Abstract: 
Nineteenth-century Africa is characterized by a historiography of a dispute between European colonial powers, being presented as a uniform, wild continent open to territorial and scientific incursion. The Eurocentric perspective reaffirmed by the History of Sciences associates African scientific expeditions with ideals of patriotic courage, adventure and pioneering, led by individuals transformed into heroes of the country. Recently, new research agendas reevaluated the narratives written by travellers, realizing that the science practised was necessarily collaborative: naturalists depended on networks of individuals who knew the region, communication with the local population and support in the collection, identification and preparation of specimens. The KNOW.AFRICA project aims to analyse four Portuguese expeditions to Africa, unveiling the sociability of fieldwork to reveal local groups that collaborated with travelling naturalists. When investigating the way in which local agents contributed to the success of travellers, it is revealed that, despite social asymmetries in the colonial space, they actively participated in the European process of building knowledge of African nature. Using computational tools to create georeferenced maps, maps will be created that recreate expedition itineraries, mapping interactions between travellers and local agents. A platform is proposed with a virtual exhibition, a display of original illustrations from travel books, and an interactive chronology of expeditions in Portugal and Angola. KNOW.AFRICA will promote digital sharing, scientific debate, research and dissemination, critically contributing to the historical narrative/construction of historical-scientific heritage, working with young audiences within the framework of Public History: workshops, production of support materials for decolonising science aimed at secondary education, involving teachers and students. Funding: KNOW.AFRICA – KNOWledge networks in 19th-century AFRICA (ref. FCT – 2022.01599.PTDC; https://doi.org/10.54499/2022.01599.PTDC).