Friends of the common good: the political engagement of the “repúblicos” in seventeenth-Century Portugal

This article sheds light on the unsuspected republicanism that flourished in seventeenth-Century Portugal. Long before the advent of liberal republicanism, the Portuguese kingdom nourished a long-standing tradition of liberty and devotion to the common good, singularly illustrated by the political engagement of the self-proclaimed “repúblicos.” Claiming to embody an ideal model of civic virtue, they presented themselves as friends of the common good and published books that criticized politicians and condemned the vices of the republic, which they circulated among their compatriots. These efforts ushered in a novel form of political participation, one that no longer took place in the silent palaces of the nobility or the restricted space of the royal court, but in the emerging public sphere.

Keywords:
Early Modern Portuguese History; republicanism; public sphere; printing press; popular politics