Teotónio de Souza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Teotónio de Souza
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Teotónio de Souza in 2009
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Teotónio Rosário de Souza
18 February 1947 Moirá, Goa, Portuguese India
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| Died | 20 February 2019 (aged 72) Lisbon, Portugal
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| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Alma mater | Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, University of Poona |
| Occupation | Historian |
Teotónio Rosário de Souza (born February 18, 1947 – died February 20, 2019) was a historian from Goa. He started the Xavier Centre of Historical Research (XCHR) in Alto Porvorim, Goa. From 1995, he lived in Portugal. He led the History Department at Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias from 1999 to 2014. He was also a member of the Portuguese Academy of History and the Lisbon Geographic Society.
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About His Life
Teotónio de Souza was born in the village of Moira, Goa. His family was Catholic. He was a descendant of Shantappa Kamat, who changed his name to Diogo de Souza after becoming Christian in 1618.
He grew up and went to school mostly in Goa. At that time, Goa was ruled by Portugal. For 26 years, he was part of the Jesuit order, a group of Catholic priests.
In 1995, he left the priesthood to marry Elvira, a Portuguese woman. He received special permission from the Catholic Church to do this. He became a Portuguese citizen in 1995. In 2007, he also got the status of an Overseas Citizen of India. Teotónio de Souza passed away in Lisbon on February 20, 2019.
His Work as a Historian
Early Research
In 1979, Teotónio de Souza earned his PhD. His main research was about Medieval Goa: A Socio-Economic History. In this work, he questioned the idea that Portuguese rule made Goa rich in the 1500s and 1600s. He said that "Golden Goa" mostly referred to the beautiful church buildings from that time.
Books and Articles
De Souza wrote and edited many books and research papers. He wrote in both Portuguese and English. His book Goa To Me shares some of his personal memories. He loved to research topics about colonial times and after, especially about the Portuguese in Asia.
Sometimes, people online used his name to spread false information. For example, an article called "The Goa Inquisition" was wrongly said to be written by him in 2005.
Awards and Recognition
When he turned 60, a special book called Metahistory: History questioning History was made in his honor. It included tributes and 43 research papers from historians around the world. Lusófona University in Lisbon also gave him a Gold Medal for his research and teaching.
Connecting People Online
Teotónio de Souza believed in the power of the internet. In 1997, he started Goa-Research-Net with journalist Frederick Noronha. This was a way for people to share historical information. It later moved to Yahoo! Groups and also has groups on Facebook and Mendeley.
Newspaper Columns
From 2008, he wrote a regular column for the Goan newspaper Herald. His column connected Goa and Portugal, looking at their past and present. He also wrote for The Goan Everyday and Goan Observer. In 2018, he started writing for a Portuguese online newspaper called Pátria.
You can find many of his writings online. They are on websites like Academia.edu, Scribd, ResearchGate, and the Lusófona University's online library.
His book Goa: Outgrowing Postcolonialism - Historical Explorations (1961-2014) looks at how Goa has changed since it became independent from Portugal in 1961.
Teaching and Research
Teotónio de Souza retired in October 2014 from Lusófona University. He had been a professor there since 1996. He helped guide students studying for their master's and PhD degrees in History and Political Science. He also led research on "Colonial and Post-Colonial Societies."
He was the editor of the Journal of ACSEL and helped edit the Journal FLUXOS E RISCOS. He was also on the editorial board for the Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies.
