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 ''Integralismo Lusitano'' (English: "Lusitanian Integralism") was a Portugal, Portuguese integralism, integralist political movement founded in Coimbra in 1914 that advocated Traditionalist conservatism, traditionalism but not conservatism. I ...

movement.

Early years

Born in

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

, Almeida Braga first came to politics whilst a student at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

where he was active in the cause of

monarchism 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. ...

. Philip Rees, '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', 1990, p. 7 Forced into exile in 1911 following a crackdown on such activity, he feld to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

where he continued his studies at

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

and the

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

. The journal that he founded, ''Alma Portuguesa'', was an early basis for integralist development and he produced it in exile until he was amnestied in 1916. Whilst in exile Almeida Braga was also involved in translating

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...

literature into French, including some of the works of Gil Vicente.

Integralism

He was involved in the failed monarchist uprising of 1919 and afterwards became, along with his close ally Alberto Monsaraz, one of the leading advocates for the claims of Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 8 Although a prolific writer he was not a main leader of the integralist movement and spent much of the 1920s out of Portugal, notably in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Whilst there his writings found an audience and helped to bring about the development of Brazilian Integralism. As one of the group's leading thinkers he set out to convert Portugal's elite to the new, somewhat Maurrasian, political ideology, particularly focusing on the young in their quest for support.Tom Gallagher, ''Portugal: A Twentieth-Century Interpretation'', Manchester University Press, 1983, pp. 30-31

Under Salazar

In 1932, by then settled back in Portugal, he joined with José Hipólito Raposo in launching the journal ''Integralismo Lusitano'' as an attempt to redefine their older ideas in the Portugal of

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

. The initiative was not a success. Unlike some former integralists Almeida Braga did not like Salazar and his last active involvement in politics saw him campaign in the 1958 Presidential election for Salazar's opponent Humberto Delgado.

Written works

*''O Culto da Tradição'', 1916. *''Mar Tenebroso'', 1918. *''Paixão e Graça da Terra'', 1932. *''Sob o Pendão Real'', 1942. *''Posição de António Sardinha'', 1943. *''A Revolta da Inteligência'', 1944. *''Nuvens sobre o Deserto'', 1954. *''Espada ao Sol'', 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braga, Luis de Almeida 1890 births 1970 deaths People from Braga Integralismo Lusitano Portuguese politicians Portuguese male writers University of Coimbra alumni Ghent University alumni 20th-century Portuguese lawyers