A talk by Denis Bergin

Of all the great maritime powers of the late medieval period, Portugal was virtually unique in that it did not stake a lasting claim to any of the island territories of the West Indies or any portion of the North American Continent. With that disadvantage, how did the Portuguese fare when it came to taking their place among those nations of the world who sent thousands of adventurers, entrepreneurs and emigrants to the New World from the colonial period onwards? In this illustrated talk, Denis Bergin will look at the history of the Portuguese in colonial America and the United States, and will examine how the Portuguese diaspora there reflected, and continues to reflect, the values and culture of the ‘motherland’. He will compare its profile with those of two other small European countries, Ireland and Greece, using personal and community histories to measure achievement and influenc