Abstract
The “Policy of the Centenaries”, defined by António de Oliveira Salazar in March 1938 in an Unofficial Note of the Presidency of the Council, reflects the Spirit Policy designed by António Ferro (1895–1956). The 1940’s Celebrations, as Ferro explained, were not only intended to glorify our past, to underline our eternity, but also to celebrate Portugal of the present time. Within the politics of the Estado Novo (1933–1974), the idea of “being Portuguese” is clearly re-identified and identified not only with the glorious and triumphalist past of the nation but also through the design of a new nation under an enormous public works program that would lead to the Portuguese “resurgence”. Facing the national and international need to also affirm the historical value of a country with eight centuries of history that wanted to remain neutral in the context of World War II and the Spanish Civil War, the National Propaganda Service (SPN) would start a set of propaganda actions that put history, heritage and the new public works at its. At the same time, while Europe's borders are beginning to show themselves sensitive, we see Portugal taking on “collaborative neutrality” and making use of a deep and active political propaganda that ultimately aimed at the “material restoration” of a country. The double centenary commemoration of the Foundation of Nationality (1143) and the Restoration of Independence (1640), gathered on the joint date of 1940, is a good example of political affirmation that relies on the demand of what is “to be Portuguese” and shows how culture and heritage were then used as a soft power affirmation. Through the critical analysis of the propaganda designed around these events, but also through official discourses by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar and António Ferro the present study aims to understand how the existing or created heritage was at the time assumed as what we now call “soft power”.
This paper is financed by National Funds through the FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UIDB/04059/2020. Our thanks to the Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa, to the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (National Library of Portugal) and to the Cinemateca Portuguesa-Museu do Cinema (Portuguese Cinematheque-Museum of Cinema) for providing the images published in this article.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Born with the military coup of May 28, 1926, the Estado Novo regime lasted until the Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974. The 1933 Constitution inaugurated a corporative regime, nationalist in nature, guided by a Catholic conservatism and traditionalism that reflected a central importance given to the family base, fundamentally anti-liberal and anti-democratic, non-partisan, but endowed with a political league, the National Union (Rosas 1996, I, pp. 315–319).
- 2.
Statesman, politician, professor at the University of Coimbra, Head of Government between 1932 and 1968, he was the founder and main ideologist of the Estado Novo. He was born in a village in the municipality of Santa Comba Dão, district of Viseu, into a modest family. His intellectual capacities were soon noted, and he continued his studies at the Seminary of Viseu until he entered Law school at the University of Coimbra in 1910, where he encountered a conservative catholic universe. At only 27, he started teaching Economics and Finance at that University. In 1917, he entered the teaching career definitively and the following year he was awarded a PhD degree. Once his abilities and skills were recognised, he took on the State Finance portfolio in 1928, playing an important role in balancing the public treasury. A process of reorganisation of the state machine and political affirmation then began, which led António de Oliveira Salazar to be sworn in as head of government on the 5 July 1932 (Rosas 1986, vol. II, 891–876).
- 3.
The next year—1939—Portugal will be 800 years old, counting its independence since King Afonso Henriques proclaimed himself king for the first time. In 1940, it will be the third centenary of the Restoration, that is, the third centenary of the reaffirmation, solemnly sealed with the blood of many battles, of the same independence.
- 4.
Writer, diplomat, politician, and academic, Júlio Dantas had an important collaboration with the “politics of the spirit” of the Estado Novo, having carried out functions of external representation, of which we highlight the integration of the delegation sent to London to negotiate the issue of the liquidation of the Portuguese war debt (1926) with Churchill, the participation in the League of Nations Committee on Intellectual Cooperation since 1934 and the presidency of the embassy sent to Brazil in 1941 in appreciation of the Brazilian participation in the 1940 celebrations (Esquível 1996, vol. I, pp. 251–252).
- 5.
