THE VIOLENT MAINTENANCE OF THE PORTUGUESE COLONIAL IDENTITY AND THE SEARCH FOR A POSTCOLONIAL ONE: LITERARY IMAGES OF PORTUGAL AS A COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL NATION

Anthony Soares

Through the examination of Camões's Os Lusíadas , Sena's Os Grão-Capitães and Saramago's A Jangada de Pedra , this article explores violence as a means of shaping Portuguese identity in different historical contexts, and how these works portray the continued recourse to violence as Portugal moves from colonizing to postcolonial nation.