Waiting for Sebastian to return from Morocco... The myth that haunted the Portuguese

Sebastianism is a myth that emerged after the death of King Sebastian of Portugal in the 1578 Battle of Ksar El Kebir, fueled by the absence of his body and hopes of his return to save the nation. The belief, later politicized during Spanish rule and revived in 19th-century Brazil, came to symbolize unrealistic hope and denial of reality.