USES, REUSES AND ABUSES: CROSSING “BORDERS” AND “LUSO-AFRICANITIES” IN THE HISTORIOGRAPHIES OF ANGOLA, CAPE VERDE AND GUINEA-BISSAU FOR THE 15TH, 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES

Abstract

This article develops the notions of “frontier” and “Luso-Africanity”, addressing some cases anchored in the writing of the history of Angola, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau for the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The guiding thread of this narrative is the sharing and circularity of these notions, split into two moments. In the first, we will understand the notion of the Africanist frontier, as it affects the studies developed by North-American historiography since the postwar period. In a second moment, we will introduce some notions of “Luso-Africanity”, drawing attention to the focus given to multiple identity practices. At the end of this article, we will point out some of the risks and obstacles that permeate the notion of Luso-Africanity, the main one being the dissolution of the differences, asymmetries and inequalities that have crossed the Euro-African contacts. As a working hypothesis, we assume that future researches will carry out more empirical investigations, as well as support a more critical stance on cultural hybridism, blood miscegenation, multiple identities, religious syncretism and peaceful social fusion.