Prehistory and middle age
When the Celts invaded the Peninsula in the first milliennium BC, they
mingled with the Iberians-who had been putting down roots since c.8000
BC-and became Celt-Iberians. The Phoenicians came in search of metals,
and by c.800 BC were trading at Cadiz. Their empire passed to the Carthaginians,
and later to the Romans, who occupied Hispania Ulterior (Andalusia) in
202 BC.
The Romans marched inland, where the Lusitanian tribespeople of central
Portugal waged a successful guerilla war against them. The Lusitanians'
leader, Viriatus, was fatally betrayed in 139 BC; so too was the Roman
general Sertorius, who briefly championed the Lusitanian cause after 80
BC.
At the beginning of the 5th. century, barbarian hordes entered the peninsula.
The Romans enlisted the aid of the Visigoths, who disposed of all but the
Suevi, or Swabians. The Suevi based themselves between the Rivers Minho
and Lamego, Viseu, Conimbriga and Idanha c 569. The Swabian monarch was
suppressed by the Visigothic ruler, Leovigild, in 585.
Rome never penetrated deeply north of the Tagus. South of the river, Julius
Caesar founded Pax Julia (c.60 BC). Roman "latifundias" established the
pattern of landholding in the Alentejo; Roman roads were used until the
Middle Ages and their bridges are still in use today. They also introduced
vines, olives, figs and almonds.
The Christians moved southward in the middle of the 9th century. Portucale
(Oporto) was rebuilt in 808, and the region between the Rivers Minho, Douro
and later the Vouga became known as Territorium Portugalense.
This territory was administered by successive generations of a ruling family,
including Countess Mumadona (around 931).
Ferdinand I, King of Castile, drove the Moors from Lamego (1057), Viseu
(1058), and from the city of Coimbra (1064). His successor, Alfonso VI,
revived the metropolitan see of Braga-which reinforced the integrity of
the provence that was to become known as Portugal.
Afonso's son-in-law, Henry of Burgundy, ruled the territory between
the Rivers Minho and Douro from his capital at Guimares. Later his widow,
Teresa, governed Portugal as regent for their son, Dom Afonso Henriques.
When Alfonso VII, King of Galicia, invaded Teresa's lands, her barons united
behind Dom Afonso Henriques. He defeated his mother at the battle of Sao
Mamede in 1128 and the reign of the first King of Portugal had begun.The
Portuguese knights accepted Alfonso as king in 1143, and in 1179 the pope
recognised the independence of Portugal.
The Medieval Kingdom of Portugal
Alfonso I, aided by the Templars and other military orders sworn to fight
the Moors, extended the border of the new kingdom as far south as the Tagus
River. His son Sancho I (reigned 1185-1211) encouraged Christians to settle
in the reconquered area by establishing self-governing municipalities there.
The Cistercian monks occupied the land and promoted efficient agricultural
methods. In the late 12th century, the Almohads, a Muslim dynasty
from North Africa, temporarily halted the Christians' southward movement,
but after their defeat at Las Navas de Tolosa in Castile (1212) the reconquest
continued.
King Alfonso III, who reigned from 1248 to 1279, completed the expulsion
of the Moors from the Algarve and moved the capital of Portugal from Coimbra
to Lisbon. He also began the practice of governing with the aid of a Cortes
(representative assembly), which included members of the nobility, the
clergy, and the citizens, and he increased the power of the monarchy at
the expense of the church. His son Diniz, called the Farmer King because
of his encouragement of agriculture, founded the nation's first university
at Coimbra and was responsible for the development of the Portuguese navy.
In 1294 he signed a commercial treaty with England, beginning a sequence
of alliances between the two countries. Diniz's successor, Alfonso IV,
joined with Alfonso XI of Castile to win a major victory over the Moors
at the Battle of the Salado River in 1340. In this period the royal houses
of Castile and Portugal frequently intermarried, repeatedly raising the
possibility that one of the kingdoms might be absorbed by the other.
After the death of Ferdinand I, the last of the legitimate descendants
of Henry of Burgundy, his illegitimate half brother John I secured the
Portuguese throne in 1385, after two years of civil war. His branch of
the Burgundian line became known as the house of Aviz. John's reign was
one of the most notable in Portuguese history. He successfully defended
the kingdom against Castilian attack and in 1385 defeated Castile decisively
in the Battle of Aljubarrota. In 1386 England and Portugal allied themselves
permanently by the Treaty of Windsor. The greatest fame of John's reign,
however, rests on the work done under the direction of his son Henry the
Navigator, prince of Portugal, in exploring the African coast for an eastward
route to the Indies. A century of exploration and conquest began, which
made Portugal one of the greatest colonial powers in the world. In 1418-19
Portuguese navigators explored Madeira and in 1427 discovered the Azores.
A successful Portuguese military campaign in Morocco resulted in the capture
of Ceuta in 1415.
