Lusophobia (Portuguese: Lusofobia) is a hostility toward Portugal, a nation occupying the west of the Iberian Peninsula in south-western Europe, its Portuguese people or the Portuguese language and culture. Like Lusitanic, the word derives from Lusitania, the Ancient Roman province that comprised what is nowadays Central and Southern Portugal, and phobia that means "fear" or, more likely, "aversion of". The term is used in Portuguese-speaking countries, and its use in English is almost non-existent. The opposite concept is lusophilia.
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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 themselves of Portuguese descent.[1] 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 ethnocultural community in Brazil.[2]
In the immediate aftermath of the abdication of Pedro I of Brazil 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.[3]
Modern Examples
Brazil
Today, relations between Brazil and Portugal are amicable, with a degree of friendly rivalry comparable to that between English-speaking countries such as Britain and the United States, as a way to deal with their shared colonial past. Many Brazilians are used to telling Portuguese jokes (piadas de português), where the Portuguese people and the Portuguese Brazilian community are always referred to as unintelligent people, while the Portuguese also tell the same jokes about Brazilians. Soap opera actress Maitê Proença, commenting in the Brazilian TV comedy show Saia Justa in 2007, became a notable example of a Brazilian public figure who was heavily accused of prejudice against the Portuguese people. Some critics say that this incident reflected the incoming wave of xenophobia over Europe coming to Portugal, with heavy media scrutiny over a trivial matter.[4]
United Kingdom
Violence against Portuguese citizens in Britain manifested as hooliganism during the Portuguese hosted Euro 2004 football championship. 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 defeat to Portugal. Police arrested the hooligans after the trouble. The Portuguese fans were trapped inside the pub for more than two hours.[5]
Two Portuguese families working in Northern Ireland were also removed from their homes in County Armagh after an allegedly 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 at the attacks."[6]
Negative press and feeling became high in 2007 when a three-year old British child, Madeleine McCann, disappeared from Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal in May 2007. Many UK media outlets wrote highly critical articles that were described by Marcel Berlins in The Guardian, as having "a touch of arrogant xenophobia".[7] Whilst others in the media such as Simon Heffer attempted to foster anti-Portuguese sentiment with ideas such as boycotting Portugal [8] as a holiday destination, this was not reflected in general public opinion which saw record numbers of UK tourists visit Portugal.[9][10] Considered a record, the estimates were of 2 million British tourists holidaying in Portugal in 2007.[11] Notable anti-Portuguese articles by Tony Parsons [12] received a record number of complaints to the Press Complaints Commission for that year.[13][14]
See also
- Lusophilia
- Lusophone
- Lusitanic
- Black Legend
- Lusotropicalism
- Racism in Portugal
- Simon Heffer
- Tony Parsons
References
- ^ 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
- ^ 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, [1], JSTOR
- ^ Rebelions in Bahia
- ^ Actress falls from grace, Jornal de Notícias, October 13, 2009
- ^ Portuguese fans attacked by mob, (25 June 2004), in BBC News
- ^ Two Portuguese families attacked, (21 August 2004), in BBC News
- ^ Berlins, Marcel (10 September 2007). "Media have rushed to judge Portuguese police". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,,2165920,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- ^ Don't go to Portugal for your holiday
- ^ Algarve Tourism Board: Increase of UK tourists is the answer to the boycott appeal from Telegraph. Gazeta Digital
- ^ Região de Turismo do Algarve : Aumento do número de turistas britanicos é a resposta ao boicote do Telegraph
- ^ "Caso Madeleine" não tem efeito negativo em ano com número recorde de turistas britânicos
- ^ OH, UP YOURS, SENOR
- ^ Press Complaints At All Time High
- ^ PCC complaints hit record high
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