Anti-Castilian Satire and Self-(Re)construction in Restoration Portugal

Abstract

All cultural activities are a privileged instrument in the construction of representations that sustain, by geography and history, the idea of community. The Philippine period and Restauração (the restoration of Portuguese autonomy) exacerbated feelings of ethnocentric pride and showed that the struggles for political independence were accompanied by a strong national consciousness. Far from being unique to social and political elites, the process reveals a special dynamics across the whole cultural spectrum from popular traditions to intellectual work, demonstrating the existence of strong bonds of solidarity between the fellow-members of this community seen as Portuguese and, therefore, different from the Castilian. This article is a study of satirical texts which explore facts and circumstances of that historical moment.