Refugees at Forte de Caxias in the context of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)

Abstract

This article intends to address a particular aspect of the phenomenon of the Spanish republican refuge in Portugal that is related to the passage of refugees through Forte de Caxias during the Spanish Civil War. With the start of the conflict, many Spaniards fled the violence of war and enemy persecution and tried to save themselves through the neighboring country, however, finding a political regime hostile to its presence. The portuguese government, supportive of the nationalist cause, sought to hinder the stay of Spanish refugees, especially those of republican tendency, in Portugal, handing them over to Franco and concentrating them in the Portuguese prisons, of which Forte de Caxias was an important example. From here, where they went through countless difficulties, the refugees tried to arrange their departure from the country and sought better conditions of detention.