David,
Thank you for a considered and articulate response.
I have put some thought into Portuguese nationalism and the concept of a "nation in arms" myself.
You are quite right to assert that we have to be careful when assessing the Portuguese contribution to the defeat and expulsion of the French from Portugal, but the people's contribution, as in Spain, was not (only) limited to formal military conflict - as considerable as that was.
Interestingly, for example, the Portuguese contingent comprised exactly one half of the allied army and casualties at Bussaco.
Indeed, and I will post something up separately on this subject, by 1809, the national sentiment in Portugal had shifted almost entirely from acceptance and - even -collaboration to opposition to the French.
Furthermore, and with all due respect, popular resistance and its effects on the French army of invasion in 1809 (whether in Galicia or Portugal) does not receive enough consideration or credit in Anglo-centric histories.
This is my "take" on the situation in Portugal and Portuguese historiography, from the literature review underpinning my MA.
My MA is freely available on line for anyone who is interested, and other (mainly Portuguese and Spanish) contributors to this forum have provided much more considered and insightful contributions on these aspects of the struggle for Iberia, so I post it here with all due humility.
Best wishes
A
"For example, the concept of Portugal as a nation in arms would appear to have undergone a renaissance in the late nineteenth century by (serving) military historians, many of whom would appear to have also been (intrinsically) linked to the Republican Party in Portugal but also, paradoxically, opposed to (further) liberalisation of Portugal. The loss of Brazil presaged a greater interest in its other colonies, for example along the west coast of Africa and Mozambique. This would be a major factor influencing Portuguese politics, society and its economy well into the twentieth-century: indeed, unlike many other European states, Portugal retained her African colonies into the final quarter of that century. Understanding the concept is further complicated given the interest in Portuguese nationalism and colonialism by conservatives and socialists alike. An example of the former, Ramalho Ortigão commended Portugal to Britain in his satirical, some might argue vitriolic, address “To Mr. John Bull” on the occasion of a visit of the Prince of Wales to Lisbon, as “seu amigo, aliado e cliente, sempre explorado e sempre agradecido” (your friend, ally and client, always exploited and always grateful, my translation). Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins, as an example of the latter, reported in his História de Portugal that Portugal was “a ferramenta, o criado, a mula de carga de Inglaterra” (the tool, the servant, the pack mule of England, my translation), and asserted that Britain had inflicted more damage on Portugal than had the Frenchduring the invasions of 1807-1811. 37 A common link between left and right therefore was a growing resentment of British involvement in Portugal and her role in precipitating the transfer of the court to Brazil, and therefore the loss of Portugal’s foremost colony, and the development of underdevelopment within Portugal, or worse still, as a British protectorate and dependent state. 38
Both the early work of the progressive historian Oliveira Marques 39 and the more conservative Serrão 40 are helpful in this regard – but they too are now somewhat dated. Future histories of the conflict will need to take into account two modern, comprehensive and broad-ranging histories directed and edited, respectively, by the historians Mattoso 41 and Serrão and Oliveira Marques. 42 Although the volume in the Mattoso edition on the antigo regime is lacking in relation to Portugal’s Empire and the commensurate volume in the latter edition is missing entirely from the collection. The interested historian therefore has to be both diligent and resourceful. With the notable exception of Livermore, who provides a useful - albeit brief - summary of political, diplomatic and military issues in the late eighteenth century and fin de siècle Portugal, the literature in English is extremely sparse. 43 In addition to accessing Portuguese sources, a good understanding of the potential contribution of the literature in relation to Brazil is absolutely necessary in order to understand the interaction and interconnectedness of state and economy and the shifting, unpredictable and often unforeseen events in this crucial period. Alexandre and Cardoso are essential for our understanding of political economy and the symbiotic relationship between metropole and colony. 44"
Notes
37. Ramalho Ortigão, John Bull, depoimento de uma testemunha acerca de alguns aspectos da vida e da civilisação ingleza, (Porto : Lugan and Genelioux, 1887), pp. 95-97, Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins, História de Portugal, (Two volumes, Lisboa : Parceria A.M. Pereira, 1908), vol. 2, pp. 268 and 269.
38. See the useful discussion in Mendo Castro Henriques, ‘1812 e a geopolítica da Guerra Peninsular’, in Guerra peninsular, novas interpretações, pp. 172-76.
39. A.H. de Oliveira Marques, História de Portugal: das origens às revoluções liberais., vol. 1 of História de Portugal, (Two volumes, Lisboa : Palas Editores, 1974).
40. Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão, História de Portugal, (Five volumes: Lisbon : Editorial Verbo, 1977- 1980): in particular O despotismo iluminado, 1750-1807, (1977) and A instauração do liberalismo, 1807- 1832, (1977).
41. José Mattoso (ed.), História de Portugal (vol. 4): O Antigo Regime (1620-1807), (Lisboa : Editorial Estampa, 1993) and José Mattoso (ed.), História de Portugal (vol.5): O Liberalismo (1807-1890), (Lisboa : Editorial Estampa, 1993);
42. Joel Serrão and A.H. de Oliveira Marques (dirs. and eds.), Nova história de Portugal, (Ten volumes, (Lisboa : Editorial Presença). The most relevant volume is: vol. 9: Portugal e a instauração do liberalismo, (Lisboa : Editorial Presença, 2002). Thirteen volumes were planned but, unfortunately, the death of the two authors, the latter in 2010, has meant that the planned volume 8 of Nova história de Portugal: Portugal, a crise do Antigo Regime, has not been published.43. Harold Livermore, ‘Portugal on the Eve of the Peninsular War’ in Paddy Griffith (ed.), A History of the Peninsular War Volume IX: Modern Studies of the War in Spain and Portugal, 1808-1814, (London : Greenhill Books, 1999), 385-398.
44. Valentim Alexandre, Os sentidos do Imperio. Questão nacional e questão colonial na crise do Antigo Regime português, (Porto : Afrontamento, 1993); José Luís Cardoso, ‘A guerra peninsular e a economia do império Luso-Brasileiro’, in Instituto da Defesa nacional, Guerra peninsular, novas interpretações: da europa dividida à união europeia, Actas do congresso realisado em 28 e 29 de Outubro de 2002, (Lisboa : Tribuna de História, 2005).
I have discovered other histories, some of which have only become available, since submission of my MA