Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The First World War in Portuguese East Africa:: Civilian and Military Encounters in the Indian Ocean

2017; Volume: 15; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

1645-6432

Ana Paula Pires,

African history and culture studies

portuguesA Grande Guerra foi a maior operacao militar no exterior em que participaram tropas portuguesas durante a primeira metade do seculo XX. Portugal foi o unico pais envolvido no conflito que, entre 1914 e 1916, conseguiu manter uma posicao de neutralidade nao declarada na Europa e travar, simultaneamente, uma guerra em Africa contra a Alemanha. A defesa da integridade do imperio colonial portugues, tem sido apontada pela historiografia como um dos factores apresentados para justificar a declaracao de guerra a Alemanha, em Marco de 1916, e a participacao portuguesa no teatro de guerra europeu, ao lado da aliada Gra-Bretanha, no inicio de 1917. Este artigo procura analisar o modo como a Grande Guerra foi encarada pelas colonias, nomeadamente, por Mocambique, discutindo a intervencao militar portuguesa e a forma como esta foi entendida e acompanhada por civis e militares. EnglishThe Great War witnessed the most important military operation carried out by Portuguese troops outside the country’s borders during the first half of the twentieth Century. Portugal was the only country involved in the conflict which, between 1914 and 1916, was able to preserve a position of undeclared neutrality in Europe and, simultaneously, wage war against Germany in Africa. The defense of the Portuguese colonial empire’s integrity has often been signaled by historians as one of the factors which justified the declaration of war against Germany in March 1916 and Portugal’s participation in the European theatre of operations alongside its ally, Great Britain, from early 1917 onwards. This article seeks to analyze the way in which the Great War was considered by the colonies, especially Mozambique, by discussing the Portuguese military intervention and the way it was understood and witnessed by civilian and military figures alike.