Lusitania the other provinces to form the "Diocesis Hispaniarum" ("Diocese of the Hispanias"). As with the Roman names of many European countries, "Lusitania" was and is often used as an alternative name for Portugal, especially in formal or literary and poetic contexts. The 16th-century colony that would eventually become Brazil was initially founded as "New Lusitania". In common use are such terms as Lusophone, meaning Portuguese-speaking, and Lusitanic, referring to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries—once Portugal's colonies and presently independent countries still sharing some common heritage. Prior to his invasion in 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte proposed the establishment of a French-backed
RMS Lusitania "Lusitania". To commemorate the occasion, Cunard's undertook a voyage to Cork, Ireland. There are a number of conspiracy theories relating to the last days of "Lusitania". There has long been a theory, expressed by historian and former British naval intelligence officer Patrick Beesly and authors Colin Simpson and Donald E. Schmidt among others, that "Lusitania" was deliberately placed in danger by the British authorities, so as to entice a U-boat attack and thereby drag the US into the war on the side of Britain. A week before the sinking of "Lusitania", Winston Churchill wrote to Walter Runciman, the President of