Pluricontinentalism (Portuguese: Pluricontinentalismo) was a geopolitical concept framing Portugal as a transcontinental country and a unitary nation-state made up of both continental Portugal and its overseas provinces. Tracing its roots to as early as the 14th century, pluricontinentalism was later promoted under the Estado Novo regime as a last attempt to justify retaining its remaining colonies. It presented Portugal not as a colonial empire but as a single nation-state spanning multiple continents, giving rise to the term.
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Pluricontinental in the context of United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves
The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil with the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of the Algarves, constituting a single state consisting of three kingdoms.
The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed in 1815, following the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil during the Napoleonic invasions of Portugal, and it continued to exist for about one year after the court's return to Europe, being de facto dissolved in 1822, when Brazil proclaimed its independence. The dissolution of the United Kingdom was accepted by Portugal and formalized de jure in 1825, when Portugal recognized the independent Empire of Brazil.
Pluricontinental in the context of Estado Novo (Portugal)
The Estado Novo (European Portuguese pronunciation: [(ɨ)ʃˈtaðu ˈnovu], lit. 'New State') was the corporatist Portuguese state installed in 1933. It evolved from the Ditadura Nacional ("National Dictatorship") formed after the coup d'état of 28 May 1926 against the unstable First Republic. Together, the Ditadura Nacional and the Estado Novo are recognised by historians as the Second Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: Segunda República Portuguesa) or Salazarist Portugal. The Estado Novo, greatly inspired by conservative and autocratic ideologies, was developed by António de Oliveira Salazar, who was President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 until illness forced him out of office in 1968.
Opposed to communism, socialism, syndicalism, anarchism, liberalism and anti-colonialism, the regime was conservative, corporatist, and nationalist in nature, defending Portugal's traditional Catholicism. Its policy envisaged the perpetuation of Portugal as a pluricontinental nation under the doctrine of lusotropicalism, with Angola, Mozambique, and other Portuguese territories as extensions of Portugal itself, it being a supposed source of civilisation and stability to the overseas societies in the African and Asian possessions. Under the Estado Novo, Portugal tried to perpetuate a vast, centuries-old empire with a total area of 2,168,071 square kilometres (837,097 sq mi), while other former colonial powers had, by this time, largely acceded to global calls for self-determination and independence of their overseas colonies.