Portugal was the longest modern European imperial power, yet the dominant historical narrative is characterised by a celebration of the ‘Discoveries’ and a denial of colonial violence. This is visible in Lisbon's public space, dotted with monuments and statues glorifying the imperial past, while occluding less convenient histories. Especially since 2017, more attention has been given to Portugal's colonial past in public debates. Various initiatives have stimulated discussions about this past, while highlighting socio-cultural issues connected to these histories that continue to affect Portuguese society today. These have contested certain monuments and the narratives they embody, as well as created alternative narratives regarding the public space and cultural memory. This article compares a selection of recent interventions that contest monuments and dominant narratives about Portugal's colonial past. We look at the ways in which certain spaces and monuments become zones of contestation, and how such contestation not only contributes to changing dominant narratives, but also to resignify such spaces and structures. Our goal is to shed light on the variety of agents working towards a change of narrative regarding Lisbon's public space and memory, while reflecting on the socio-political meanings surrounding the presence and absence of monuments related to the colonial past.

中文翻译：

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有争议的纪念碑，有挑战性的叙述：葡萄牙里斯本处理殖民历史及其遗产的不同方法

葡萄牙是欧洲历史最悠久的帝国，但历史叙事的主要特点是庆祝“发现”和否认殖民暴力。这在里斯本的公共空间中可见一斑，那里点缀着颂扬帝国过去的纪念碑和雕像，同时遮挡了不太方便的历史。特别是2017年以来，葡萄牙的殖民历史在公众辩论中受到更多关注。各种倡议激发了对这段历史的讨论，同时强调了与这些历史相关的社会文化问题，这些问题继续影响着当今的葡萄牙社会。这些对某些纪念碑及其所体现的叙事提出了质疑，并创造了有关公共空间和文化记忆的替代叙事。本文比较了最近对有关葡萄牙殖民历史的纪念碑和主流叙事的一系列干预措施。我们研究某些空间和纪念碑成为争议区域的方式，以及这种争议如何不仅有助于改变主导叙事，而且还重新赋予这些空间和结构以意义。我们的目标是揭示致力于改变里斯本公共空间和记忆叙事的各种代理人，同时反思与殖民历史相关的纪念碑的存在和缺失的社会政治意义。