Minutes of the twentieth Meeting of the sub-committee, held in the Offices of the War Cabinet Great George Street, S.W.1. on Friday 16th April, 1943 at 11 a.m.

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Minutes of the twentieth Meeting of the sub-committee, held in the Offices of the War Cabinet Great George Street, S.W.1. on Friday 16th April, 1943 at 11 a.m.

(iv) Q. If Portugal looks back to her past glories and hopes to play a part in post-war reconstruction, would it not be to her advantage to enter the war? A. Portugal is afraid of interference from the United States and is always anxious about the position of her African colonies. It is true, on the other hand, that if she repudiated the Alliance she would cut a sorry figure and with some 80% of her population pro-Ally, Dr. Salazar's position would be seriously affected. (v) Q. If the Allies asked only for certain facilities, and not for the full implementation of the Alliance, would this make Dr. Salazar's position easier? A. Dr. Salazar would regard such facilities as bringing Portugal inevitably into the orbit of war. The Axis would attack her already inadequate shipping and might by air bombing cause great damage in Portuguese cities. (vi) Q. Could Portugal plead non-belligerency while giving such facilities? A. This is doubtful. Again Salazar would be against it in his capacity as a man who likes to know exactly where he stands. (vii) Q. If Hitler did not invade the Peninsula during the North African operations is it not unlikely that he would do so if the Allies acted against the Azores? A. The fact that the most likely moment for a German invasion of the Peninsula has now passed is realized by Dr. Salazar. It must be remembered, however, that Portugal is always in fear of hostile action from Spain. (viii) Q. Would Dr. Salazar consider a mock seizure of the Azores? A. Almost certainly he would not. He would at the very least withdraw his diplomatic representative. (ix) Q. Is there any possibility of an anti-Salazar revolution if he showed himself ill-disposed towards Allied needs? A. Although he is unpopular with three quarters of the population this is very unlikely. (x) Q. Could an appeal by Brazil obtain permission for the Allies to occupy the Azores? A. No. Portugal would find an appeal from Brazil even more humiliating than an appeal from Great Britain or America: (xi) Q. What would Dr. Salazar do if the Allies seized the Atlantic Islands? A. At one stage it is possible he would have appealed to the Axis. This now seems improbable -3-
Collection ID
CAB81
Conflict
Second World War
Document Reference
CAB 81/91/22
File Reference
CAB 81/91
Identifier
10.1080/swwf.cab81.0091.022
Keywords
Diplomatic Officials Diplomatic Intelligence Anglo-portuguese Relations Neutrality Topographical Intelligence
Pages
4
Published in
United Kingdom
Series
War Cabinet: Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee: Minutes (JIC Series).
Themes
Foreign Policy and International Relations Intelligence Gathering and Surveillance