The school battalions of the municipality of Lisbon: organization and rituals (decade of 1880)

Abstract

With the present article it is our purpose to reflect on the childhood militarization project developed in the central or graded schools  of the municipality of Lisbon, during the first great decentralization experience of education in Portugal. The statement of school  battalions – linked to the idea of the “ citizen-soldier” as part of the nation’s civic cult – is explained in the international educational  networks framework. Beyond paying attention to the ritual practices developed at certain solemn moments and festivities (major events in the nation’s history), we will not fail to establish a relationship between military instruction and other curricular areas,  namely physical education, moral and  civic education. The understanding of how military  practices have penetrated the school routine is of our  interested. Finally, the controversies that accompanied  the implementation of military instruction in the municipal schools of Lisbon and determined its  progressive decline from the mid-1880 were also exploited.