Estado Novo and maritimism: ideology and cultural discourses

Abstract

It is aimed to discuss to what extent the authoritarian regime composed a maritimiste ideology that penetrated the concept of Portuguese nationalism. The interpretation of the ideological myths produced by the regime and the analysis of cultural discourses that the State produced and aired by Corporate Fisheries Organization are key fields for historical analysis that is undertaken here. These evidences question the excessive centrality of ruralism while defining elements of the Portuguese dictatorial system ideology. According to the ideological representations of state stamp, Portugal would be both an imperial and a peasant country. We conclude that the maritimism occupied also a significant space in the ideological discourse of the Estado Novo and assumed a central role in trying to nationalize a maritime secular tradition.