German Travelers to Portugal and Their Travel Accounts in the Age of Maria II (1834-1853)

Improved infrastructures caused a boom in travel activity in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe. Nonetheless, the countries of the Iberian Peninsula remained a terra incognita for quite some time. With the end of the civil war in 1834 and Queen Maria II's ascension to power, a growing number of Germans published accounts of their travels to Portugal. This project examines the individuals who traveled to Portugal in this period, why they did so, what they described, and what image of Portugal they projected to reading audiences in Germany.