t Historical map showing the regions of Portugal in 1762
t Historical map showing the regions of Portugal in 1762
One of the oldest nation states in Europe, intrepid explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries traversed the fearsome Atlantic Ocean and made Portugal the nexus of a global empire, only for the country to be beleaguered by invasions, revolutions and economic crises.
From about 2000 BC, the Iberians and Celts supplanted Portugal’s Stone Age communities. When Rome swept into the area in 218 BC, they met with fierce resistance from one of the tribes – the Lusitanians – who were only defeated when their leader Viriato was poisoned by undercover Roman agents in 139 BC. The Romans named the province Lusitania in the tribe’s honour. Romanization led to four centuries of stability, but as the Empire collapsed, Lusitania was overrun by Germanic tribes.
Infighting between the Visigoths paved the way for the country’s next invaders: North African Muslims, known as the Moors. After being asked to help a Visigoth faction in AD 711, they quickly occupied huge swathes of Portugal’s southern coast. In 756, Adb al-Rahman established the independent kingdom of Al-Andalus, stretching from the south of the Iberian peninsular as far north as modern-day Coimbra. The Moors called the southwest part of this region Al-Gharb (Algarve), which means “the west” in Arabic.
While there was peace in the south, small, agitating Christian kingdoms were gaining in strength in the north and, in the 11th century, they began the Reconquista (reconquest). Following a series of successful skirmishes against the Moors, “Portucale” – a small area around the Douro, which was part of the kingdom of Léon – began to grow in stature. In 1139, their ruler Afonso Henriques was victorious at Ourique and declared himself Dom – king of Portugal. The Algarve remained under Moorish rule until 1249, when Faro was finally taken by Afonso III. Portugal’s borders have remained largely unchanged ever since.
After overcoming Castilian competition for the crown, the reign of João I saw the beginning of Portuguese imperialism, with the capture of the North African city of Ceuta in 1415. João’s third son, who became known as Henry the Navigator, financed expeditions along the West African coast. Great riches were made from gold and slaves taken from the Gulf of Guinea, but the real breakthrough came under Manuel I, in 1498, when Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, as he sought out favourable winds by sailing west into the Atlantic, Pedro Álvares Cabral “discovered” Brazil and claimed it for Portugal.
The age of expansion ended with an unsuccessful expedition to Morocco in 1578, led by Sebastião I. When the Cardinal-King Henrique died without an heir in 1580, Philip II of Spain successfully claimed the Portuguese throne through his mother, who was a daughter of Manuel I. Under Spanish rule, Portuguese noblemen held influential positions, but a common foreign policy led to the steady loss of its colonies to the Dutch. In 1640, Lisbon revolted and the duke of Bragança was chosen to become King João IV. Spain retaliated and the ensuing War of Restoration continued until 1668, when Portugal’s independence was finally recognized.
The 18th century was a period of mixed fortune for Portugal. Despite vast revenues from Brazilian gold and diamonds, João V almost bankrupted the country with his extravagance. In 1755, an earthquake devastated Lisbon, killing more than 10 per cent of the city’s population. The Marquês de Pombal helped to rebuild the capital and applied the ideals of the Enlightenment, reforming commerce, education and the government.
In 1807, Napoleon’s seemingly unstoppable French army invaded Portugal, bringing the country into the Peninsular War. The royal family were forced to flee to Brazil and Rio de Janeiro briefly became capital of the Portuguese empire. It was left to British generals Beresford and Wellington to drive out Napoleon in 1811, but the royal family did not return to Portugal until 1821.
Portugal suffered many depredations during the Peninsular War, and as a result of losing mineral-rich Brazil, which was granted independence in 1822. A decade-long period of chaos culminated in civil war between the Liberal Pedro IV and the Absolutist Miguel, in what became known as the War of the Two Brothers. Pedro IV was ultimately victorious and the second half of the 19th century saw a period of economic revival.
Increased mechanization resulted in growing unemployment and discontentment among the urban poor. Republicanism swept through the middle class and, in 1908, King Carlos was assassinated in Lisbon’s Praça do Comércio. Two years later, an uprising by military officers forced Manuel II – later known as “the Unfortunate” – into exile and a republic was declared.
The early years of the Republic were marked by political and economic crises until a military coup in 1926 paved the way for the so-called Estado Novo (New State) of 1933. This was in effect a dictatorship under António Salazar, who banned strikes, censored the press and crushed opposition through a brutal secret police force – the Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado (PIDE). Although Portugal was freed of its debts, it suffered from growing poverty and unemployment. The country became reliant on its African colonies but many of these agitated for independence, leading to costly wars and unrest in the army. On 25 April 1974, officers carried out a bloodless coup, known as the Carnation Revolution, after the soldiers put flowers in their rifles as a symbol of peace.
In 1986, Portugal joined the European Communities, bringing investment. In 1992, EC trade barriers fell and Portugal suddenly faced competition. Corruption and rising inflation meant that the country suffered badly from the 2008 financial crisis and it soon requested a bailout.
Portugal has slowly recovered from the economic crash, mainly thanks to tourism and investment in alternative forms of energy. In May 2016, Portugal ran solely on renewable energy sources for a straight 107 hours.
Discover A Brief History
Chief minister to José I, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (1699–1782) is better known as the Marquês de Pombal. While philosophers moralized, Pombal’s response to the 1755 earthquake was “bury the dead and feed the living”.
Granite statues of pigs found in Northern Portugal were probably used in Celtic fertility rites.
Lisbon’s Ponte 25 de Abril was called Ponte de Salazar until the Carnation Revolution.
Discover A Brief History
Timeline of events |
2000 BCIberian tribes arrive in the area |
700 BCCeltic invaders settle in Portugal |
218 BCThe Romans arrive in the Iberian peninsula |
AD 200Christianity becomes established in Roman-ruled Lusitania |
409Invasion by “barbarian” tribes: the Vandals, the Alani and the Suevi |
415Visigoths invade and drive out the Vandals and the Alani |
585Visigoths take over the northern Suevian kingdom |
711A large Muslim army of Berbers and Arabs conquers the Iberian Peninsular following disputes over Visigothic succession |
1139Afonso Henriques declares himself king of Portugal |
1249Afonso III conquers the Algarve |
1385João I defeats the invading Castilian army at the Battle of Albujarotta |
1418Henry the Navigator is made governor of the Algarve and commissions expeditions to Africa |
1498Vasco da Gama finds a sea route to India |
1578King Sebastião’s expedition to Morocco ends with defeat at the Battle of Alcácer-Quibrir |
1580Philip II becomes king of Portugal and the country is ruled by Spain |
1588The Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon to invade England |
1640Duke of Bragança crowned King João IV after an uprising against Spanish rule |
1755The Great Earthquake devastates Lisbon and much of the south of Portugal |
1756Douro Valley becomes world’s first demarcated wine region |
1807The royal family flees to Brazil as Napoleon’s forces invade |
1822Brazil declares independence from Portugal |
1832–4War of the Two Brothers culminates in the defeat of Absolutist Miguel |
1910A republic is declared in Lisbon |
1932Conservative António Salazar becomes prime minister |
1974The Carnation Revolution sees the end of the Estado Novo regime |
1986Portugal joins the European Communities |
2007The Lisbon Treaty establishes a draft EU constitution |
2013Ryanair begin flights to Lisbon airport, kick-starting a tourism boom |
201712.7 million tourists visit Portugal, a record number |