The socio-political dynamics that currently link Portugal and Canada have their roots in the remote past, when on fragile ships, Portuguese seaman sailing largely unknown waters, came to these parts, some under their own flag, others sworn to the flags of Spain and Italy, some of their own free will, yet others in search of a safe haven away from the religious and political persecution that The Inquisition pursued against Protestants and Jews. These left in their wake in amongst the aboriginal peoples small pockets of Portuguese culture that have survived to this day in the genetic melting pot that are Métis or Creole peoples of the North American continent.

Canada as the heterogeneous country we know today sprang from three mains stems, the aboriginal peoples that inhabited the land before the coming of the Europeans, the French and British settlers who, as a result of the fever of expansion of the spheres of European colonial power, reached these lands in the hope of finding a better and safer land to raise their children, for Europe, as a whole, during the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries did not have much to offer its people in the way of economic and social well-being.

This process culminated in the autonomy granted by the British Crown and consecrated in the British North America Act of 1867, and which opened the doors to the modern day Confederation of Canada, having received into its midst its 13th and last member, Nunavut, as late as 1999.

The exodus from some European countries in the 19th century such as Italy broadened the somewhat already varied Canadian cultural and social spectrum. But it is in the 1950's that Immigration comes into its own as a major force in the forging of the Canada. The Second World War left Europe divided and devastated and many of its survivors, now from other countries such as Poland, Germany and Holland, come to swell the fast growing populace.

The Portuguese joined the incoming stream of immigrants when Pierre Trudeau's vision of a multicultural Canada opened up new opportunities and another but somewhat different door to the American dream, having diverted a significant number of Portuguese migrants from the by then traditional Portuguese Immigrant Communities in the U.S.A., France, Venezuela and South Africa.

Today Canada is an ever-changing rainbow of ethnicity with the progressive arrival of more African and Asian immigrants and the country's demographic characteristics truly reflect the Global Village concept. Thus, it has indeed provided that safe haven and fulfilled its promise to many, constituting, in itself, a veritable preview of Man's Destiny.

As such, Canada, as it stands today, is the sum total of the vibrant contribution of the peoples of the World. And it is only fair and just that it reveal itself, in its entire natural, social and cultural wealth to those far countries over land and sea from whence so many modern day Canadians may stem. This website seeks to foster, nurture and diffuse Canada beyond the horizon, for by doing so, not only do we honor our multiple ancestry but also create links that will encourage the dynamic exchange of knowledge and human values amongst Men.

We at www.adiaspora.com welcome any contributions or comments that you want to share.