Biography
Ana Mafalda Lopes is a historian whose work combines socio-economic history, gender, and family history, with a focus on the eighteenth century and the transition to the Liberal period in Portugal.
In 2024, she completed her FCT-funded PhD in History at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, with a thesis entitled As viúvas do Porto: património, negócios e família (1700-1832). Her dissertation examined legal changes affecting the status of widows and explored their involvement in various aspects of everyday life, particularly in relation to family, property, business, the labour market, and the empire. The study also considered whether widowhood constituted a disruption or marked a significant shift in social, familial, and economic structures.
As a Max Weber Fellow, Ana Mafalda will revise the manuscript for her first monograph entitled In Search of Continuity: Widowhood, Property, and Family in Portugal (1700–1832), under the mentorship of Professor Mónica Bolufer and Professor Alexia Yates. Her research compares women of different marital statuses to assess the impact of widowhood on their lives and to identify the social and economic resources they mobilised. The project adopts an interdisciplinary approach, analysing widowhood not only from a historical perspective but also incorporating insights from sociology, gender studies, and cultural anthropology.