The North, the South, the race, the nation - Representations of Portuguese national identity (19th and 20th centuries)

Abstract

The division between the North and the South of Portugal is a recurrent topic in the context of representations of Portugal. In this article, the writer analyses the role that division has played in the discourse of 19th and 20th-century intellectuals, paying particular attention to the way it is seen in ethnic and racial terms. He examines the meanings which Northern writers have given to this same division when they use it, and reflects in particular on its implications for representations of Portuguese national identity.