"" ("The Portuguese ong, ) is the national anthem of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. The song was composed by

Alfredo Keil Alfredo Cristiano Keil (3 July 1850 – 4 October 1907) was a Portuguese romantic composer and painter. Keil was born in Lisbon, the son of Johann Christian Keil (son of Johann Georg Keil and wife Elisabeth ...) and wife (m. Lisbon, 30 Augu ...

and written by

Henrique Lopes de Mendonça Henrique Lopes de Mendonça (3 July 1856 – 24 August 1931) was a Portuguese poet, playwright, novelist, novella and short story writer, and naval officer. He wrote several plays, and with his friend, the composer Alfredo Keil, he wrote the l ...

during the resurgent nationalist movement ignited by the

1890 British Ultimatum The 1890 British Ultimatum was an ultimatum by the British government delivered on 11 January 1890 to the Kingdom of Portugal. The ultimatum forced the retreat of Portuguese military forces from areas which had been claimed by Portugal on the bas ...

to Portugal concerning its African colonies. Used as the marching song of the failed republican rebellion of January 1891, in Porto, it was adopted as the national anthem of the newborn Portuguese Republic in 1911, replacing "

Hino da Carta The ''Hymno da Carta'' ( en, Hymn of the Charter, modern Portuguese spelling: ''Hino da Carta'') was officially proclaimed the national anthem of the Kingdom of Portugal in May 1834. It was composed by D. Pedro IV, King Pedro IV of Portugal (also ...

" (Hymn of the Charter), the anthem of the deposed

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...

History

On 11 January 1890, the United Kingdom issued an ultimatum demanding that Portugal refrain from colonizing land lying between the Portuguese colonies of

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, on the west coast of Africa, and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

, on the east coast, thereby forming one contiguous polity (as proposed on the Pink Map). Despite a popular uproar, the Portuguese government accepted their demands. This contributed to the unpopularity of King Carlos I and the monarchy, and it garnered support for the increasingly popular republican movement in Portugal. The night after the ultimatum was accepted, composer

, at the suggestion of a group of friends that included Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro and Teófilo Braga, wrote the melody for "A Portuguesa" as a patriotic protest march. Inspired by the outrage felt by the Portuguese people, the lyricist,

, accepted Keil's request to create words to suit his melody. Mendonça said "A Portuguesa" was a song "in which the fatherland's wounded soul would merge with its ambitions of freedom and revival"; he hoped it would be an anthem, embraced by the people, that could express their yearning for national vindication. Such expressions are epitomized by " La Marseillaise", the Portuguese fado, and " Hino da Maria da Fonte". The march was quickly disseminated; several thousands of copies of the sheet music were freely distributed, together with fliers and posters. The song's popularity also spread across national borders, and verses were translated into other languages. On several stages in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, "A Portuguesa" drew special attention. On 29 March 1890, the march was performed at the Great Patriotic Concert, held at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (Saint Charles National Theatre), as well as at every other theatre in the capital. Beyond its use in cultural displays, "A Portuguesa" was also exploited for commercial gain. Several food products, including canned sardines and cookies, were named for this song. However, the song was perceived as a political weapon, and it was soon converted into a republican hymn. This political co-option of the theme's original meaning forced both authors to disavow this vision and stress its purely non-partisan sentiments. On 31 January 1891, a republican-inspired rebellion broke out in the northern city of Porto and "A Portuguesa" was adopted by the rebels as their marching song. The rebellion was crushed, and the song was banned. However, it was never forgotten, and, on 5 October 1910, a new and stronger

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

developed as "A Portuguesa" played in the background. A year later, the first session of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected ...

officially proclaimed it as the national anthem. In 1956, the emergence of melodic variants of the anthem forced the government to create a committee whose aim was to define an official version. On 16 July 1957, the current version was proposed, and it was approved by the Council of Ministers.

Lyrics

The anthem's official version consists of the first

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have eithe ...

and the chorus from Mendonça's poem only.

Protocol

Within Portugal, the anthem is played at both civilian and military ceremonies where the country, flag, or head of state (the President of the Republic) is honoured. It is also played at receptions for foreign heads of state, following that of the visitor, and in ceremonies during official presidential visits to other countries.

Notes

References

External links

Sung audio

National Anthem
from the President of Portugal
Hino Nacional
by Museum of the Presidency of the Republic * , by RTP1, 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Portuguesa, A European anthems National symbols of Portugal Portuguese anthems Portuguese patriotic songs Songs about Portugal 1890 songs Portuguese-language songs Compositions by Alfredo Keil National anthems National anthem compositions in E-flat major