Alberto de Morés Monsaraz (28 February 1889,

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. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

– 23 January 1959) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

politician and poet. He was one of the central figures in the

Integralismo Lusitano ''Integralismo Lusitano'' (English: "Lusitanian Integralism") was a Portuguese integralist political movement founded in Coimbra in 1914 that advocated traditionalism but not conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and pol ...

that dominated the

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

of Portuguese politics during the early years of the twentieth century.

Early years

Born in

, he was the son of the poet António de Macedo Papança, who became the first Conde de Monsaraz in 1910.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pr ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', 1990, p. 267 In 1907 the young Monsaraz began studying law whilst also writing for the right-wing journal ''Pátria Nova''. As a result of his involvement in

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

politics it would be 1915 before he finally graduated.

Integralism

Like many young monarchists at the time Monsaraz fell in behind

Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Cabral Couceiro (30 December 1861, in Lisbon – 11 February 1944, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese soldier, colonial governor, monarchist politician and counter-revolutionary; he was notable for his role during the coloni ...

and took part in his monarchist incursion in 1911. He was exiled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for his involvement and fell in with other like-minded individuals in the French capital who had also been expelled from Portugal. He was the founder of

in 1914 along with José Hipólito Raposo,

José Adriano Pequito Rebelo José Adriano Pequito Rebelo (born 21 May 1892 in Gavião, Portugal – died 22 January 1983 in Lisbon) was a Portuguese writer, politician and aviator. Early life Born into a monarchist family, Pequito Rebelo studied law at University of Coimbra ...

and

António Sardinha António Sardinha (9 September 1887 in Monforte, Portalegre – 10 January 1925 in Elvas Municipality, Elvas) was a Portugal, Portuguese writer and the main intellectual behind the ''Integralismo Lusitano'' movement. He espoused a strongly conserva ...

. Independently wealthy due to coming from a leading family, Monsaraz was involved in funding a number of journals associated with the new movement, including ''Nação Portuguesa'', ''Ideia Nacional'' and ''A Monarquista''. Monsaraz took part in Paiva Couceiro's second rebellion of 1919 but was wounded in this conflict and lost a kidney, a fact that impaired his health for the rest of his life. Nonetheless he continued his involvement in Integralism and sat on the ''Junta Central'' of the movement. He would become closely associated with

Luís de Almeida Braga Luís Carlos de Lima de Almeida Braga (20 October 1890 – 27 February 1970) was a Portuguese writer and politician who has one of the leading figures within the Integralismo Lusitano movement. Early years Born in Braga, Almeida Braga first came ...

in their support for

Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza ''Dom'' Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (23 September 1907 – 24 December 1976) was the claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as both the Miguelist successor of his father, Miguel Januário, Duke of Braganza, and later as the head of the ...

. The issue of succession proved a divisive one, with different elements within the movement supporting different candidates for the throne, and in 1925 Monsaraz resigned from the ''Junta Central'' as part of these problems.

National Syndicalism

Following his resignation Monsaraz began to read the works of

Georges Sorel Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and p ...

and his disciple

Georges Valois Georges Valois (real name ''Alfred-Georges Gressent''; 7 October 1878 – February 1945) was a French journalist and national syndicalist politician. He was a member of the French Resistance and died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp ...

and soon became converted to

national syndicalism National syndicalism is a far-right adaptation of syndicalism to suit the broader agenda of integral nationalism. National syndicalism developed in France in the early 20th century, and then spread to Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It is generall ...

as a result. He went on to become a leading figure in the '' Movimento Nacional-Sindicalista'', becoming Secretary-General of the blue-shirted movement in 1933. However Monsaraz was exiled to

Republican Spain The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

along with

Francisco Rolão Preto Francisco de Barcelos Rolão Preto, GCIH (12 February 1893, Gavião – 18 December 1977, Hospital do Desterro, Lisbon) was a Portuguese politician, journalist, and leader of the Portuguese National Syndicalists Movement (MNS), a fascist or ...

in 1935 when

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

stepped up his persecution of the National Syndicalists.António Costa Pinto & Maria Inácia Rezola, 'Political Catholicism, Crisis of Democracy and Salazar’s New State in Portugal', ''Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions'', Volume 8, Issue 2, 2007, pp. 353–368

Later years

Monsaraz initially became even stronger in his national syndicalism and for a brief spell looked to

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

, declaring

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

to be his political idol. However this fervour did not last long and by 1936, when he returned to Portugal, Monsaraz had come full circle and was once again advocating Integralism. He remained a strong critic of Salazar, refusing to even mention his name and instead referring to him as "the orator of Sala do Risco", although by this time Monsaraz's political influence had all but ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monsaraz, Alberto 1889 births 1959 deaths Politicians from Lisbon Writers from Lisbon 20th-century Portuguese poets Portuguese male poets Integralismo Lusitano National Syndicalists (Portugal) politicians 20th-century male writers National syndicalists