Enlightenment science in Portugal: The estrangeirados and their communication networks

This paper focuses on the role of the estrangeirados ('Europeanized' intell ectuals) as significant diffusion channels for the new scientific and techn ological ideas and practices stemming from the Scientific Revolution and th e Enlightenment. A definition of 'network' is introduced in this paper as a methodological tool to characterize the estrangeirados. We argue that give n their heterogeneous social origins, backgrounds and careers, they should not be seen as a homogeneous group. Rather, they were part of a fluid netwo rk, although they did not consider themselves as such. What they definitely shared was a common scientific culture. Analysis of the links they establi shed on a voluntary and often informal basis accordingly enables us to iden tify the aims and strategies deployed to introduce the new sciences in 18th -century Portugal, and to understand better why their reforming endeavours had so little practical impact. In effect, the estrangeirados formed an eli te which remained marginal to Portuguese society at large. In many instance s their political options and their links to central power made them vulner able to political and religious persecution. This considerably undermined t heir agenda, which aimed at bringing the country into the forefront of adva nced European nations.