O papel do ensino de língua inglesa na formação do perfeito negociante (1759-1846)

Abstract

This masters dissertation aims at observing the influence of political and economic relationship maintained between Portugal and England in the institutionalization of English language teaching process. Given the necessity of (re)construction of the Portuguese nation, one of the first maneuvers of the Pombal s reforms was the training of businessmen. In order to implement the project of Perfect Businessman designed by the Pombal s legislation, the Portuguese School of Commerce was created, with arithmetic, mercantile writing and other related to the commercial business practice. That School has also raised the teaching of English to enable commercial transactions held with England. From the historical context and understanding of the principles of the Pombal s reforms, pieces of legislation and documents that testified about the Portuguese School of Commerce, initiated in 1759 in Lisbon and imported into Rio de Janeiro in 1846, were studied. In an effort to understand the implications of the Luso- British commercial relationship to English teaching, textbooks such as The dictionary of the Portuguese and English Language, in two parts, English and Portuguese, and English and Portuguese (1773); Grammatica Lusitano Lusitano-&-anglica anglica or New Grammatica, and Ingleza Portugueza and Portugueza and Ingleza (1751); Arte Ingleza offerecida ao Illustrissimo Visconde de Cayru (1827), and Nova grammatica ingleza e portugueza dedicada á felicidade e augmento da Nação Portugueza (1812) were analyzed to consolidate the hypothesis that the Portuguese School of Commerce was one of the most important representations of English teaching for specific purposes in the eighteenth century.