An Empire of Faith and Its Infidels: Portuguese Colonialism and Muslims, According to Os Lusíadas and Its Sources

Although the sixteenth-century epic Os Lusíadas is set in an expanding colonial world that extends from the Americas to the Moluccas, its author, Luís Vaz de Camões, still predominantly focuses on Muslims as the main allies, adversaries, and subjects of Iberian Christians. As in previously analyzed works, the contradictory depictions of Muslims allow Camões to advocate for their colonization and to present the Portuguese as both benevolent and fearsome conquerors. The connection between the ambivalent contacts of Christians and Muslims in medieval Iberia and their modern interactions overseas is made explicit by Camões, who continuously quotes and reinterprets previous chronicles in order to celebrate Portuguese victories across the centuries and to predict the worldwide and definitive triumph of Christian colonialism over non-Christians.