Miguel Moniz on Portuguese & Cape Verdean Life in Falmouth
"We sometimes, I think, think about Portuguese history, Cape Verdean history, as something apart from or separate from Falmouth history. But it's not, you know [...] Cape Verdean and Portuguese history is Falmouth history."
Miguel Moniz, Ph.D, is an anthropologist at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon. Here he discusses the sometimes-invisible but vital life of Portuguese and Cape Verdean Americans in Falmouth, with Phoebe Acheson. This oral history was recorded on July 5, 2023 at Falmouth Community Television.
Ready to learn more? Explore our community resources:
From Falmouth Public Library's Joy of Learning series:
Rituals and Festivals: Cape Verdean, Portuguese & other Immigrant Place-Making Celebrations in Falmouth and the Cape (2022)
Video recordings of a remote Joy of Learning course led by Miguel Moniz, with guest speaker Lew White:
- What is a Ritual? Perspectives from Anthropology
- The Festa do Espírito Santo/Azorean Holy Ghost Feast
- Rituals of Exclusion and Belonging: Pilgrims, July 4, & War Memorial
- Cape Cod Festival of Strawberries: Tourism and Romanticized Immigrant Labor
Forgotten Histories: The Unknown Stories of Portuguese and Cape Verdean Immigrants and How They Shaped the Cape (2021)
Video recordings of a remote Joy of Learning course with Miguel Moniz:
- Whaling, Mill Work, and Falmouth farming communities: 1800s-Industrial Period
- Farmers, Laborers, and Unwanted Immigrants
- Early 20th century Immigrant Agricultural and Political Organizations and Activism
- Falmouth Changes, Migration from Portugal Continues: Post-war Change from Farming to Building Boom
From CLAMS:
- Sopas, Lew White
- Making History: Creating a Landscape, James W. Fonseca
- Local Boy: A Memoir, David F. Gouveia
- St. Anthony's Church: A Living History of Our First 90 years
From the Web:
- FPL Historic Postcard Collection: The Anita Gunning and Robert C. Hunt Postcard collections, archived on the Digital Commonwealth. Search by topic, location, or the card identifiers provided in the video transcript below.
- miguelmoniz.com
- St. Anthony’s Church
From the Falmouth Enterprise archive:
- “Portuguese Fraternity Meets in Falmouth,” 6/12/1926 (pg.14)
- “Story Behind a Painting – The Apparitions At Fatima,” 8/24/1951 (pg.13)
- “Yesterdays Fell Yesterday to Landfall,” 8/3/1984 (pg.13)