Lusophobia

Lusophobia ( _pt. Lusofobia) is a hostility toward Portugal, the Portuguese people or the Portuguese language and culture. Like Lusitanic, the word derives from Lusitania, an Ancient Roman province, and phobia that means "fear". The term is used in Portuguese-speaking countries, and its use in the English language has been limited. The opposite concept is lusophilia.

Historical background

Brazil

In the nineteenth century, the term Lusophobia was often used to describe nationalist sentiments in Brazil, a former colony of the Portuguese Empire, with Liberal politicians in Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco advocating the reduction of immigrant Portuguese involvement in the Brazilian economy, though almost all were of Portuguese descent. [Mosher, Jeffrey C. "Political Mobilization, Party Ideology, and Lusophobia in Nineteenth-Century Brazil: Pernambuco, 1822-1850" Hispanic American Historical Review - 80:4, November 2000, pp. 881-912] In Rio, the "Jacobinos", a small national radical group, were the strongest opponents of the "Galegos", the Portuguese immigrants, who were (and still are) also the biggest immigrant community in Brazil. [Jacobinos versus Galegos: Urban Radicals versus Portuguese Immigrants in Rio de Janeiro in the 1890s, June E. Hahner - Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 2 (May, 1976), pp. 125-15, [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-1937%28197605%2918%3A2%3C125%3AJVGURV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage] , JSTOR]

In the immediate aftermath of Pedro I of Brazil abdication in 1831, in favor of his son Pedro II of Brazil, the poor black people, including slaves, staged anti-Portuguese riots in the streets of Brazil's larger cities. [ [http://isc.temple.edu/evanson/brazilhistory/Bahia.htm Rebelions in Bahia] ]

Today, relations between the two countries are amicable, with a degree of friendly rivalry comparable to that between English-speaking countries such as Britain and the United States. Brazil is a member of the "Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa" - CPLP.

Ex-African overseas provinces

Starting in the 12th century, the Kingdom of Portugal grew and built a Portuguese Empire that by the 16th century had expanded to all known inhabited continents, including Africa. After 5 centuries of Portuguese rule, the Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola, started a rebellion that was taken up by the União das Populações de Angola (UPA) in order to achieve independence from Portugal. UPA was an Angolan nationalistic guerrilla movement based in Zaire, which changed its name to Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola (FNLA) in 1962. On February 4 1961, the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola took credit for the attack on the prison of Luanda, where seven Portuguese policemen were killed. On March 15, 1961, the UPA, in a cross-border attack, started the massacre of white populations and black workers. This region would be retaken by large military operations, finishing the ruthless terror campaign. However, the Portuguese Army's military response would not stop the spread of the nationalistic guerrilla actions to other regions of Angola, such as Cabinda, the east, the southeast and the central plateaus. This was the start of the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974) with three theatres of military operations against cross-border attacks by several guerrillas - in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, at the time overseas provinces of Portugal. The Portuguese Colonial War ended after a leftist military coup on 25th April 1974 in Lisbon. All African overseas territories of Portugal were offered independence by the new revolutionary movement at Lisbon. This political change resulted in the exodus of thousands of Portuguese citizens, including military personnel, of European, African and mixed ethnicity from the newly-independent African territories to Portugal. Others emigrated to Brazil, North America, South Africa or other Western European countries. Devastating civil wars also followed in Angola and Mozambique, which lasted several decades and claimed millions of lives and refugees. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0001-9909(199804)97%3A387%3C276%3ATDOPAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C The Decolonization of Portuguese Africa: Metropolitan Revolution and the Dissolution of Empire by Norrie MacQueen - Mozambique since Independence: Confronting Leviathan by Margaret Hall, Tom Young - Author of Review: Stuart A. Notholt African Affairs, Vol. 97, No. 387 (Apr., 1998), pp. 276-278] , JSTOR] There was black racism in the former overseas provinces through the use of hatred against both ethnic Portuguese and many mulatto Africans."Things are going well in Angola. They achieved good progress in their first year of independence. There's been a lot of building and they are developing health facilities. In 1976 they produced 80,000 tons of coffee. Transportation means are also being developed. Currently between 200,000 and 400,000 tons of coffee are still in warehouses. In our talks with [Angolan President Agostinho] Neto we stressed the absolute necessity of achieving a level of economic development comparable to what had existed under [Portuguese] colonialism."; "There is also evidence of black racism in Angola. Some are using the hatred against the colonial masters for negative purposes. There are many mulattos and whites in Angola. Unfortunately, racist feelings are spreading very quickly." [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/17/documents/castro/] Castro's 1977 southern Africa tour: A report to Honecker, CNN] After departure of the Portuguese, and following independence, local soldiers that fought along with the Portuguese Army against the independence guerrillas were slaughtered by the thousands. A small number escaped to Portugal or to other African nations. The most famous massacre occurred in Bissorã, Guinea-Bissau. In 1980 PAIGC admitted in its newspaper "Nó Pintcha" (dated 29/11/1980) that many were executed and buried in unmarked collective graves in the woods of Cumerá, Portogole and Mansabá. Cities, towns and villages which were founded by the Portuguese and prospered under Portuguese rule, saw their Portuguese names changed after independence. The statues to Portuguese heroes were removed from its sites in all the former Portuguese Africa's urban centres. Privileged commercial links were established with several communist countries by the governments of the newly-independent African states on the expense of Portugal which lost influence in the region. Nevertheless, since after independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Lusophone Africa's students have been admitted every year at Portuguese high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities, through bilateral agreements between the Portuguese Government and governments of the former African overseas territories of Portugal. However, many of those studying abroad, in European countries like Portugal and Russia, had either failed to complete their courses of study or had not returned to Africa. The ex-African overseas provinces are members of the "Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa" - CPLP.

