Work Packages > WP1

MARITIME SPACES AND ENVIRONMENTS, AND THE EXPLOITATION OF MARINE RESOURCES

 

Activity type: Research

 

Leader: Cristina Brito (FCSH)

 

Sub-leader: Nina Vieira (FCSH)

 

Partner organizations:

FCSH (Portugal), IPC (Cabo Verde), Uninorte (Colombia), APCM (Portugal), OMA (Portugal), MARAPA (São Tomé), UFS-UFS-LAAA (Brazil), TCD (Ireland), ODU (USA). All partners will be involved in the collection and analysis of relevant written sources, iconography and cartographical reviews. FCSH, APCM, OMA; IPC and MARAPA will be also dedicated to the collection of material remains in Portugal, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe. Secondments will start in month 10.

 

Objectives:

Main objective of WP1 is to study coastal and offshore fishing, sealing and whaling in the Atlantic through the gathering of information on marine natural resources with economic value. Methods of appropriation and use will be addressed as the circulation of techniques through the Atlantic basin. Questions considering the migratory movements of species as factors human displacement will be analysed as the establishment of coastal communities driven my species movements. Obtained results will allow to address short and long term impacts of exploitation and overexploitation in the local environments. For this purpose, written and iconographic sources will be used and animal’s remains from already identified locations will be considered as they might indicate former coastal areas of marine resources exploitation. Here, the northern crossing of the Atlantic and the equatorial crossing will both be taken into consideration. Even though with different ecological and economic drivers to the settlement of Europeans in the overseas, both crossings may show the importance of certain marine species. Comparative approaches to the different geographical regions are to be considered: Europe, Americas, Africa and the Atlantic Archipelagos regarding historical, archaeological in iconographic sources. Taking in account the initial contact between European and indigenous people it will be addressed an analysis of the contact porosities related with natural resources exploitation, looking the influences and indigenous uses and practices influences the European. Try to understand at what level natural sources important in a first stage for survival of initial European settlements (plants and animals) had transformed in important trade sources, highly exploited, as the waling in Brazil, for example.