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Internationalism and the Invention of the 1st of December Independence Day in Portugal
Author(s) -
Rivero Ángel
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-9469.2011.01123.x
Subject(s) - internationalism (politics) , nationalism , national identity , soul , cosmopolitanism , independence (probability theory) , law , annexation , political science , sociology , media studies , philosophy , theology , politics , mathematics , statistics
P ortuguese national identity was consciously recreated during the 1860s, and a full programme of national identity socialisation was devised. At the core of this project was the proposal to celebrate the 1st of D ecember as the ‘ R estoration of I ndependence D ay’. The goal of the N ational A ssociation 1st of D ecember 1640, which was founded in 1861, was to combat cosmopolitanism, internationalism, and Iberianism, and highlight to the outside world, in general, and to the P ortuguese ‘traitors’ in particular, the determination of the P ortuguese people to retain their independence. To fulfil this purpose, it was felt necessary to awaken the soul of the P ortuguese people by remembering the sufferings of the nation under the yoke of S pain, which lasted from 1580 and 1640, and the national jubilation that accompanied the restoration of freedom. This article argues that, contrary to what is stated in the vast majority of nationalist literature, the original celebration of the 1st of D ecember should not be seen as a response to the S panish threat of annexation, but rather as a mechanism to prevent attacks against the royal house and the regime it stood for both at home and abroad.