Australia

After Portugal abruptly withdrew from East Timor in 1975, the following brutal Indonesian invasion and annexation of East Timor, supported by Australian government, also gave rise to anti-Portuguese sentiment in Australia, including people sympathetic to East Timor's struggle. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20080117084543/http://www.asianlang.mq.edu.au/INL/speech1.html Current Language Issues in East Timor Dr Geoffrey Hull Text of a public lecture given at the University of Adelaide, 29 March, 2000.] ] While successive Australian governments supported the Indonesian occupation, the status quo, twenty four years of conflict, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1504243.stm Timeline: East Timor ] and subsequent massacre, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1504243.stm Timeline: East Timor ] Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking African countries maintained a diplomatic campaign in support of East Timor's right to self-determination, and East Timor has been an independent country since May 20, 2002. During the crisis in 2006, Australian commentators attacked Portuguese involvement in East Timor, with one labeling Portugal as Australia's "diplomatic enemy." [ [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19320635-25377,00.html "Downhill all the way since Habibie let go", Greg Sheridan, "The Australian", 26th May 2006.] ]

United Kingdom

During the Euro 2004 football championship, which was hosted and organized in Portugal, a number of Portugal national football team fans, including women and children, had to be led to safety after more than 300 people began throwing missiles at a Norfolk pub following England's Euro 2004 defeat. Police arrested the hooligans after the trouble outside the Portuguese-run pub. The Portuguese fans were trapped inside the pub for more than two hours. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/3838531.stm Portuguese fans attacked by mob] , (25 June, 2004), in BBC News]

In the UK, two Portuguese families working in Northern Ireland, were moved from their homes in Armagh after a racist attack in August 2004. "The Chairman of the local District Policing Partnership, Jonathan Bell of the Democratic Unionist Party, said the community was outraged.". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3585584.stm Two Portuguese families attacked] , (21 August, 2004), in BBC News]

Portugal and Great Britain are known for having the oldest alliance in the world. However, when a three year old British child, Madeleine McCann, disappeared from Praia da Luz, Algarve region, Portugal, in May 2007, elements in the UK media became critical of the Portuguese legal system and the authorities investigating the case. Certain comments and comparisons, some possibly lusophobic or xenophobic in nature, may not have been entirely fair because of an incomplete understanding of the specific legal principles involved. Writing in The Guardian, in September 2007, Marcel Berlins called it "a touch of arrogant xenophobia". [cite news
last=Berlins
first=Marcel
title=Media have rushed to judge Portuguese police
publisher="The Guardian"
date=10 September, 2007
url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,,2165920,00.html
accessdate=2007-09-10]
Tony Parsons and Simon Heffer have been criticized for writing the most xenophobic news articles. Simon Heffer article asking to boycott Portugal, as a holiday destination saw an increase of British tourists. “The number of UK tourists increased 8 %, from January to October 2007 and it means that UK tourists have already answered to the appeal to boycott Portugal, as a holiday destination” said Mr. António Pina, chairman of Algarve Tourism Board. [ [http://gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com/2008/01/algarve-tourism-board-increase-of-uk.html Algarve Tourism Board: Increase of UK tourists is the answer to the boycott appeal from Telegraph. Gazeta Digital] ] [ [http://noticiasdaeuropa.blogspot.com/2008/01/regio-de-turismo-do-algarve-aumento-do.html Região de Turismo do Algarve : Aumento do número de turistas britanicos é a resposta ao boicote do Telegraph] ] Considered a record, the estimates were of 2 million British tourists holidaying in Portugal in 2007. [ [http://www.barlavento.online.pt/index.php/noticia?id=19614 "Caso Madeleine" não tem efeito negativo em ano com número recorde de turistas britânicos] ] Tony Parsons' column in the Daily Mirror with xenophobic comments received 485 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission, provoking a massive increase in the number of complaints in 2007 to this commission, being the article of 2007 with most complaints. [ [http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91248-1300799,00.html Press Complaints At All Time High] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jan/16/pressandpublishing PCC complaints hit record high] ]

No category

Episodes in Portugal's 20th century history, including the long period of dictatorship under António Salazar, the instability following the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, and the abrupt withdrawal from its overseas empire in 1975, contributed to a negative image of the country, as did the relative lack of economic development of Portugal among its Western European peers, which prompted "The Economist" in 1980 to describe the country as 'Africa's only colony in Europe'. ['Almost there, Portugal: A Survey' Robert Harvey, "The Economist" June 14, 1980.]

References

ee also

*Lusophilia
*Lusophone
*Lusitanic
*Black Legend
*Lusotropicalism