PANAJI
On Friday, as Goa celebrated 64 years of its Liberation from Portuguese rule, a survey in Portugal found that 31 per cent of respondents preferred that the country still had colonies.
According to an opinion poll released by the Lisbon-based newspaper Público, more than 31 per cent of Portuguese citizens said they would prefer Portugal to have retained its overseas colonies.
The findings come more than six decades after Portugal’s decolonisation process and on the day that holds deep historical significance for Goa, which was liberated from Portuguese rule on December 19, 1961.
The study indicated that nearly a third of respondents view the colonial era favourably, despite Portugal having withdrawn from its territories in Africa and Asia following the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974.
That peaceful uprising ended decades of authoritarian rule and paved the way for democratic reforms, while also accelerating the dismantling of Portugal’s empire.
Researchers noted pronounced generational and ideological divides in attitudes towards colonialism. Support for the idea of retaining colonies was found to be stronger among certain age groups and socio-political segments, reflecting differing interpretations of Portugal’s historical role in the world.
A sizeable proportion of respondents associated the colonial period with greater international prestige for Portugal. However, critics and historians – in the media report -- warned that such perceptions risk downplaying the violence, exploitation and systemic inequalities that defined colonial rule across Africa, Asia and Latin America including Goa, which remained under Portuguese administration for more than 450 years.
In a comparative European context, Portugal recorded the highest proportion of respondents expressing support for the continuation of a colonial empire. The figure was higher than that reported in the United Kingdom, at 27 percent, and the Netherlands, at 26 percent, according to the survey.
The authors of the study said the results point to an unresolved and ambivalent relationship with Portugal’s imperial past, characterised by both rejection and symbolic glorification.
“The findings have reignited debate within Portuguese society on how colonial history is remembered, taught and discussed in public life. For Goa, where Liberation Day is commemorated as the end of colonial rule and the beginning of integration with India, the survey pointed at the continuing contrasts between lived colonial experiences and lingering imperial nostalgia in the former colonial power,” one of the experts in the report said.
