Tag: Portugal

The Carnation Revolution – 50 years

On By europeancollectionsIn PortugueseLeave a comment

Today marks 50 years since 25 April, 1974, the date of Portugal’s “Carnation Revolution”, which led to the overthrow of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, the introduction of democracy in the country, and the withdrawal of Portugal from its African colonies. For more detailed information about 25 April, you can read our earlier post commemorating its 40th anniversary here.

Unsurprisingly, given this momentous anniversary, much more material related to the Revolution has been published recently in Portugal and elsewhere, so we have acquired many new relevant titles. The significance of 25 April in international terms is shown by the fact that, as well as the expected titles in Portuguese, in recent years we have also bought books on the topic in French, Spanish and English:

Continue reading “The Carnation Revolution – 50 years” →

Some resources on racism in Spain and Portugal

On By europeancollectionsIn ebooks, Portuguese, SpanishLeave a comment

In line with recent events linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, this blog post features ebooks and other titles dealing with racism and social prejudice in Spain, Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa available to Cambridge students and researchers.

Screenshot 2020-07-08 at 14.16.06
Article from El País about the Black Lives Matter protest in Madrid last month

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A revolutionary anthology in 1960s Portugal

On By europeancollectionsIn PortugueseLeave a comment

Natalia antologia 1965
The new edition (745:23.c.201.7)

The UL recently acquired a new edition of the Antologia de poesia portuguesa erótica e satírica, a book that represents an important part of Portuguese literary and political history. First published in December 1965, the book’s release earned its editor, the poet and writer Natália Correia, a 3-year suspended prison sentence.

To 21st century eyes, this is a scholarly and comprehensive work of anthology. It compiles works by most of the major figures in Portuguese poetry dating back to the medieval troubadours, including Camões, Bocage, Almeida Garrett, Fernando Pessoa and António Botto. Also included are those then-contemporary poets – such as Maria Teresa Horta, Mário Cesariny, Herberto Helder, Luiz Pacheco, Jorge de Sena and Natália Correia herself – who have since come to be considered equally canonical. Therefore, it is interesting to reflect on the “seismic shock” (as Correia described it) that the book caused on its initial publication. Continue reading “A revolutionary anthology in 1960s Portugal” →

Splitting the world in two: the 525th anniversary of the Treaty of Tordesillas

On By europeancollectionsIn Portuguese, Spanish4 Comments

Tordesillas1
P. 1 of the Spanish version (click to see enlarged)

The 7th June marks the 525th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas. The treaty was named for the Castilian town near Valladolid where it was signed by the Catholic Kings (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) and John II, King of Portugal. The signing of this treaty divided those parts of the world newly “discovered” by Spain and Portugal between the empires of the two kingdoms along an imaginary meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. The lands to the east of this line corresponded to Portugal and those to the west to Spain.

The Treaty of Tordesillas had a precedent, the Treaty of Alcáçovas (1479), that followed the War of Castillan Succession, and already marked the division of the Atlantic into two spheres of influence, one for Spain and the other for Portugal, with the exception of the Canary islands (Spanish, but in the Portuguese sphere). This was confirmed by the papal bull Aeterni regis (Sixtus IV, 1481) which recognised as Portuguese some disputed territories in the Atlantic (Guinea, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde). More importantly, the treaty recognised Portugal exclusive right of navigation south of the Canary islands. Continue reading “Splitting the world in two: the 525th anniversary of the Treaty of Tordesillas” →

The Robert Howes donation on the Portuguese revolution and colonial wars

On By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, Portuguese, Special collectionsLeave a comment

Cambridge University Library is grateful to Dr. Robert Howes for his donation of material on the Portuguese revolution of 1974 and the Portuguese colonial wars.

This donation significantly extends and complements our holdings on the history of the period, providing a good insight into the atmosphere and activism of the times.
Continue reading “The Robert Howes donation on the Portuguese revolution and colonial wars” →

Portuguese studies

On By europeancollectionsIn E-resources, PortugueseLeave a comment

Electronic Collection Management

New on ejournals@cambridge A-Z : Portuguese studies

Published by the MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association), Portuguese studiesis a “biannual multi-disciplinary journal devoted to research on the cultures, societies, and history of the Lusophone world”.

Most accessed article in the Last 3 years: Oscar Wilde, Fernando Pessoa, and the Art of Lying by Mariana de Castro.

A fragment from En veu alta, the choreographer Carolyn Carlson’s dance inspired by the poems of Fernando Pessoa.  Visit also Pessoa Plural, a journal of Fernando Pessoa studies, one among many Portuguese resources featured on the Modern & Medieval Languages, Dept of Spanish and Portuguese web pages.

Access Portuguese studies via the ejournals@cambride A-Z or via this link. (Note that online access starts with Vol. 17 (2001).  Archival access (back to vol. 1) is included in the JSTOR Arts & Sciences XI Collection to which the University does not yet…

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40 years of Portuguese freedom

On By europeancollectionsIn Portuguese1 Comment

Revolução_dos_Cravos
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Friday 25 April marks the 40th anniversary of Portugal’s “Carnation Revolution” (Revolução dos Cravos or simply 25 de Abril). This was arguably the moment at which modern Portugal began to take shape, as the revolution led to the overthrow of the authoritarian and conservative Estado Novo regime, the introduction of genuine democracy in the country, and the withdrawal of Portugal from its African colonies. The Carnation Revolution was so-named because no shots were fired and, to celebrate its success, carnation flowers were displayed in the muzzles of army rifles and on the uniforms of military officers.

The revolution began as a military coup by the Movimento das Forças Armadas, a group of lower-ranked, left-leaning Portuguese army officers who opposed Portugal’s lengthy, expensive and unpopular Colonial War – and, in particular, new government legislation to fast-track militia officers into higher military ranks to take part in this war. The movement was initially planned and enacted by officers such as Vasco Gonçalves – Portugal’s prime minister following the revolution and interviewed in Vasco Gonçalves: um general na revolução (classmark: 585:5.c.200.10) – and Amadeu Garcia dos Santos, whose memoirs were published as General Garcia dos Santos: memórias políticas: um pouco do que vivi (classmark: 585:5.c.201.16). Continue reading “40 years of Portuguese freedom” →