Being eight centuries old is a rare or unique case in Europe and throughout the world, especially if the definition of political identity requires the same people, the same Nation, the same State. Quasi from the beginning, with the efforts of the first kings, our borders were defined and fixed on the Iberian Peninsula. Wars, many; but neither invasion or confusion of races, nor annexations of territories, nor replacement of ruling houses, nor variation of borders.
- 6.
In 1940, Portugal was ready to open its doors to the world but would live exclusively within itself, within its conscience as an old and a new great nation.
- 7.
Filmmaker and film critic, António Lopes Ribeiro was one of the first Portuguese film critics. Having become known as the most emblematic director of the Estado Novo, of which he was a fervent supporter, he was the director of several short films such as “A manifestação nacional de Salazar” (“Salazar’s national manifestation”) or “Trinta anos com Salazar” (“Thirty years with Salazar”) or of several films such as “A Revolução de Maio” (“The May Revolution”) (1937), “O Pai Tirano” (“The Tyrant Father”) (1941) or “Amor de Perdição” (“Ill-fated love”) (1943), among others (Alexandre 2000, 262–263).
- 8.
Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869–1955) was an Armenian businessman, art collector and philanthropist, born in the Ottoman Empire. Having become a British citizen in 1902, in 1942 he settled in Lisbon, where he amassed an art collection that was unique in the world and which, bequeathed in his will, forms part of an international foundation bearing his name. He played a key role as a mediator in international negotiations for the exploitation of oil reserves in the territory that is now Iraq (CALOUSTE, 2020).
- 9.
Appointed Minister of Public Works and Communications in 1932 to join Salazar’s executive, Duarte Pacheco left the position in 1936, returning 2 years later until his death. The figure of Duarte Pacheco appears associated with the vast policy of public works launched by the Estado Novo. (Rodrigues and Pereira, 1996, 710–711). It was during his first period in charge of this portfolio that Duarte Pacheco established the organisation of the Ministry of Public Administration, giving it the heavy technical and bureaucratic machinery that it would retain throughout the regime. However, his golden period was the preparation of the 1940 Expo, during his second political mandate (Fagundes 1993, 366–368).
- 10.
Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon during the Salazar regime, of whom he was a close friend and colleague at the University of Coimbra, Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira made an eminent contribution to the renewal of the Church in Portugal and to the normalisation of relationships between the State and the Church through the signing of the Concordat of 1940. We owe to him the launch of Rádio Renascença (1937), a Portuguese Catholic broadcaster, and the boost to the cult of Our Lady of Fátima, which culminated in the inauguration of the basilica in 1938, designed by the architect Pardal Monteiro (Cruz 1996, I, 142–143).
- 11.
Lisbon-based architect with German and British training, Raul Lino belongs to the generation of artists and intellectuals who in the 1890s defined a nationalist ideology nostalgically focused on a revaluing of traditions and experiences that shaped the Portuguese home campaign (Tostões 1996, II, 521–522).
References
Acciaiuoli M (1998) Exposições do Estado Novo: 1934–1940. Livros Horizonte, Lisboa
Alexandre PA, Ribeiro AL (2000) Dicionário de História de Portugal, coordinated by António Barreto and Maria Filomena Mónica, Volume IX. Suplemento P/Z, Porto, Figueirinhas, pp 262–263
Bandeirinha JAO (1996) Quinas Vivas. Memória descritiva de alguns episódios significativos do conflito entre fazer moderno e fazer nacional na arquitectura portuguesa dos anos 40. 2ª Edição. FAUP Publicações, Porto
Botelho ML (2013) A Historiografia da Arquitectura da Época Românica em Portugal (1870–2010). Textos Universitários de Ciências Sociais e Humanas. Lisboa, FCG e FCT, p 2013
Botelho ML (2014) Memória e identidade nacionais: o Portugal dos Pequenitos e a recriação de um Portugal monumental. In: De Viollet-le-Duc a la Carta de Venecia: teoría y práctica de la restauración en el espacio iberoamericano. Livro de Atas. Ed. By José Delgado Rodrigues. LNEC e Artis, Lisboa, pp 63–70.
