History Of Portugal

To Western Europe is a nation that emerged out of ferocity against its Muslim invaders who arrived centuries prior. Portugal went on to pioneer many historic developments, it refused to be politically absorbed by its neighbours. And so its people explored along the coast of Africa to reach India and beyond, kick-starting the colonial age. They went on to become a lasting empire before unrest and revolution erupted. This is the history of Portugal. Thousands of years ago the Iberian Peninsula was home to several different tribes. Greeks and Phoenicians established strings of trade colonies in this region, and from here Phoenician voyages began along the Algarve coastline. These interactions faded over time, and the region became of paramount interest to the great powers of the day. The Carthaginians established control over parts of Iberia before conflicts escalated with the Romans. Rome had emerged as the great power in the Mediterranean, and invaded the Iberian Peninsula during the Second Punic War against Carthage. Provoked by raids from Western Iberia, they conquered more territory, but met fierce resistance from the Lusitanians and other Indo-European tribes. For decades the Lusitani fought. During the leadership of Arietus, the Lusitanians fought a bold and relentless war against the Romans, fighting numerous legions and great generals, inflicting a series of humiliating defeats upon them. Their triumphs would not last, as following his death the Romans defeated them. The Iberian Peninsula became fully integrated into the Roman world. Many Roman cities developed from pre-existing Iron Age settlements, such as Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, while other cities such as Braga were founded by the Romans. With the Roman Empire falling into decline, several Germanic tribes invaded the peninsula and eventually formed several short-lived kingdoms. The Suebi managed to firmly establish themselves in the region with their capital Braga, while most Viberia fell under the control of the Visigoths. The Visigoths would eventually conquer the Suebi Kingdom, and gain control of Iberia. The Visigoths converted to Catholicism, and the structure of society did not differ greatly from its predecessor, although in essence it was a warrior-like society. By the late 7th century, the kingdom was struck by famine and plague, which led to a heavy death toll, economic problems, and labour shortages. Across the Mediterranean, a new force had swept across North Africa, the Umayyad Caliphate. At the time, the Visigothic Kingdom was internally weak and politically unstable. It was ruled by King Roderick, who had recently seized the throne. In 711, the Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Straits of Gibraltar with 7,000 troops unopposed. While Roderick was busy subduing a rebellion by the Basque, Tariq began to plunder a number of Visigothic cities before King Roderick assembled a force and marched south. The two sides met at the Battle of Guadalate, and the Visigoths suffered a devastating defeat. The next six years saw the almost all-out conquest of the peninsula. Some Visigoths fled north seeking refuge in the Christian Kingdom of Asturias, protected by its mountainous terrain and would serve as resistance to the Muslim invaders. Muslims called their new conquest in Iberia Al-Andalus, and it became a region of scientific progress. Though many Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived alongside each other, those who did not follow Islam were considered inferior, and had to pay a heavy tax known as the Jizya tax. When the Umayyad dynasty were overthrown and replaced by the Abbasids, a young prince managed to escape and took refuge. This prince was Abd al-Rahman, and in the city of Cordoba he proclaimed himself emir of an independent Umayyad state. Over time the emirate weakened and eventually collapsed into a number of independent states. Christians within Asturias began to grow bolder in their attacks, and several Christian kingdoms emerged. Many young Christian princes and knights were summoned from across Europe to aid in the fight against the Moors, in what became known as the Reconquista, or the Reconquest. During this time, Alfonso VI of Leon invited a Burgundian knight to his court named Henry, and he became Count of Portugal, with his marriage to Alfonso's illegitimate daughter Teresa. In time, Henry's son Alfonso Henriques proclaimed himself Prince of Portugal after a quarrel against his mother, and soon after he became king. Meanwhile, a new wave of Berber invaders known as the Almoravids subdued the various emirs to found their own dynasty, who were in turn replaced by the Almohads. Stirred by hatred, several Portuguese kings carried on the fight against the Moors, until the Algarve was conquered, securing Portuguese rule. Although, they would still need to discourage their most powerful Christian neighbour, Castile, who for now were still fighting off their enemies. After the passing of King Fernando, Portugal sank into a dynastic crisis. King Fernando's half-brother, João of Viz, was the illegitimate son of Pedro I, the predecessor of Fernando, and he assumed de facto control of Lisbon. King Juan of Castile invaded Portugal to enforce his claim to be king, and the two kings met on the battlefield. One of the most important battles in Portuguese history would take place at the Battle of Aljabarrota. The Portuguese army, estimated to have been around 7000 soldiers, took defensive positions on a nearby ridge, ready to fight against the Castilian army, perhaps numbering 20,000 troops. In a battle lasting barely an hour, it is said that Juan's forces were utterly defeated. The invading force disintegrated, and Juan's campaign ended in failure. Soon after the battle, an alliance was signed with England, the Treaty of Windsor, forging close ties that still remain in effect today, making it the oldest alliance in the world. With Portugal's independence firmly secured, the beginning of Portuguese expansion and empire could begin. It was in 1415 that the conquest of Ceuta occurred. One of the most fortified Islamic strongholds in