Effects of Sebastianismo and Quinto Império on Portuguese Culture & Literature

Introduction: The Dawn of Portuguese Exploration

Starting from 1341 with the first expedition to the Canary Islands, and continuing with expeditions to India, Brazil, and Japan, the Portuguese people opened their vision towards the undiscovered world. Besides reaching the goods that began to be traded—such as gold, silver, spices, silk, sugar, and slaves—Portugal also emerged from its shell and experienced the ambition of building an empire for the first time in its history. Motivated by a desire to conquer new lands beyond overseas colonies, the young King Sebastião initiated an expedition to Africa. However, he passed away in the Battle of Alcácer Quibir on August 4, 1578, resulting in a failed conquest of Africa.

The Iberian Union and Its Aftermath

After the king's death, a succession crisis arose. King Philip II of Spain peacefully incorporated Portugal into Spain by enticing the Portuguese nobility and part of the clergy. During this United Iberian Peninsula era between 1580 and 1640, which followed Portugal’s golden age of discoveries (Descobrimentos), Portugal was under Spanish sovereignty but maintained independent laws, currency, and government. Meanwhile, Portuguese nobility began to lose its power, and several Portuguese colonial holdings came under Dutch administration (Boxer, 1969). These events spurred a period of restoration and an independence effort against Spanish sovereignty.

The Cultural Impact of Sebastianismo and O Quinto Império

To fuel this restoration effort, the myth of Sebastianismo was introduced into society. There was a widespread belief that one day, on a foggy morning, King Dom Sebastião would return to Portugal to lead it into a new era of prosperity—similar to Christian eschatological beliefs about Jesus returning to save humanity once and for all (Birmingham, 2003). In his epic poems, Luís de Camões celebrated Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India and emphasized the higher purpose of Portuguese civilization (Camões, trans. White). His book is structured thematically: it refers to Vasco de Gama's discovery in its first theme; Portugal's history in its second; Portuguese people and heroes in its third; and mythology in its fourth theme.

“These are the tales of arms and matchless men / Who put to sea from Portugal's west shore / And trekked to Taprobana and beyond / By oceans nobody had braved before…”
(Camões).

The belief in Sebastianismo also strongly resonates in Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa’s work. In his poems found in "Mensagem," he upholds that no matter what happens to Portugal, King Sebastião will return, ushering a resurgence for the nation (Pessoa). Like Sebastianismo's idealism, O Quinto Império—a concept popularized by Camões—kept alive hopes of re-establishing an empire one day. Jesuit priest António Vieira held that after empires led by Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon), Cyrus (Persia), Pericles (Greece), and Caesar (Rome), a Fifth Empire would emerge under Portugal’s leadership (Vieira).

The Intellectual Response: Critiques and Modernity

Joaquim de Oliveira Martins published an influential essay on Camões’s "Os Lusíadas" in 1872. He viewed Portuguese history as an apocalyptic cycle involving birth, decay, death across four parts: first dynasty; golden age; overseas expansion; three remaining centuries—periods marked by moral degeneration from newfound wealth through discoveries (Oliveira Martins).

“The purpose for men who have invented books was to cherish memory against tyranny…"
(Vieira).

This period witnessed persecution under inquisitions ensuring Catholic faith but eventually ended due efforts modernist intellectuals like Marquês de Pombal initiating reforms such as slavery abolition or Lisbon reconstruction post-disaster during his tenure (Santos Silva).

The Persistence Of Nostalgia In Modern Times

Even after those dark centuries—marked by republics transitioning dictatorship then EU membership—the ideals behind sebastianismo or fifth empire linger within cultural expressions like fado music (“saudade” themes) or literature while still inspiring dreams among older generations today. The reflections reveal how enduring myths continue shaping societal perspectives toward potential future glories yet unreached by contemporary nation-states striving redefine identities amidst global landscapes evolving rapidly over recent decades.

References:

• Birmingham D. (2003). A Concise History of Portugal. Cambridge University Press.
• Boxer C.R. (1969). The Dutch Seaborne Empire: 1600-1800. Hutchinson & Co Ltd.
• Camões L., trans White R.F.
• Pessoa F.A.N., Mensagem.
• Santos Silva J.M.T..
• Vieira A., Sermões.