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THE TEAM
CONTACT
In conclusion : “The Portuguese people emerged from the close interaction between Land and Sea, with their distinctive way of life, character, language, religious sensibility, and artistic expressions—the ultimate flower of a unique spirituality.” (Cortesão, “Causas...” ["Causes"], p. 251). Years later, he continued to emphasise the importance of the territory’s position, describing it as “the most advanced Atlantic and western outpost of two peninsulas: the European and the Iberian” (Cortesão, Os Descobrimentos [The Discoveries] vol. I, p. 191). This highlights geography, but the emphasis remains on history.
Published in 1931, although written in 1928, Hermann Lautensach’s article, A Individualidade Geográfica de Portugal no Conjunto da Península Ibérica [The Geographical Individuality of Portugal within the Context of the Iberian Peninsula] in the Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, sparked considerable objections. Unlike Ferraz de Carvalho and Amorim Girão, Lautensach argued that Portugal’s physical-geographical identity was “clearly defined.” He described it as “a coastal region on the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula, strongly influenced by the ocean, while simultaneously forming a transitional area from northern […] to southern, subtropical forms. .” Regarding the Castilian centre, he conceded that the transition was gradual. Echoing Silva Telles, Lautensach insisted that “ the strongest foundation for Portugal’s political autonomy was its advantageous maritime position on the Atlantic coast (a benefit also enjoyed by the Netherlands), a characteristic that equally shaped both its physical-geographical and political facets ” (Lautensach, “A Individualidade...” ["Individuality..."], pp. 382-383, 187). This stance established a divergence of opinions on the geographical basis of Portugal’s political independence, and w hile the historical argument was frequently reiterated, it was never disputed.
I n his classic work, Como Nasceu Portugal (1938), Damião Peres reviewed various opinions, some attributing the origins of the nation to geographical factors (alongside ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and historical-administrative imperatives) and ended by citing Anselmo Ferraz de Carvalho, who stated that Portugal “is distinguishable from the rest of the Peninsula” (Peres, Idem, pp. 28, 38). Many of these opinions were not from geographers or writers with serious geographical knowledge.
