[Colonial collections at the Universidade de Lisboa: criteria for characterizing sensitive heritage].

Abstract

The collections of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical were integrated into the Universidade de Lisboa in 2015, leaving the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência responsible for their management, preservation and access. This historical and scientific heritage includes archives, libraries, natural history, archaeological and ethnographic collections, scientific instruments and the Jardim Botânico Tropical. Most of the collections were created as part of colonial scientific missions promoted by the Portuguese government during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This article reflects on this heritage in light of contemporary debates on the legacies of colonialism, presenting the museum's work to address, identify and describe its historically and culturally sensitive collections.