10 Great Portuguese

Well, the recent buzz in this country has been a poll conducted by the national television station, RTP, about who are, in the opinions of the viewers, the top 100 Portuguese of all time. Votes were cast over the past 6 months or so, results were tabulated and, this past weekend, results were given to the bottom 90, with the top 10 being cast back into the pool for a 2nd round of voting. They listed those that ended up in the top 10 (with the cell phone number so some schmucks can pay €0.70 to text message the vote in) and, in another few months, after a series of debates and documentaries made by the "defenders" of each candidate, they will then announce the final ranking. Well, I decided to add my devalued 2 cents in the matter by giving, what I think, should be the ranking order for these 10. Here it goes:

10. Alvaro Cunhal (1913-2005) - Founder of the Portuguese Communist Party How this guy actually made it this far into the list is beyond me. People here in Portugal have this outlandish fascination for the late Cunhal, who was a devout Stalinist to the end. Here's a guy who's face is plastered into the minds of the nieve who think he was the true image of the 25th of April Revolution that brought democracy into this country. Lemme repeat, many people here think an old-school Communist actually represented democracy. The same guy who nearly plunged Portugal into a civil war in the "Verão Quente" or "Hot Summer" of 1975 because he was intent on making Portugal into a People's Republic (the irony of that term knows no boundries). You may laugh now.

9. Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) - Poet This guy made a number of, what some here say, "literary classics". His supposed claim to fame? He was able to write in multiple peronalities and used alcohol and anti-depressants to "even things out". In other words, he was a schizophrenic, drug-using booze hound who knew how to write decently. Yeah, there's someone I want to represent all Portuguese. I guess the local loon who pees in the flowers wasn't on this ballot.

8. Sebastião de Melo (aka. The Marquis of Pombal) (1699-1782) - Statesman Was made de facto head of state and put in charge of rebuilding Lisbon after the Earthquake, Tsunami and Fire of 1755. Most of what is the "old" downtown of Lisbon was his work. Of course, he was also a highly brutal and repressive dictator, made such by the "grace" of then King José I. In one particular case, he ordered the execution of the Tavora family (he implicated them in an assassination attempt against the King), without a fair trial, in a fashion that would even make the terrorists in Iraq cringe. I won't get into details as to not offend those easily offended.

7. Afonso Henriques (aka. Afonso I) (1111-1185) - Founder and 1st King of Portugal Well, this one was a given. After all, he was the founder of the country. But, he wasn't really a well-liked individual, which is intertwined with how this country was formed in the first place. Portugal pretty much originated with, to put it in the easiest way possible, a fight with his mother and cousin. His mother was the Queen of Castille and he fought with her in order to get the county of Portugal. He then argued with Pope in order to try and gain independence, which he got under very strict condtions (one of which was that he wasn't allowed to expand westward, only south, which was occupied by the Moors). And thus began the conquest of the 7 Moor castles (which are the same 7 castles that show up on the Portuguese flag today).

6. Vasco da Gama (1468-1524) - Navigator The very first European to find a rout to India. He pretty much started the notion of a "Global Community".

5. Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) - Statesman This was pretty much the guy that pioneered the age of European colonization of the "new world". It was his initiative to start the navigational school in Sagres that attracted, what would end up being, the big names during the age of discoveries. The Sagres school helped innovate navigation and topography.

4. John II (1455-1495) - King Although Prince Henry pioneered the age of discovery, it was King John II that gave his brother Henry the order to start such a venture....at the age of 19 no less. He was a visionary, no doubt about that.

3. Luis de Camões (1525-1580) - Poet Author of the book "Os Lusiadas", known here as the "Bible of Portuguese History", also known as the book every kid in Portuguese schools, from grades 5 through 12 have to endure 4 months out of each year until they are ready to commit suicide. Apparently, the reason why he's "blinking" is that he was once a soldier who fought against the Spanish and lost his right eye in combat. Apparently eyepatches were reserved for pirates in the 16th century.

2. António de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970) - Minister of Finance/Prime Minister/Dictator I don't think you could get a worse bum rap than this guy. For alot who were born post-1974, they view him as a ruthless tyrant who governed Portugal like a police state and refused to give independence to the African colonies. However, if you were to actually read factual accounts during his time, first as Minister of Finance, then as Prime Minister, you will see that he was someone who completely broke the dictatorial mold. He was modest, highly frugal (to the point where he would go as far as diluting the wine he drank as to "make it last") but most of all, very patriotic. He came in after 1926 after the 1st Republic (established in 1910) all but ruined the country, and through tight economic and social reforms, brought peace and stability to the country. He also managed to successfully keep Portugal out of 2 successive wars (the Spanish civil war and WWII). His downfall was due to 3 very important aspects: 1) He didn't invest more in education, which led to decay, namely from High School and up, 2) His ministers tried so much to make a cult of personality (although against his own wishes, believe it or not) that it led to a power vacum once he died. and 3) His corporative model of governing left too much social control to big corporations which ended up leaving little, if any, social programs for those who did not work for said corporations.

1. Aristides de Sousa Mendes (1885-1954) - Diplomat #1 definitely goes to one of the unsung heroes of WWII. Named Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux during the German occupation of France, he risked job, freedom and life in order to help over 30,000 refugees, mainly Jewish, from the gas chambers and ovens of Nazi concentration camps. Doing his best to avoid being caught by German authorities as well as a neutral Portuguese government trying not to provoke Germany, Mendes issued thousands of visas into Portugal to these refugees. Many ended up making Portugal their permanent residence afterward.

And there you have it. Feel free to drop off a comment and give your opinion.