Decree determining that only the Academy could produce and publish a ‘Literary Journal and Periodical’ (10 July 1786)
Reference: PT/ACL/ACL/B/005/000001
The Historical Archive of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon highlights, for the month of December, the royal decree dated 10 July 1786, through which Queen Maria I granted the Academy the exclusive privilege of publishing a ‘Literary and Periodical Journal’ in which ‘the public would be given a well-prepared account of the progress made daily in the Sciences and Arts’. With this act, the Crown formally recognised the Academy’s role in disseminating knowledge and promoting scientific and artistic progress in the kingdom, assigning it the responsibility of informing the public about daily advances in science and the arts. This privilege, which came into force after the expiry of the previous concession granted to Félix António Castrioto – elected supernumerary member in 1780, editor of the ‘Gazeta de Lisboa’ (Lisbon Gazette), the ‘Jornal Enciclopedico’ (Encyclopaedic Journal) and the ‘Com Privilegio Real’ –, would remain permanently linked to the Academy, reflecting the prestige and trust it enjoyed as an institution promoting culture and knowledge. More than a mere publishing monopoly, the decree constitutes a milestone in the recognition of the scientific press as an instrument for the dissemination and legitimisation of scholarly knowledge in late 18th-century Portugal.
Historical Archive of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon
