Pessoa's "O Encoberto" in Mensagem: The Sebastianist Facet of His Occultism.

IN 1914, at the age of twenty six, Fernando Pessoa became very attracted by Sebastianism, an interest that would endure throughout his lifetime and one that very much complemented his apparent occult interests (Kotowicz 27). (1) Sebastianism is the messianic myth about Portugal's King Sebastian (1557-78)--O Desejado ("The Desired One"), as he was known at the time of his birth--whose return would establish a utopian, universal commonwealth under the Portuguese flag. The foretold realm, the Quinto Imperio (Fifth Empire), would be the last of the great empires, subsequent to those of Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome. This expectation derives from the prophet Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the Old Testament (Book of Daniel, II). Slow-witted and vain, King Sebastian openly proclaimed his desire to reinstate to power the Sultan of Morocco, Muley Muhammed, who had been deposed by his Turkish-backed uncle, Muley Abd al-Malik. (Sebastian's real aspiration was to lead a crusade that would crush the infidel.) In 1578, ignoring the counsel of his top advisors, he crossed into Morocco with his entire army and much of the country's wealth. In a desolate spot known as Alcazarquivir, on August 4, Muslim hordes under al-Malik decimated the outnumbered Portuguese. Sebastian's fate went unknown and much of the country's nobility perished. The debacle was such that, as rumored, the captured booty made possible the founding of the city of Marrakech. Two years later, the kingdom of Portugal was annexed by Spain.