Emigration and the Sea: An Alternative History of Portugal and the Portuguese

by Malyn D. Newitt

Today Portuguese is the seventh most widely spoken language in the world and Brazil is a new economic powerhouse. Both phenomena result from the Portuguese 'Discoveries' of the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Catholic missions that planted Portuguese communities in every continent. Some were part of the Portuguese empire but many survived independently under other rulers with their own Creole languages and indigenized Portuguese culture. In the 19th and 20th centuries these were joined by millions of economic migrants who established Portuguese settlements in Europe, North America, Venezuela and South Africa - and in less likely places, including Bermuda, Guyana and Hawaii.

Interwoven within this global history of the diaspora are stories of the Portuguese who left mainland Portugal and the islands, the lives of the Sephardic Jews, the African slaves imported into the Atlantic Islands and Brazil and the Goans who later spread along the imperial highways of Portugal and Britain. Much of Portugal's contribution to science and the arts, as well as its influence in the modern world, can be attributed to the members of these widely scattered Portuguese communities, and these are given their due in Newitt's engrossing volume

Genres: Portugal, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2015

About the author

Malyn Newitt is a professor in the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at King's College London.

Reviews

[David Neto]

Admirable research on five centuries of Portuguese emigration and the worldwide lusophone diaspora. Besides the extensive statistical data and the interpretation of social and demographic events and patterns, the book comprises a thorough historical depiction of Portugal since the discoveries, relating it with the movements of its people around the world. It also gives an in depth description of emigration in more recent times, and has a very interesting rendering of how the Portuguese were viewed in Victorian literature. Vast bibliography.

[Ann Fernandes]

This was a very fun and interesting read. It's pretty much about all the places where the Portuguese had settlements or to which the Portuguese migrated and why they went there.

[Velichka]

It’s a great introduction to Portuguese emigration history covering all periods and well-organised. Very informative and full of references for further reading. Admirable research effort!