A Diplomat in War: Augusto de Vasconcelos' perceptions in the Portuguese Legations in Madrid and London and in the Peace Conference, between neutrality and Portuguese participation in the conflict (1914-1920)

Abstract

The present analysis focuses on the readings of the former Plenipotentiary Portuguese Minister, Augusto de Vasconcelos – Portuguese Minister who went for republicanism at the end of the 19th century, being later a faithful supporter of the League of Nations, fighting for the Organization until its end on the international scene in the post-World War II – and that in the Legations of Portugal in Madrid and London observed and made considerations about the country’s participation in the conflict on the occasions of its presence: on the war stage from 1916 and at the previous moment that divided Portugal between neutrality and the need to ensure the presence of the Republic in the Great War as an opportunity for participation in the negotiations that would follow in the Peace Conference, an idea that did not escape the perceptions of the minister. Thus, aiming to present the notion of war from the diplomatic point of view, through the backstage of the conflict, we highlight the thought and action of one of the faces of international diplomacy of the twentieth century: through the exchange of correspondence between legations and consulates, Portugal in Madrid, through Augusto de Vasconcelos, shaped his presence in the war  in order to approach Spain, understanding the conflict along the lines of the Portuguese Minister, as a decisive moment to strengthen multilateral ties with a view to the subsequent conjuncture, where Latin America would, in his view, play a central role.