PRESENTATION

In 2026, the EIHC will celebrate its 20th anniversary with its 11th edition, which will take place at the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia, in the city of Cachoeira. First organized in 2006 by a group of researchers from universities in the Northeast (UFPB, UFRN, UFRPE, and UPE), the then Northeastern Meeting of Colonial History aimed to bring together researchers dedicated to the topic of colonization in the modern period, fostering debate, the exchange of experiences, and the strengthening of graduate programs and research groups. In its second edition, held in 2008, the event expanded its scope, becoming international. Since then, the EIHC has established itself as the largest meeting on colonization in the modern period held in Brazil.
The Federal University of Recife (UFRB) was created by Law 11.151 of July 29, 2005. It is a young university, deeply committed to the expansion of higher education in the interior of Brazil and the regional development of the Recôncavo Baiano region. Hosting an academic event of the magnitude of the EIHC will significantly contribute to its inclusion in the international historiographical circuit, decentralizing it. It is significant to choose a region deeply marked by the contradictions of its colonization as the host of the largest historiographical event on the colonial period held in Brazil.
Since the 16th century, the Recôncavo Baiano region had been home to a European presence. During the periods of Brazil's second and third governors-general, this area was the scene of offensives against the indigenous population, and land was distributed to settlers intent on producing sugar, corn, cassava, and various other foodstuffs. Thus, along the rivers that flow through the Recôncavo da Baía de Todos os Santos, the colonial presence spread and fostered diverse socioeconomic formations.
The agricultural development of Recôncavo, in general, and of Cachoeira, elevated to the status of town in 1698, in particular, was supported by enslaved labor, transported in large numbers from Africa to the region.
Sugar and tobacco connected Cachoeira to international trade, as these products reached Europe, the west coast of Africa, and trading posts in the State of India. Furthermore, the village was strategically located on the last navigable stretch of the Paraguaçu River, serving as the unloading point for goods arriving in Salvador and heading to the interior of Portuguese America, as well as for goods arriving from the interior by land, embarked along the riverbanks for Salvador. The village of Nossa Senhora do Rosário do Porto da Cachoeira was a key hub of the Portuguese Empire, connecting historical actors from diverse locations, ethnicities, and social, economic, cultural, and legal backgrounds—a microcosm where it is possible to explore the complexities of colonization.

Inspired by Cachoeira's colonial past, the Organizing Committee of the 11th EIHC developed the meeting proposal: Worlds under Reconstruction: Connections, Exchanges, and Tensions of Identity in the Formation of Overseas Empires. The aim is to encourage debate on the modern colonial period, considering the intercontinental experiences that encompass and constitute it, focusing on the diverse forms of interaction between European peoples and various American, African, and Eastern societies, across different spatialities. The persistence and transformations related to the cultural, social, and economic experiences of various modern spatial delimitations, entangled with the dynamics of early globalization, are of interest to the 11th EIHC.

Organizing Committee