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Manuel Mira

The Forgotten Portuguese (Portuguese making of America : early North-American history) Hardcover – December 1, 1997

by Manuel Mira (Author)

9 ratings

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Early American History, researches the origin of Melungeons and other groups. History of Portuguese settlers in America since the 1500's and their participation in the making of America. This is a history of one of the many minorities that makes up the american population. It presents many facts and over 100 illustrations, photographs and charts with American and Portuguese history chronology. It also presents the names of many settlers as well as the anglicized version.

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

P.A.H.R.F., Inc.
Publication date

December 1, 1997
Dimensions

6 x 1.5 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0965892700
ISBN-13

978-0965892704
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Exhaustive book chronicles role of the Portuguese in America. We all know the Portuguese sailed the uncharted seas to discover more than two thirds of the world. They made alliances with previously unknown peoples and civilizations to secure a sea rout to spice-rich India. But what do we know about the Portuguese role in the birth of America? There's an easy way to find out... -- From the Publisher

About the Author

Manuel Mira has lived for extensive periods of time in three Continents. This has given him considerable knowledge of the different groups of people with whom the Portuguese have integrated. Manuel Mira is married to Lurdes, has a son and a daughter and six grandchildren. He is the President of an electronics communications firm with manufacturing facilities in North carolina and Florida.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ P.A.H.R.F., Inc.; 1st edition (December 1, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0965892700
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0965892704
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,443,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #454 in Social Sciences Reference
- #30,812 in European History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
9 ratings

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Acie Turner

good buy

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

good buy

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Angela Majka

Difficult Reading

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2001

This is one of the most poorly edited books I have ever read. The writing is disjointed; the author jumps from subject to subject within paragraphs and fails to fully address subjects that he has introduced. The book is filled with incorrect grammar, misspellings and sentence fragments. There are many typographical errors. All of the above leads to an uncomfortable reading experience, which sometimes had me frowning and shaking my head as I attempted to get at the author's meaning.
That being said, I found many of the ideas that the author suggested fascinating. He focused on several historical anomalies and mysteries that I found interesting. He raised some valid questions; unfortunately, that's all they can be, since there seems to be little concrete fact to support his claims. The book may have served its purpose, however, in making more people aware that the Melungeons even exist. I have no doubt that they experienced injustice, and if they claim to be Portuguese, it is more than likely true in part, as such a claim would not have exempted them from prejudice. Therefore, there would be little advantage in such a claim if it were not true. The later, fully documented Portuguese immigrants underwent many hardships themselves based on ethnic intolerance.
The author frequently digressed to shed light on some detail that he seemed to feel needed to be pointed out in order to give the Portuguese credit for historical accomplishments which other historians may have slighted. I'm certain that such slights have occurred. As the saying goes, "The winners write the history," and even though Portugal was once a major world power, that dominance yielded to that of other nations whose version of history is what we have been taught. However, the author's frequent digressions distracted from his main point (or maybe this WAS his main point, and his other thesis intruded?). The result was distracting and made for slow going. It's a shame that his work was not more carefully edited to achieve clarity. I believe the amount of research done by the author and the subject matter itself deserved better treatment.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A Scattered Presentation of a Complex Subject

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2001

Melungeons, a very interesting ethnic group I had never heard of prior to picking up Mira's book. No question, the Melungeons, their history and culture, make fascinating material for social anthropological study. However, Mira does a poor job with the information he presents and, consequently, the final product is a patchwork quilt of disparate and sketchy material that flows poorly. Unfortunately, this does not come off as a serious book.
My suspicion is that the Melungeons have only a minor ethnic connection to the Portuguese. Clearly they are a mix of European (Spaniard, Portuguese, British, Dutch), Turkish/Arab and, to a much lesser extent, Native American and Black African.
What is quite surprising is that Mira is lacking considerably in his knowledge of the Arabic influence in Portugal itself or, for the sake of being more accurate, Iberia as a whole. Mira's use of the term "Moor" is flawed, to say the least. Originally, Moor was used to describe people of Northwest African descent. Prior to the Arab advance in the early 700s, most Moors were Berbers. This Caucasoid group is very close genetically to many of the original Southern European peoples. After the Arabs conquered North Africa, the Berbers were essentially assimilated and are, of course, today are a minority in that part of the world. Moors, therefore, were a mix of Caucasian peoples: Arab and Berber. The term "Black Moor" is a false racial category which was used by Europeans to describe negro slaves of the Arabs and Berbers first seen, on occasion, throughout the Mediterranean world in the early Middle Ages. Eventually, in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance, "Moor" came to describe all people of swarthy complexion with Arabic features.
In Iberia, the Arabic and North African influences are clearest in the southern provinces of Alentejo and Algarve. This is also true for the island groups: the Azores and Madeira. Historically, the great majority of immigrants to these two areas came from southern Portugal. However, it must be said that at least one island in the Azores, Terceira, was originally populated by the Flemish almost entirely.
The misuse of ethnic terms is only one of the many faults with Mira's book. A great deal of the information in the book is, at least, partially incorrect or based on dubious sources. The work is basically a poor treatment of a complicated subject.

4 people found this helpful

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paul e vasconcelos

poorly written

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2001

It's a shame I'm going to have to use this space to talk about the topics that were brought up rather than the book. First off I was born in the Azores, I know my ancestry quite well. As usual the Portuguese (continental) love to grasp onto the minute Anglo identity they have. Within the last 2000 yrs the Iberian peninsula has been controlled by either the Spanish or the Moors of Northern Africa, Portugal as we know it is a baby. The problem with Portuguese Americans is that they were taught to assimilate to get ahead and forget about their true ethnicity. Which was an advantage as they have in turn taught their children to do the same. Anglocizing names, speaking English at home, etc. are great ways to do this. The continental Portuguese can call themselves what they would like. I am 100% Acoriano, I have much African blood as do many azoreans. The flemish and Irish had a small influence in the Azores (windmills aside). Go to the islands and tell me what you see- I'll venture to say 85% of the people have dark skin, hair, and Moorish features. We have cultural traditions that are directly corrolated with the Spanish and Moors (bullfighting, dance, music, etc.). Luckily for my younger generation of immigrants we do not try to sugarcoat the past. Portugal until 26 yrs ago did not so much even as acknowledge us. There are red heads all over the world, what's your point. sad.

2 people found this helpful

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