Nationalisms in portuguese imperial public sphere

This paper discusses the role of press system in the promotion and mobilization of nationalist ideologies in Portuguese Colonial Empire. Throughout the nineteenth century, a growing Imperial Public Sphere performed a central role in socio-political dynamics of Portuguese Empire. The press published in Portugal and in its colonial territories composed an Imperial Public Space of discussion and conflict regarding mainly liberalism and political participation, economic development and colonial administration. Through the press system, imperial, colonial and native elites expressed competitive varieties of nationalist ideology and I try to show three types: ‘regional nationalism’; ‘proto-nationalism’; and ‘colonial nationalism’. Regarding these varieties, this paper is structured in four sections: 1) The conceptualization of the Imperial Public Sphere; 2) The 'regional nationalism' in the Angolan press; 3)the ’Proto-nationalism’ in the African press; and 4) ‘colonial nationalism’ in the metropolitan press.