Identidade e tecnologia: o caminho de ferro da Suazilândia (1900-1914)

Abstract

In the beginning of the 20th century the Portuguese governments worried about maintaining the national identity of the railways they projected in the colonies, after several bad experiences with foreign companies and contractors, both in the mainland and in the overseas territories. When an opportunity to build a new line from Lourenço Marques to Swaziland arose, the Portuguese authorities strived to keep the railroad entirely Portuguese. In this paper we aim to examine the process of decision-making and construction of this railway. We will use the methodology of the cross-borders/transnational large technological systems and the concept of technodiplomacy to analyse Portuguese and British archival sources.