The sea and maritime travel in the discursive construction of Portuguese national identity

Abstract

From a semiotic perspective interested in the functioning of culture, this article studies the role of the sea and maritime travel in the discursive construction of Portuguese national identity. Given the constructivist nature of semiotics, national identity is studied as a cultural artifact that assigns meaning to social reality in cognitive and affective terms, rather than as an essence or pre-social datum. Through the study of certain episodes and passages from the works Os Lusíadas (Camões) and Mensagem (Pessoa), the aim is to argue how the sea and maritime travel have enabled the discursive construction and mythification of the Portuguese “We” based on values of danger, suffering, courage, and recognition.