Autor(es):
Matos, Ana Cardoso de 
; Diogo, Maria Paula
Data: 2009
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/2398
Origem: Repositório Científico da Universidade de Évora
Assunto(s): História da engenharia; Portugal século XIX; Administração pública
Descrição
En 1851 s’est établi au Portugal un nouveau régime politique – la “Régénération”.
Ce nouveau régime politique insistait sur l’importance des travaux publics pour
la modernisation de l´économie et sur les liens étroits qui unissent l´idée de progrès
et les objets et systèmes techniques. Or, les structures administratives dans
le Portugal de l’époque ne correspondaient pas à cette vision de l’avenir du pays.
D’où la création de nouveaux ministères, tel le ministère des Travaux publics,
du commerce et de l’industrie (1852), au sein duquel se sont concentrés tous les
services concernant les travaux publics et les activités économiques.
Dans ce texte, nous analysons le rôle joué par les ingénieurs dans le
ministère des Travaux publics, du commerce et de l’industrie (cité désormais
par son sigle: Ministério das Obras Públicas, Comércio e Indústria, MOPCI),
notamment au sein du Conseil des travaux publics, ainsi que le processus
d’affirmation du génie civil dans ce ministère. Nous analysons aussi les liens
tissés entre le Corps du génie civil du MOPCI et l’Association des ingénieurs
civils portugais, créée en 1869.-------------------------------------------------------------In 1851 a new political regime was born in Portugal. The Regeneração
(Regeneration) had a strong technologically driven agenda, built on the
belief that progress depended mostly on public works (e.g. railways, roads,
harbours).
In order to fulfil these promises of economic development, the Regeneração
Cabinet created a new ministry in 1852, suggestively named the Ministry of
Public Works, Commerce and Industry (MOPCI). Engineers played a crucial
role in the life of this government department, as their technical expertise
was at the heart of the all activity of the ministry. From its very beginning,
the MOPCI allowed engineers to assert their role as both artisans and leaders
of the renewed Portugal. Although at first these engineers had mostly a military
training, soon they were able to extend their expertise to civil works, by
going abroad and enrolling in prestigious courses at, for instance, the École
des Ponts et Chaussées.
The aim of this article is to unveil the trajectory of this professional group
as civil servants working at the MOPCI, mostly concerning their gradual
spread through different organizational levels of the ministry.
