La guerre des lettres au Portugal: Un épisode du combat de la propagande pendant les Invasions Françaises
Sofia Mendes Geraldes
The aim of this study is to review the procedures and themes used in the propaganda campaign organized by the French and the Portuguese during the first Napoleonic invasion of Portugal. A rare document, since few traces of French propaganda have survived, allows us to lift the veil on the position taken by the French. In addition, by comparing this document with information from other sources, we can analyse how this type of manipulation was easily understood by the population at that time. At the same time, the Portuguese response, in countering this propaganda word for word, provides proof of the reigning mentality and political atmosphere and of the development of resistance to this manipulation and to the invasion, by taking advantage of an avid thirst for news.