ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the remembrance of key events of Portuguese history to see how Portugal became a modern nation based on a distinct identity. It introduces Portuguese identity by loosely following the structure of Pessoa's Mensagem. The chapter begins with the Reconquista and the Age of Discoveries—the Portuguese castles and the sea—and also deals with Pessoa's own time, when the European hubris changed into nemesis. It deals with monuments as examples of the representation of Portuguese identity, following the idea that they represent inclusion and belonging. The foundations of the Portuguese nation and empire are intertwined, and therefore Portuguese identity is, from the very beginning, one between the suffering land and the promise of the sea. The crisis of the Eurozone and the EU is challenging Portugal in many ways. Portugal is a good example of the periphery making history, and this is good proof of a peripheral perspective on European and global history.
