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✅Why was the Azorean Antero de Quental considered one of the greatest figures in Portuguese culture?

Antero de Quental rightfully belongs to the gallery of great Portuguese intellectuals and is one of the most prominent names of the so-called "Generation of 1870" in the 19th century.

Antero de Quental was born in Ponta Delgada in 1842 and came from distinguished families. His family's wealth allowed him to receive a solid academic education. He attended the University of Coimbra and obtained a Law degree. However, as he himself noted, it was not the law course that sparked his intellectual curiosity, but rather the cosmopolitan atmosphere and contact with the writings of Europe's most avant-garde thinkers. These experiences made him aware of the country's economic backwardness, the prevailing social injustices, and the persistence of tradition—true obstacles to Portugal's development. He rebelled against these values, positioning himself as one of the leading voices of a new generation seeking innovation. In the so-called "Coimbra Question" and through his intervention with Bom Senso e Bom Gosto (Good Sense and Good Taste), he opposed Castilho and the conventional literature that he symbolized.

He was also one of the key figures behind the Casino Conferences, held in 1871, where he delivered The Causes of the Decline of the Iberian Peoples in the Last Three Centuries. In this speech, he pointed out the mistakes in Portugal’s historical trajectory, marked by religious fanaticism, intolerance, and the harmful influence of the Jesuits, which distanced the country from scientific progress and prevented the rise of a middle class capable of leading Portugal towards modernization.

Embracing a revolutionary stance, he contributed to drafting the program of the Socialist Workers' Party (1875) and ran for parliament under its banner in the following years.

As an intellectually restless thinker, his most profound works emerged in the final phase of his life. In General Trends of Philosophy in the Second Half of the 19th Century (1890), written within the framework of the 19th-century debate between scientism and metaphysics, Antero de Quental argued that scientific knowledge alone is insufficient for understanding reality. He maintained that it must be framed by metaphysical ideas, which serve as the true foundations for a comprehensive explanation of the universe.

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