Historical interpretation of Portuguese Overseas Expansion has changed considerably from the late nineteenth century to the present. Ideological appropriations of historical events are commonplace. The propaganda of the regime of Portuguese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar extensively used the topic of Portuguese Overseas Expansion as a founding myth for justifying its own colonialism, even in times when decolonization processes were the common trend. Damnatio memoriae, on the one hand, and apologetics, on the other, were strategies spread from primary school textbooks to university programmes. They were responsible for the exclusion and even persecution of many Portuguese scholars, who had to ask for refuge in other European Universities. It created myths, for example around Henry the Navigator or the Nautical School of Sagres. Key-personalities, such as Magellan, were long defamed as anti-heroes. This article will show how these myths and twisted interpretations are still commonplace today. Even now, many Portuguese feel that, in times of crises, these fictions are used to create a sense of national identity and self-confidence.

从 19 世纪末到现在，对葡萄牙海外扩张的历史解释发生了很大变化。对历史事件的意识形态挪用是司空见惯的。葡萄牙独裁者安东尼奥·德·奥利维拉·萨拉查 (Antonio de Oliveira Salazar) 政权的宣传广泛使用葡萄牙海外扩张的话题作为为其殖民主义辩护的建国神话，即使在非殖民化进程成为普遍趋势的时代也是如此。记忆中的诅咒，一方面，护教学，另一方面，是从小学教科书传播到大学课程的策略。他们对许多葡萄牙学者的排斥甚至迫害负有责任，这些学者不得不在其他欧洲大学寻求庇护。它创造了神话，例如关于航海家亨利或萨格里什航海学校的神话。关键人物，如麦哲伦，长期以来被诽谤为反英雄。本文将展示这些神话和扭曲的解释如何在今天仍然司空见惯。即使是现在，许多葡萄牙人仍然认为，在危机时期，这些小说被用来营造一种民族认同感和自信感。