Brito R (2011) A presença e o papel da religião nas Comemorações Centenárias de 1940. Lusitania Sacra. 24 (Julho-Dezembro 2011), pp 263–276
Cardoso D (2017) A «neutralidade colaborante» e a propaganda em Portugal durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Revista de História da Sociedade e da Cultura. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2017, 17, pp 355–370. https://doi.org/10.14195/1645-2259_17_16
Cerejeira G (1936) A Idade Média. Coimbra Editora, Lda., Coimbra
Christofoletti R (2017). Introdução. Património como esteio das relações internacionais: em questão, o soft power. In: Bens Culturais e Relações Internacionais. O Património como espelho do Soft Power. Org. by Rodrigo Christofoletti, Editora Universitária Leopoldlanum, Santos, pp 13–40
Comissão Executiva da Exposição de Obras Públicas (1947) Quinze Anos de Obras Públicas 1932–1947. Livro de Ouro. Imprensa Nacional de Lisboa, Lisboa
Comissão Executiva dos Centenários (1940) Portugal. Oito séculos de História. Secção de Propaganda e Receção da Comissão Executiva dos Centenários, Lisboa
Costa JM (2015) O Jornal como fonte de história. Cinco notas a propósito da edição do «Jornal Português» em DVD. In: Jornal Português. Revista Mensal de Actualidades. (1938–1951). 5 DVDs. Cinemateca Portuguesa
Cruz MB (1996) Cerejeira, Manuel Gonçalves In: Fernando Rosas JM (ed) Dicionário de História do Estado Novo, vol I. Brandão de Brito. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 142–143
Dantas J (1939) A «Revista dos Centenários»” In: Revista dos Centenários. Nº1 (Janeiro de 1939). Lisboa: Edição da Comissão Nacional dos Centenários, pp 1–2
Boletins da DGEMN (1999) DGEMN. DGEMN, Lisboa (Cd-Rom edition)
Patrícia E, Dantas J (1996) In: Fernando Rosas JM (ed) Dicionário de História do Estado Novo, vol. I. Brandão de Brito. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 252–252
Fagundes J (1993) Duarte Pacheco. Percurso Biográfico. In: Medina J (ed) História de Portugal dos Tempos Pré-Históricos aos nossos dias, vol II. Ediclube, Amadora, pp 366–368
Ferro A (1949) Panorama dos Centenários (1140–1640-1940). Política Do Espírito. Lisboa: Edições SN I:1949
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. “Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian” (Updated on 30 September 2020). Accessed on: 25 Feb 2021. Available: https://gulbenkian.pt/fundacao/calouste-sarkis-gulbenkian/
Jornal P (2015) Revista Mensal de Actualidades. (1938–1951). 5 DVDs. Cinemateca Portuguesa
Nye J, Joseph S (2008) Public diplomacy and soft power. Ann Am Acad 616:94–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716207311699
Martins, Pedro. 2013. “«Whatever is more alive in the present is the past» - images of the Middle Ages in the Portuguese dictatorship (1926–1940)”. V Congresso da Associação Portuguesa de Antropologia, UTAD, Vila Real, 2013. Available: https://www.academia.edu/7682640/_Whatever_is_more_alive_in_the_present_is_the_past_images_of_the_Middle_Ages_in_the_Portuguese_dictatorship_1926_1940_
Medeiros N (2020) “O SPN e o SNI na encruzilhada do livro: António Ferro e o campo oficial da edição no Estado Novo” In: Projetos Editoriais e Propaganda. Imagens e Contra-Imagens no Estado Novo. Org. by Filomena Serra; Paula André; Sofia Leal Rodrigues Lisboa. ICS 2020:41–51
Medina J (1994) História de Portugal Contemporâneo (Político e Institucional). Universidade Aberta, Lisboa, p 1994
Medina J (dir.) (1993) História de Portugal dos Tempos Pré-Históricos aos nossos dias, vol. XII. Amadora, Ediclube
Monteiro M (1908) S. Pedro de Rates. Com uma introdução àcerca da architectura românica em Portugal, Porto, Imprensa Nacional
