Reparations for Settlers? The “Despoiled” from Africa and Postcolonial Portugal (1975–2021)

Abstract Should colonial settlers receive compensation for their material losses after the end of colonial rule? Today, we see a global trend toward reparations for colonial crimes, yet compensating settlers was a common practice after 1945. Japan, France, and Belgium all compensated their colonists after decolonisation. In 1975, settlers returning from Portugal’s collapsing empire in Africa called for a similar treatment. However, despite some conservative support, the elitist associational movement of self-styled ‘despoiled’ or ‘dispossessed’ settlers failed to sway policymakers or gain public backing, resulting in no compensation. This article examines the reasons for their failure, exploring cross-national similarities and connections among postcolonial societies in Europe while highlighting key specifics of the Portuguese case: first, the assimilationist integration of the returning settlers, whose political movements remained weak; second, the significant resonance their colonialist ideas found within a society that made few serious efforts to abandon its imperialist nationalist myths after decolonisation.