ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Portuguese national identity, bringing together its past and its present. It begins by analysing it as a product of historical processes beginning in the Middle Ages, with the creation of an independent Portuguese kingdom, passing through the period of imperial expansion, in which it consolidates its existence, until finally arriving at modern times. It draws attention to the importance both of official and banal nationalism in the formation and consolidation of a Portuguese national identity. Finally, it discusses current representations of national identity, showing how salient the national identification is among the Portuguese. It concludes with an examination of the controversies they raise and questions their future.