the Mediterranean had just fallen. Soon after this conquest, João's son, Henrique of Portugal, also known as Prince Henry the Navigator, began to sponsor many explorers to travel down the coastline of Africa. The Portuguese had developed and engineered small ships known as carvalhos, with triangular sails that could sail against the wind in a zigzag fashion, allowing faster travel. Explorers sailed to the Congo River under Diego Cao, South Africa under Bartholomew Dias, India under Vasco da Gama, Brazil under Pedro Alvarez Cabral, and Japan under Antonio de Mota, each forging detailed maps of the world, one voyage at a time. Soon after the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus, Spain set about its exploration and its ideas of building an empire. A treaty was signed between Spain and Portugal, aimed at settling conflicts over lands newly discovered. Unlike its neighbour, Portugal had a shortage of manpower, less than 2 million in fact. Nevertheless, they went about constructing an empire not based on territory, but trade. They set up military garrisons and trading posts to trade but also to wage several wars against its rivals. These rivals were mainly the Ottomans and her allies, who were often competing for control of the spice trade within the Indian Ocean, where several trading posts had been set up. Its empire may have committed misdeeds, such as opening up the transatlantic slave trade, but was far less cruel compared to other empires. Colonisation of land also introduced many to their language. Today, Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language in the world, with over 250 million speakers worldwide. Portugal was once again thrown into political turmoil at the death of King Sebastian. He had set out on campaign into Africa, but had left no heirs to his throne following his death. Amid the dynastic crisis, King Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal to form a personal union, the Iberian Union, merging the crowns of Spain and Portugal. Portugal remained an independent state under the first few Spanish kings, until King Philip IV made Portugal a province of Spain and removed Portuguese nobles from positions of power. It was during this union other European powers started to annex Portugal's colonies, most notably the Dutch, who stole the spice trade and tried to annex Brazil. The loss of colonies angered many in Portugal, and the Portuguese Restoration War began, led by João IV, who succeeded in gaining independence. In the 18th century, Portugal saw one of history's deadliest earthquakes. It occurred in the city of Lisbon, and is estimated to have had a magnitude of 8.5 to 9 on the Richter scale, killing 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants. Many were forced to sleep on a tented campsite. The royal court accommodated with its people, and when the chaos had passed, Maria I of Portugal built the Royal Eduda Palace in its place. The prime minister at the time, Sebastião de Mello, survived the earthquake. When asked what was to be done, he responded by saying, bury the dead and heal the living, setting about organisation and relief efforts. During the Napoleonic Wars, Portugal refused Napoleon's demand to stop trading with Britain. Napoleon invaded, but was unsuccessful in his attempts to occupy the nation. With British intervention, the Peninsular War helped maintain Portuguese independence. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Portugal was left devastated and extremely poor. During the war, the royal family fled to Brazil, and set up court at Rio de Janeiro, making it the first hosted royal court in a colony, raising the colony's infrastructure and status. The royal family returned in 1821, and Brazil declared its independence less than a year later. It was during the 19th century that other European powers began to carve up colonies within Africa, forcing Portugal to move further inland into Angola and Mozambique. In 1890, a British ultimatum was delivered to Portugal asking for the retreat of Portuguese military in the land between the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola. The area had been claimed by Portugal, but this clashed with British aspirations to create a railroad link between Cairo and Cape Town. This diplomatic clash led to several waves of protest and prompted the downfall of the Portuguese government. 1910 is the year in which Portugal underwent the most critical regime. It involved the alteration in the sequence of its national history, terminating the monarchy and becoming a republic. During the First World War, Portugal joined the side of the Allies, supplying troops and aid at the loss of 12,000 troops. Following the war, political chaos, several strikes, and considerable economic problems led to a military coup in 1926. Portugal got into a long period of right-wing dictatorship under the leadership of Antonio Oscar de Fraga's Carmona. After crushing a revolution, Carmona was elected as the president. But economic chaos confronted Carmona and he was forced to hand over the country's finances to a professor, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. Salazar was able to bring the country's finances in order rapidly. Salazar was so good in construction such as railways and power stations, but used censorship and a secret police to quell opposition. Under Salazar, Portugal remained officially neutral in World War II and traded with both sides, and following the war became one of the founding members of NATO in 1949 and the European Free Trade Association in 1960. In 1968, he acquired a stroke and was replaced by Marcelo Caetano. Marcelo was removed from power during the Carnation Revolution. Without a single gunshot, Portugal's Third Republic was born and moved towards a democratic system of government. It was during this year that colonies around their empire started to break away and its empire officially ended in 1999. Portugal left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe. It remains a developed nation with over 10 million inhabitants. Its most important industry is tourism, which is largely as a result of its fascinating history.