Tropical Medicine and the “Consolidation” of the Portuguese Empire (1902–1966)

Defending the Portuguese colonial empire in Africa after the Berlin conference was never an easy task for the national political order. Despite the efforts made by the different political regimes in Portugal during the twentieth century, tropical medicine was always seen as a power variable, inasmuch as it established a privileged dialogue with the local population and local authorities, the power established in Lisbon and the network of frontier agents in imperial colonies in Africa. This chapter aims to reflect on the role played not only by those responsible for healthcare services overseas but also by the network of agents who carried out their projects in the field. Particular attention is paid to the importance of the Indigenous Medical Assistance Service in Angola, the sleeping sickness eradication project on Príncipe in 1914, and the role of Francisco Cambournac at the WHO after the Second World War. The consolidation of tropical medicine as a field of medical expertise led to the consolidation of imperial power. This chapter intends to examine the case of Portugal within the European context and attempts to identify the unconventional and lesser-known cycles of knowledge production and power which led to the longevity of the Portuguese Empire in the twentieth century.