Os estudantes da Universidade de Coimbra da reforma pombalina à implantação da República, 1772-1910

The University of Coimbra played a huge fascination over the generations of students who saw it as the institution of the upcoming elites and, even, of the uprising power. Who were the students of Coimbra? Who was the academic youth? Which motivations stimulated them? The students’ universe from 1772 to 1910 is analysed in different strands, considering the context and the socioeconomic profiles of the students, highlighting the continuities, discontinuities and even ruptures of their school paths. The university student was, in the analysed period, essentially of bourgeois origin, and the university was, therefore, class-based. The reference to the social and geographical origin, daily practices and life experience of the students allows to profile the students, their connection to both the university and the urban life, and their social and political strength.