OK, this is an old story. But it is also an interesting example of the exercise of governmental power.
Here’s a story from 1928, in which Portugal attempted to ban the bare feet of its citizenry.
Portugal to Try to Enforce Barefoot Law
Lisbon.—The Portugese republic, which has been in existence since 1910, faces a serious test in the enforcement of a new law effective soon. This statute not only threatens the democratic equality of the citizens, but disregards national traditions and customs to such an extent that another revolution may easily be provoked, in the opinion of astute political observers.
Everybody must wear shoes, according to the latest republican legislative innovation.
Anybody who has ever visited Lisbon has noticed the particularly large number of picturesque fishmongers, both mail and female, who parade the streets barefoot, carrying baskets on the heads laden with their wares.
The fish venders, moreover, are not the only citizens who, by the custom of centuries, walk through the city’s streets barefooted. There are so many others that it is generally acknowledged that enforcement of the new law will be a grave problem for the republican government.
Here’s an example of the Portuguese bare feet and head baskets, from the November 1927 issue of The National Geographic (captions from the magazine).
And why, you ask, would Portugal decide that bare feet must be banned?
That is explained in a 1930 story. I don’t know if the 1928 attempt ended in failure, or if it just took that long to try to put the ban into effect. But here’s thes story:
Must Clothe “Dogs”
Lisbon—Peasants of Portugal must say good-bye to barefoot days. The government has just issued a decree saying: “Everybody must wear shoes because the sight of an unshod foot and leg is repulsive to many foreigners, is unhealthy and unesthetic. It furthermore suggested backwardness in the country.”
That’s right, bare feet were banned because foreigners might not like them (hey, what about regional charm?), and because it suggested that the country might be backwards. (Also note that feet were referred to as “dogs” nearly 80 years ago.)
That doesn’t look backwards to me. In fact, these days I think bare feet should be seen as an indication of the progressiveness of a country. It is a clean, healthy sign that a place knows sanitation and how to deal with its trash.
By the way, I don’t know what happened to the ban. Despite the first article calling Portugal a republic in 1928, the 1926 coup d-état put them under military rule. This transitioned into right-wing dictatorship in 1933. Who knows what laws survived the transition?
Ask the Portuguese Embassy, they should know (or at least be able to find out). I am curious too.
Peace and Good!
Indeed, In Portugal was forbidden to walk barefoot, as we have repeatedly reaffirmed. If the police or the Republican National Guard saw someone barefoot applied him a fine of $ 2, 50, which was already very significant for poor people, who was more who went barefoot.
With the Revolution of 25 April 1974, many laws meaningless were getting forgotten, or even repealed, and I think that the law prohibiting barefoot was one of them. The proof is that I go barefoot for law enforcement officers and none put any question about that.
I have a book entitled »O Pé Descalço» (“The Bare Foot”), edited by the Portuguese League of Social Prophylaxis, and that is a compilation of laws and attitudes, descriptions of tetanus cases, opinions of several senior officials, etc..
Afterwards, it was created the myth that it was forbidden to drive car barefoot. But nobody ever complained to me that he had been fined for this …
Unfortunately, even with the lifting of this ban, some generations were so indelibly marked that most Portuguese ones think that today is again a perfect nonsense to walk barefoot when footwear is accessible to everyone.
As they say … We are, or we have, the people we deserve…
Barefoot greetings!
Alberto
Braga – Portugal
Alberto, many thanks for providing us this information! It’s a real shame that such natural barefooting, as shown in the photos, was stamped out.
So this was repealed in 1974, the very end of the hippie era. Makes me wonder what happened during the late 1960s and early 1970s, during the height of the hippie era, and what kinds of problems young people traveling there from the US and other areas encountered as they passed through there..
Can we say that Portugal is in its way unique in having had a real anti-barefoot legal ban of all countries?
I also liked this part: “because the sight of an unshod foot and leg is repulsive to many foreigners, is unhealthy and unesthetic.” It shows once again that footwear is highly symbolic. As if a sandal can hide “the repulsive foot and leg”, duh!
(still simmering from indignation) And if the sight of an unshod foot were unesthetic, we would not have numerous examples of unshod and naked statues, sculptures of athletes and emperors, paintings with barefoot Biblical and mythological characters etc etc.
for what I found in portuguese, it became worse and worse :
Porto and Lisbon : BF strictly forbidden in 1928
Coimbra in 1934
Aveiro in 1956
(the dictature ended in 1974)
what is your source, all from the National Geographic ?
Sources: National Geographic and newspapers of the time.