Neto MJ (2010) Restaurar os monumentos da Nação entre 1932 e 1964 In: 100 anos de Património. Memória e Identidade. Coordinated by Jorge Custódio. IGESPAR, Lisboa, pp 157–166
Jorge Ramos do Ó (1996) Secretariado de Propaganda Nacional (SPN)/ Secretariado Nacional da Informação, Cultura Popular e Turismo (SNI)/ Secretaria de Estado da Informação e Turismo (SEIT). In: Fernando Rosas JM (ed) Dicionário de História do Estado Novo, vol II. Brandão de Brito. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 893–896
Paulo H (1996) Ferro, António Joaquim Tavares. In: Fernando Rosas JM (ed) Dicionário de História do Estado Novo, vol I. Brandão de Brito. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 355–357
Peres D (1954) (Dir. Literária); Cerdeira, Eleutério (Dir. Artística). História de Portugal. Edição Monumental comemorativa do 8º Centenário da Fundação da Nacionalidade, vol 9. Portucalense Editora, Lda., Porto, pp 1928–1954
Piçarra MC (2015) A marcha do tempo no Jornal Português: a projeção de Salazar e da «portugalidade» à derrota da «política do espírito”. In: Jornal Português. Revista Mensal de Actualidades. (1938–1951). 5 DVDs. Cinemateca Portuguesa, pp 7–11
Rodrigues Maria de Lourdes e Pereira S (1996) Pacheco, Duarte. In: Fernando Rosas JM (eds) Dicionário de História do Estado Novo, vol II. Brandão de Brito. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 710–711
Revista dos Centenários. Nº1 (Janeiro de 1939). Lisboa: Edição da Comissão Nacional dos Centenários, 1939.
Rosas F (1996) Estado Novo. In: Fernando Rosas JM (eds) Dicionário de História do Estado Novo, vol I. Brandão de Brito. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 315–319
Rosas F, Salazar AO (1996) In: Dicionário de História do Estado Novo. Ed. by Fernando Rosas; J.M. Brandão de Brito, vol II. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 861–876
Tostões A (1996) Lino, Raul. In: Dicionário de História do Estado Novo. Ed. by Fernando Rosas; J.M. Brandão de Brito, vol II. Bertrand Editora, Lisboa, pp 521–522
Salazar AO (1947) Discursos e Notas Políticas (1935–1937), vol II. Coimbra Editora, Coimbra
Salazar AO (1939) Independência de Portugal. Nota Oficiosa da Presidência do Conselho de Ministros, [26] março de 1938, In Revista dos Centenários. Nº1 (Janeiro de 1939). Edição da Comissão Nacional dos Centenários, Lisboa, pp 2–7
Santos R dos. Oito Séculos de Arte Portuguesa. História e Espírito. Lisboa: Empresa Nacional de Publicidade – Editorial Notícias, [196-], 3 vols.
Sousa JP (2008) Uma história do jornalismo em Portugal até ao 25 de Abril de 1974. In: Jornalismo: História, Teoria e Metodologia. Perspectivas Luso-Brasileiras. Org. by Jorge Pedro Sousa. Porto: Edições Universidade Fernando Pessoa, pp 93–118. Available: http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/sousa-jorge-pedro-uma-historia-do-jornalismo-1974.pdf
Teixeira, NS (2000) Política externa. In: Dicionário de História de Portugal. Coordinated by António Barreto; Maria Filomena Mónica. Volume IX. Suplemento P/Z, 116–122. Porto, Figueirinhas
Tomé M (1998) Património e Restauro em Portugal (1920–1995), Unpublished Master’s Thesis presneted to the Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, 3 vols., Porto
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Botelho, M.L. (2021). Salazar, Propaganda and Heritage: The Design of “Being Portuguese” as a “Soft Power” Around 1940. In: Christofoletti, R., Botelho, M.L. (eds) International Relations and Heritage. The Latin American Studies Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77991-7_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77991-7_22
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-77990-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-77991-7
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)