A Portuguesa

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A Portuguesa English: The Portuguese Song
National Anthem of	Portugal
Lyrics	Henrique Lopes de Mendonça
Music	Alfredo Keil
Adopted	1910

A Portuguesa (pronounced [ɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ]) is the national anthem of Portugal. It was written by Henrique Lopes de Mendonça (lyrics) and Alfredo Keil (music) after the nationalist resurgence provoked by the British Ultimatum (for Portuguese troops to vacate the territory between Angola and Mozambique), was adopted as a Republican anthem and, finally, by the new Portuguese Republic in 1910 as the national anthem, replacing "O Hino da Carta", the last anthem of the Constitutional Monarchy in Portugal.

The title A Portuguesa means "the Portuguese (song)" — the Portuguese word for "song", canção, being feminine — just as La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France, is "the song of Marseille", the Belgian anthem, The Brabançonne is "the song of Brabant", and L'Internationale, the Socialist anthem, is "the international (song)".

[edit] History

In 1890, the United Kingdom issued an ultimatum demanding Portugal give up its intentions of occupying the land between the African colonies of Angola, on the western coast, and Mozambique, on the eastern coast, thus joining the two territories. Despite popular uproar, the government was forced to accept the British terms, a measure that contributed to the growing unpopularity of King Carlos I and the monarchy and gained supporters for the already boosting republican movement. Inspired by the common feeling of outrage among the people, writer Henrique Lopes de Mendonça composed a poem urging his compatriots to "fight for the fatherland" (Pela Pátria lutar) and praising the country's past as a naval power, particularly in the 15th and 16th centuries. The words were set to a melody by composer Alfredo Keil and the song soon became popular among people unhappy with what they considered a submissive and humiliating attitude by the Portuguese authorities.

On January 31, 1891, a republican revolution broke out in the northern city of Porto and "A Portuguesa" was adopted by the rebels as their anthem. The revolution was crushed and the song banned. In 1910, on October 5, a new revolution succeeded in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic in Portugal. In the following year, 1911, a law officialized the status of "A Portuguesa" as Portugal's national anthem.

[edit] Lyrics

The song consists of the first stanza from Mendonça's poem followed by a chorus. The second and third verses below were part of the poem, but are not included in the anthem (and are indeed unknown to even exist by a large majority of Portuguese). The fifth line of the chorus: "Contra os canhões marchar, marchar" (Against the cannons march, march!) is an alteration of the original "Contra os bretões marchar, marchar" (Against the Britons march, march!), a reference to the Pink Map.

[edit] External links

• Lyrics, sheet music, and MP3 of "A Portuguesa" on the Government of Portugal web portal.
• A Portuguesa - A fan site dedicated to the Anthem, where you can hear a vocal version.