In
few other cases can the argument for monarchy be better made than in
Portugal and the only argument needed is the historical argument. As a
kingdom, Portugal was once the envy of Europe, the little country on the
edge of the continent that was on the cutting edge of progress and
innovation. As a republic, Portugal has known tumult, in-fighting and
gained notice only for being one of the most poor European nations. Even
when that trend started to be reversed, it was based on borrowed
prosperity and has led to Portugal being known as a debtor country. The
contrast could not be more stark. Of course, the history of the Kingdom
of Portugal was not one of uninterrupted success. There were certainly
low periods. However, under the monarchy the Portuguese showed what they
were truly capable of and they achieved truly awesome heights of
prestige and prosperity. Under the republic, the low periods have
remained but the successes of the monarchy have never even come close to
being matched to say nothing of being surpassed.
Portugal was born and came into being as a
monarchy. The Portuguese kings led their people in the struggle against
Islamic domination, creating their own independent country and then
leading it to further success on the world stage. The Kingdom of
Portugal was a center of science and learning, Portuguese explorers in
the employ of the King blazed a trail that the other nations of western
Europe would follow. They built the first global maritime empire, and
one based on commerce and industry rather than conquering vast
territories and subjugating populations. They carried the Portuguese
language and the light of Christianity to the jungles of Brazil, the
farthest, untouched corners of Africa, the subcontinent of India and the
islands and great civilizations of the Far East. The Kingdom of
Portugal introduced Europe to the world and established business
contacts and trade routes that made Portugal the most prosperous country
in Christendom and yet also maintained their reputation as one of the
most faithful and devoutly religious.
Ask anyone to name the greatest figures
of Portuguese history and they will most likely come up with names like
King Manuel I, Henry the Navigator or any of the number of great
explorers from the golden age of Portuguese history. In short, they will
name people from the era of the Kingdom of Portugal. Ask them to name
some great or even significant Portuguese figure from the era of the
republics and you will be answered with deafening silence. It is not to
say that no one from Portugal has done anything significant since then,
but that is one of the things that comes with the loss of monarchy.
Everything seems altogether more ordinary and mundane compared to
countries that are part of the club of royalty. For instance, more
people know about Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese Queen consort of
Great Britain, wife of King Charles II, who brought part of India as
her dowry and who introduced the custom of drinking tea to England than
any of the “first ladies” of even any Portuguese republican official to
say nothing of foreign leaders. Even when the Kingdom of Portugal had
fallen on hard times in the years prior to the revolution, Portugal was
still a country that mattered to the other great powers of Europe
because it was a royal country, worthy of consideration for marriage
alliances because of their lofty rank. Since the republic, Portugal has
been largely ignored on the world stage until recently when her
mountainous debts have threatened to cause economic hardship for others.
The kingdom may have had its problems at
certain points but the leadership of the republic have set new depths to
which the standards of corruption, dishonesty and graft have sunk to.
In any debate about the Portuguese monarchy and its overthrow, mention
will usually be made of the country going bankrupt (twice) during the
reign of King Carlos I, the last Portuguese monarch but one. Yet, this
was not necessarily an entirely bad thing as modern events should prove.
The current government in Portugal should have gone bankrupt long ago,
on multiple occasions, but because the politicians who have been
breaking the country are able to hide behind the veil of democratic
republicanism, their crimes went unnoticed. They artificially kept the
country floating on borrowed money, turning Portugal into a debtor
nation when a bankruptcy or two when it should have happened might have
shocked the public back to their senses and encouraged them to throw out
the current lot and install someone better, perhaps even an altogether
better system such as a constitutional monarchy in which the King would
be available to keep a reviewing eye on the political class who have
been juggling the books.
It is truly heartbreaking to see the
state of Portugal today. Heartbreaking because it was not necessary, it
was avoidable and because a simple look at any history book in the world
will show that Portugal is a better country than this and the
Portuguese are better people than this. Alleviating the problems in
Portugal today should be a very simple matter of checking the historical
record. Portugal was once prosperous, vastly wealthy even, with a
population known for their hard work, ingenuity and abundance of faith
rather than their abundance of debts. All one need do is take a look at
the historical record, see when Portugal was at her best and then simply
do what they did back then (with some modifications to suit modern
times of course). If reform is to start at the top, the first change
that should be made is in the highest level of national leadership. If
Portugal was greatest when she was a monarchy then she should be a
monarchy again. It would not solve every problem instantly of course,
but a restored King of Portugal could provide the sort of moral
leadership Portugal needs so that the people can be inspired again,
united and motivated to help each other and, as in the old days, find
new ways to grow and prosper. Only a figure like a monarch could lead
such a movement, lead Portugal in restoring her faith, her pride and her
pursuit of excellence. And that is why the Portuguese monarchy should
be restored in quick order.
Fonte: Mad Monarchist
Nota: o texto original
tem no topo a Bandeira republicana, que recuso totalmente em colocar
aqui, preferindo colocar a Bandeira da Monarquia Constitucional.
David Garcia em Real Portugal
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