Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-02-03
THE "ENGLlSH PALM"
A Popular Saying That Explains
POrtugars Dislike OF England.

A Popular Saying That Explains
POrtuGars Dislike of England.
"There are one or two things about
the Portuguese and their history" said
q former resident OF Lisbon the other
day, (which. it seems. ought to have
good deal of bearing in the present
state Of the relations between Great
Britain and Portugal. but nhich nei-
ther Americans nor Englishmen who
have never lived i'm Portugal are likely
to count upon.
The feelings Of the Portuguese peo-
pie about England are peculiar. In
point of plain fact the Portuguese as a
people hate England more than they
hate any other country except Spain.
and yet there has never in the whole
course of European history been a war
between Portugal and England. The
animOsity. paradox as 1t may seem. all
grows out Of alliances. 1t is said that
the first treaty Of amity and alliance
between the two countries was made
in the reign Of Edward Ill. the father
Of the Black Prince. and John Of
Gaunt. That was more than 800 years
ago John of Gaunts second wife was
a Spanish princess. and his daughter
by her was the wife Of John |. king OF
Portugal. and mother OF Prince Henry.
the first European explon' - the At
lantic
$50 much Is only what may be read
in any history. How the feeling bout
the English grew up in Portugal is a
matter Of tradition. and the tradition Is
exclusively Portuguese because the
English have never troubled themselves
about the matter. The Portuguese say
that from the end of the fourteenth
century English merchants began set
Ting at Lisbon. and that they were
much too shrewd In business 10 be pop
ular with the natives. Anyhow there
is a Portuguese colloquialism In use TO
this day by which a man who does an.
other in a business transaction is said
to give him the English palm That
phrase is supposed TO allude 10 some
little trick Of the English cloth mer.
chants in the days when cloth used TO
be measured by the breadth of the
palm of the hand.
"Whatever the origin Of the expires.
sion may nave been. it has been freely
applied by the Portuguese in connec.
tion with several international bar.
gains in which. according to them. the
English got the better Of them. One
such was the bargain by which Bonn.
bay passed into the possession Of the
British crown as part Of the dowry of
poor Catherine of BraganZa. who mar.
ried Charles III. But the sorest mem.
ory in the history Of the relations be-
tween the two countries Is the conven-
ton of Cintra. by which. they say.
England. after using Portugal as a con-
yenient cockpit for the war against
Napoleon and numbers Of Portuguese
as food for French powder. gave them
noth>er English palm
"Of course it is a difficult historical
uestion how far- these complaints may
e well founded. .Rut it certainly is
TRANCE TO lie in Lisbon when the cor.
IS is debating over some pSNint of the
ational relations with Great\ Britain
nd to hear and see the popular asntj-
british demonstrations in the 81 is.
lille in the two chambers the debat-
RS, whatever their private feelings
lay be, follow the fashion which has
revailed in all Portuguese state and
tficial utterances for ages and speak
{ England as 'nOssa tie alada' cour
lithful allyJ. Dom Luis. the father
the present king. sent a message TO
le cortes one day all about 'nossa fiel
iada.' and the next day the shop win
)ws all over Lisbon were adorned
ith copies Of a new patriotic song en-.
tied 'Delenda est Albion CAlbion
.ust Be Wiped Out)."-New York
ribune