The national anthem A Portuguesa replaced the Hymn of the Charter after the Implementation of the Portuguese Republic on October 5, 1910. It was a march composed in 1890 (in the sequence of the British Ultimatum), with music by Alfredo Keil and lyrics by Henrique Lopes de Mendonça. In this context, the objective of A Portuguesa was to exalt national patriotism and pride in opposition to the guidance of King Charles I, accused of ceding to the British subpoena.
The march was eventually consecrated a national anthem in the National Constituent Assembly of June 19, 1911.
Listen to A Portuguesa, the National Anthem of Portugal:
Origin
Alfredo Keil will have composed the patriotic march A Portuguesa on the night of January 12, 1890, and, at his request, the poet Henrique Lopes Mendonça wrote the lyrics at the end of the same month. The starting point was the reaction to the British Ultimatum that had provoked a wave of national indignation.
The initiative arose during a dinner of friends attending Tabacaria Costa do Rossio and the music publisher Neuparth in Chiado, which were part, among others, Keil, Augusto Neuparth, the Duke of Palmela, Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, Sebastião de Magalhães Lima and Teófilo Braga. The Portuguese was essentially intended to be a "canto in which the soul of the wounded homeland was embodied, with its aspirations for freedom and vigourous revival" and an anthem that could be quickly learned by the people and adopted "as a case of national claim" (Henrique Lopes de Mendonça). These feelings were present in the musical references followed by Keil: the Marseillaise, the fado and the Anthem of Maria da Fonte.
Popularity
On April 20, 1890, in the interval of competitive bullfighting that takes place in the bullring of Sintra with the presence of King D. Carlos, also in favour of the "Great National Subscription", the public asks for the execution of the A Portuguesa march. The King accesses, and most listen to her standing without hats on his head - a sign of respect.
The gait is also used for commercial purposes. Several products flaunt images related to it or that receive its name: the sardines "A Portuguesa", the cigars "A Portuguesa" or the cookies "A Portuguesa" appear. The popularity won by the march also leads to its political utilisation. Of patriotic singing, it quickly turns into a republican anthem, although in some areas of the country it continued to be passed over by the Anthem of the Virgin Mary of the Fountain. Some doubts arose regarding the real purposes of Alfredo Keil in composing the march, because if there were those who emphasised the author's republican options and the anti-monarchic character of A Portuguesa, others denied him. However, the Republicans endeavoured to highlight the subversive nature of the song, which according to them, was adverse to the authorities with rumours that its ban would be imminent. It is in this context that, at the end of April 1890, Alfredo Keil and Henrique Lopes de Mendonça come to the public to demarcate themselves from political appropriations and emphasise the patriotic intention of the ongoing action.
But on January 31, 1891, the attempt to implement the Republic in Porto is made to the sound of A Portuguesa. The Infantry band 18, which accompanies the rebellious troops on the route between Campo de Santo Ovídio and Praça de D. Pedro, I would have played the march. The event increased the distrust on the part of the Government and A Portuguesa is no longer played by the regimental bands. It would be heard again in absentia, in the summer of 1897, when the cruiser Adamastor arrived in Lisbon, ordered to build in Livorno with the funds of the "Great National Subscription", for offer to the Portuguese Crown, in the name of the national Defence. At the time, the Republican press demanded the execution of the march at the official reception. Faced with the renictance of the liberal press to admit that A Portuguesa was the true national anthem, they accuse the authorities of having banned it. However, this ended up being played by the military bands present, interspersed with the Anthem of the Letter, at the ceremonies of August 7 and 15. Faced with this conjuncture, Neuparth & C.a again edits prospets of the march, similar to those of 1890, but adds to them the overprint of the word "Lembra-te".
Hymn Consecration
On the morning of October 5, 1910, the Republican forces in Lisbon descended Avenida da Liberdade, from the Rotunda, accompanied by the music bands of Caçadores 5 and Infantry 6 that incessantly play A Portuguesa. The implementation of the Republic gives it the legitimacy of a national anthem, and on November 17, 1910 a note from the Minister of War of the Provisional Government determines: "Let the national anthem always be executed, A Portuguesa!". Following are new editions of the march score, both by Neuparth & C.a and by the National Press. The background colours of the print become green and red; replacing blue and white. Finally, at the first session of the National Constituent Assembly, held on June 19, 1911, Portuguese is consecrated as a national anthem.
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