This article aims to offer another reading of the Portuguese civilising process in Africa on the basis of an analysis of a set of alternative sources and to explore the role of other educational configurations, beyond those of the public school and the religious missionary school, such as the civilising missions. With the creation of the Lay Civilising Missions in 1913, a new and totally lay conception of missionary work in the colonies was instituted. In the context of European colonialism, this configuration is distinguished as one of the most peculiar moments of republican affirmation in the governing of African territories dominated by the Portuguese. Through the analysis of the letters exchanged between the civilising agents, between Portugal and the African colonies, the author will try to analyse the arguments, strategies and tactics of government in terms of wills, inventions, programmes, acts and counter-acts, thus discussing the discontinuities between the programmes of governing at a distance and local practices. Methodologically speaking, looking at alternative source materials opens up a series of theoretical-conceptual possibilities, unveiling the tensions and contradictions embedded in the colonial encounter. (Contains 49 footnotes and 1 table.)