The Institute of Social Sciences, with the support of RESISTANCE, hosted more than fifty researchers from around the world for an International Congress that revisited one of the most important instruments of representation in modern democracies: petitions and petitionary movements. In a sense, the subject could not be more relevant for the times we are living in. But, at the same time, petitioning was a distinctive mark of the Early Modern world. Petitions, representations, appeals and other similar documents were used, either individually or collectively by those who wished to address the Crown, or other authorities. As a form of political or juridical communication, petitions go back to the Classical Era, but gained a broader geographical expression during the European expansion, when they became one of the most popular means used by overseas populations to convey their interests and grievances. 

During the “Era of Revolutions” petitions also provided a key element of continuity between the Early Modern and Contemporary worlds in the sense that, unlike many other features and political devices from the Ancien Régime, they survived the massive political transformation. In this event we focused on the role played by petitions precisely during this time of intense social upheaval; a time that also saw the widening of political rights in Europe and the Americas.