AEMI

Portugal - Refuge and Refugees:
Movements and Personalities
Maria Beatriz Rocha-Trindade
Fig 1 The Exiled and Legend
A brief introduction will review the var
ious senses of social and geographical
mobility, seeking to list the diversity
of concepts that can be framed within
this very broad category. Portugal will
then be taken as an example of the space
for analysis taking into account the
permanent movement of people, and
concluding with facts and figures that
characterize the relevant periods.
The departure of the Portuguese
Royal Court to Brazil (1807) – a colony
located in the south of the American
continent - because of French invasion,
led to a situation of exile which lasted
for 13 years. The 25th of April, a milestone
that separates a long dictatorship
of almost fifty years (1926-1974) from
the time democracy was installed, limits
the analysis in time. The former is our
starting point and the latter our end
point.
The political settings will outline the
historical figures who triggered change
in particular situations, acting as an engine
capable of motivating action which
overcame the difficulties encountered.
The social reasons that promoted the
search for refuge and that kept in exile
those forced to move from their country
were interwoven with an international
structure where the circumstances that
led to those situations were located. The
memory of what occurred and the ways
to preserve the memory of controversial
personalities translates the individual
or collective representation of achievements
that at a certain point deserved
criticism and, at another, pride.