University of Minho marks 650 years of the Portuguese-British alliance
Conference will feature, from 6th to 9th July, in Braga, with the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Chief of Staff of the Navy, President of Portugal-UK 650, Rector, mayors and academics
From the 6th to the 9th of July, the University of Minho hosts the Interdisciplinary Conference on the 650th Anniversary of the Luso-British Alliance, with 50 personalities and academics speaking about the past, present and future of what is the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world. The event has the High Sponsorship of the President of the Republic and is promoted by the UMinho School of Law (EDUM) and its Research Center in Justice and Governance (JusGov).
The program also has the partnership of the Portugal UK-650 initiative, which in recent months has carried out 70 commemorative activities and announces until July 15th several events in Braga and Vizela, as well as concerts in Lisbon, Sintra, Coimbra and Porto. The evocation of the Portuguese-British treaties of Tagilde (1372) and London (1373) continues until 2023, involving more than 100 science, education, culture, trade, cooperation, social and political institutions from both countries, being in portugal-uk650 .with.
The conference itself starts this Wednesday, at 16:00, in the medieval hall of the Rectory of UMinho, in the center of Braga. Rector Rui Vieira de Castro, the mayors of the municipalities of Braga and Vizela, respectively Ricardo Rio and Victor Hugo Salgado, the president of EDUM, Cristina Dias, the director of JusGov, Maria Miguel Carvalho, and the president of Portugal-UK will speak. 650, Maria João Rodrigues de Araújo. There is also a lecture by Thomas Earle, professor emeritus at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), and a performance by the UMinho Orchestra. The music returns there on Thursday, at 7 pm, with the well-known Queen’s College Oxford Choir, also with free admission.
The conference takes place from the 7th to the 9th in the noble auditorium of EDUM, on the Gualtar campus, in Braga. The program includes speakers from ten national universities (Autónoma, Católica, Coimbra, Évora, Lisbon, Lusófona do Porto, Minho, Nova de Lisboa, Portucalense and Porto), in addition to the universities of Oxford, Warwick, Cardiff, Nottingham Trent (United Kingdom) , Alabama (USA) and San Pablo CEU (Spain). Joining also are Jorge de Abreu, president of the Portuguese-British Chamber of Commerce, Mário Godinho Matos, former ambassador in Havana, Maputo and Moscow, Eurico Gomes Dias, the youngest member of the Portuguese Academy of History, or Sean Cunningham, Director of Records. Medievals in the British National Archives.
Closing Session on Saturday
The closing session will take place on Saturday, at 11:30 am, with speeches by the United Kingdom’s ambassador, Cristopher Sainty, the rector of UMinho, Rui Vieira de Castro, the Chief of Staff General of the Armed Forces, Admiral António Silva Ribeiro, and the representative of the event’s organization and JusGov, Alexandra Rodrigues de Araújo. The moment counts with the performance of the Army Band and a lecture by Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Filipe Afonso. “We hope that the Portugal-UK 650 initiatives, including this conference and the series of lectures that followed it, can contribute in the long term to a safer, fraternal society, aware of its historical-cultural heritage and promoting international solidarity”, he says. Maria Joao Rodrigues de Araujo.
On July 10, 1372, a treaty was signed in Tagilde (Vizela) by King Fernando of Portugal and by the delegates of João de Gante, Duke of Lancaster and son of King Edward III of England, which led to the of 1373, the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Alliance was signed, in the Cathedral of São Paulo, in London, by Edward III and D. Fernando, flanked by D. Leonor, and that would be reinforced by the Treaty of Windsor on May 9, 1386 This alliance overcame challenging historical contingencies such as two World Wars, the rise and fall of empires, revolutions and decolonization, multilateralization of international relations, European integration and the end of the Cold War.
Program and photos attached.
Contacts
Alexandra Rodrigues de Araújo – 933 355 711, alexandra.jusgov@direito.uminho.pt