Gilberto Freyre and Lusotropicalism: origins, controversies and impacts of the theory

This dissertation analyses the concept of Lusotropicalism, the notion that Portugal was different from its European colonisers counterparts because it was multiracial and incline to mestiçagem. The theory, elaborated by the Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre (1900-1987), has become one of the most controversial discourse about Portuguese colonialism, serving as a support for the policy of the Portuguese Estado Novo in relation to the then overseas territories as well as embodying the myth of racial tolerance of the Portuguese. Throughout the work the theory is analysed from its construction process to the uses, interpretations, controversies and implications it had both in Portugal and in its former colonies.