Cultural Center of Horta, IX: 23-50. (1990), Francisco Ferreira Drumond, Topographical, Political, and Ecclesiastical Notes to Complement the Annals of Terceira Island. Angra do Heroísmo, Historical Institute of Terceira Island [reading, text editing, and preface (Azorean Historiography in the First Half of the 19th Century)]. (1990), On the Autonomy of the Azores. Ponta Delgada, Signo. (1993), Twenty Years of Portuguese Overseas Historiography (1972-1992). The Azores, in Twenty Years of Portuguese Overseas Historiography (1972-1992). Coordinated by Artur Teodoro de Matos and Luís Filipe Thomaz. Lisbon, National Commission for the Commemoration of Portuguese Discoveries: 27-47. (1995), Politics and Administration in the Azores from 1890 to 1910. The First Autonomist Movement. Ponta Delgada, Jornal de Cultura, 2 vols. (1995), Considerations on the Correspondence between Aristides Moreira da Mota and Luís de Magalhães, in Proceedings of the First Centenary Congress of the Autonomy of the Azores. Ponta Delgada, Jornal de Cultura, I: 207-220. (1997), Autonomy and the Fourth Constitutional Revision. The 1997 Debate, Atlântida, XLIII, 1st semester: 105-121. (1998), The Election for Deputies in the Horta Electoral District in 1889, in Proceedings of the Second International Colloquium Faial and the Azorean Periphery in the 15th to 20th Centuries. Horta, Horta Cultural Center: 197-208. (1999), The Entry into the Contemporary Era as Seen from the Azores, Bulletin of the Historical Institute of Terceira Island, LVII: 549-562. (1999), The First Chartist Elections in the Azores in 1826, Arquipélago, III (2nd S.): 325-379. (1999), Regular Maritime Links between Lisbon and the Azores at the Beginning of the Regeneration. Lisbon, Navy Academy. (1999), The 1889 Election for Deputies in the Angra do Heroísmo Circle, in Fraternity and Selflessness. To Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão, His Friends. Lisbon, Portuguese History Association, II: 781-796. (2000), Earthquakes, Conflicts, and Taxation in the Azores in the 17th Century. Annals of Overseas History, 1: 193 to 204. (2001), The Political Situation, in New History of Portugal, Edited by Joel Serrão and A. H. Oliveira Marques. Lisbon, Editorial Presença, VII (1680-1750), coordinated by Avelino de Freitas Meneses: 192-225. (2001), Garrett and the Azores. A Famous Episode Revisited, Nova Atlântida, XLVI: 49-54. (2001), Azorean Historiography in the First Half of the 20th Century, Arquipélago, V (2nd S.): 527-542. (2001), On the Paths to Pre-Autonomy. The General Assembly in the 1886 Code, in Proceedings of the International Seminar on Autonomy and the History of the Islands. Funchal, Center for Atlantic History Studies: 109-125. (2002), Honor, Service, and Profit. The Captains of the Beach, Archipelago, VI (2nd S.): 11-31. (2002), The Settlement of Corvo. Lisbon, Naval Academy. (2003), Notes for a Constitutional Review, Nova Atlântida, XLVIII: 217-222. (2003), The Ships of the India Run and Land Support in the Azores. An Exemplary Narrative of the 17th Century, in Proceedings of the 5th Symposium on Maritime History. The India Run. Lisbon, Naval Academy: 251-256. (2003), A Forest of Deceptions. The First Attempt to Populate Terceira Island in The Iberian Kingdoms in the Middle Ages. Tribute Book to Professor Humberto Carlos de Baquero Moreno. Porto, Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto and Livraria Civilização, II: 671-676. (2003), The insular perception of Europe, in Portugal and European construction. Coimbra, Almedina: 4-52. (2004), Between Laws and Interests. The Legal Trade of the Azores with Brazil in the First Half of the 18th Century, Arquipélago, VIII (2nd S.): 21-36. (2004), The Settlement of Flores, in Proceedings of the III Colloquium on Faial and the Azorean Periphery in the 15th to 20th Centuries. Horta, Horta Cultural Center: 483-492. (2004), Manuel de Arriaga as President of the Republic or the Impossible Mission, in The Time of Manuel de Arriaga, Proceedings of the Colloquium Organized by the History Center of the University of Lisbon and the Association of Former Students of the Liceu da Horta. Lisbon, History Center of the University of Lisbon, Association of Former Students of the Liceu da Horta: 343-350. (2004), In the mists of the settlement of Terceira. Os Teive In Svmmvs Philologvs Necnon Verborvm Imperator. Collection of Studies in Honor of Professor José Pedro Machado on his 90th Birthday. Lisbon, Portuguese Academy of History: 321-332. (2005), A story to be told: the defense of the Azores. In Proceedings of the Colloquium Portugal and the Atlantic—60 years of the Azores agreements, coordinated by Luís Nuno Rodrigues, Iva Delgado, David Castanho. Lisbon, Center for Contemporary Portuguese History Studies: 131–138.

Contribution to Nova História da Expansão Portuguesa (New History of Portuguese Expansion), edited by Joel Serrão and A. H. Oliveira Marques, Vol. III As Ilhas do Atlântico (The Atlantic Islands), coordinated by Artur Teodoro de Matos, Lisbon, Editorial Estampa.

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