The Era of Portuguese Expansion
Madeira and the Azores rapidly became important centres of sugar production,
and the capture of Ceuta gave Portugal a foothold in Africa, providing
the impetus for further exploration of the African coast. Using the caravel,
a new type of light sailing vessel especially adapted for Atlantic voyages,
Portuguese mariners sailed as far south as Cape Verde in 1444, and by 1460
they had reached Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, John I's successors, King Duarte
(reigned 1433-38) and Alfonso V, sent further expeditions to Morocco, capturing
the cities of Tangier and Arzila (Asilah).
The Reign of John II (1481-95)
King John II restored the prestige the monarchy had lost at home during
the reigns of his two predecessors, subjecting the turbulent nobles to
his authority. Abroad, he founded (1482) a Portuguese stronghold at Elmina,
in present-day Ghana, and established relations with the kingdom of the
Kongo (in present-day Angola). In 1487-88, Bartholomeu Dias became the
first to sail around the southern end of Africa, opening the sea route
to the Orient. After Christopher Columbus's voyage to America in 1492,
Portugal and Spain concluded the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), allocating
to Portugal all undiscovered lands east of a line 370 leagues west of the
Cape Verde Islands.
Emanuel and His Successors (1495-1580)
Under King Emanuel, Portuguese power reached its height. In 1497-99 Vasco
da Gama made the first voyage to India following the route discovered by
Dias, and inaugurated a lucrative trade in spices and other luxuries between
Europe and South Asia. Led by Alfonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese occupied
Goa, India, in 1510, Malacca (now Melaka, Malaysia) in 1511, the Moluccas
(in present-day Indonesia) in 1512-14, and Hormuz Island in the Persian
Gulf in 1515. During the same period they opened up trade with China and
established relations with Ethiopia. As other Portuguese kings had done,
Emanuel dreamed of uniting Portugal and Spain under his rule and successively
married two daughters of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I. Under pressure
from his Spanish relations, he followed their example by expelling Jews
and Muslims from his domains in 1497, thus depriving Portugal of much of
its middle class. His son, John III, promoted the settlement of Brazil
and (again influenced by the example of Spain) introduced (1536) the Inquisition
into Portugal to enforce religious uniformity. By the time he died in 1557,
Portugal had begun to decline as a political and commercial power. This
trend continued under King Sebastian, who was killed during another expedition
against Morocco in 1578. On the death of his successor, King Henry, in
1580, the Aviz dynasty came to an end.
The Habsburg and Braganza Dynasties
When Henry died, seven claimants disputed the succession to the throne.
The most powerful was Philip II, king of Spain, who in 1580 became Philip
I of Portugal. The annexation of Portugal to the Spanish Habsburg monarchy
subjected it to the heavy expenses of Spanish wars in a period known as
the Sixty Years' Captivity. After 1600, Portuguese domination of trade
with the East Indies was lost to the Dutch and the English. Under Philip
I, Portugal enjoyed considerable autonomy, but his successors, Philip II
(Philip III of Spain) and Philip III (Philip IV of Spain), treated it as
a Spanish province, provoking widespread discontent. After unsuccessful
revolts in 1634 and 1637, Portuguese conspirators with the support of France
won independence for their kingdom in 1640. John, duke of Braganza, was
elected John IV, first king of the house of Braganza, which ruled Portugal
as long as the monarchy endured.
John IV and His Successors
(1640-1816). King John expelled the Dutch from Brazil, which they had occupied
in 1630, and renewed the traditional tie with England. Although further
weakened by conflicts with Spain in the second half of the 17th
century, Portugal recovered a measure of prosperity in the 18th
century, after gold and diamonds were discovered in Brazil. Between 1683
and 1750, during the reigns of Pedro II (1648-1706) and John V (1689-1750),
British merchants came to dominate Portuguese trade; the monarchy became
more despotic and the Cortes fell into disuse. During the reign (1750-77)
of Joseph Emanuel, the kingdom was controlled by the chief-minister, Sebastião
José de Carvalho e Mello, marquês de Pombal, considered one
of the greatest statesmen in modern Portuguese history. Although a ruthless
dictator, he worked to weaken the power of the privileged nobility and
the church, encouraged industry and education, and ended the foreign monopoly
of trade. Pombal was dismissed, however, at the accession of Joseph Emanuel's
daughter Maria I (1734-1816) in 1777. During the French revolutionary and
Napoleonic wars, Portugal sided with Britain against France.
In 1807, when the armies of Napoleon threatened Portugal, the royal family
withdrew to Brazil and made Rio de Janeiro the seat of government. A French
army occupied Portugal but was defeated in 1808 by a British army under
Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington. By the Convention of Sintra
(August 30, 1808), the French left the country, but they reinvaded a year
later. Wellington again checked the French advance, and by 1811 Portugal
was free of French influence. The Portuguese royal family chose, however,
to remain in Brazil, which in 1815 was made a separate kingdom. In 1816
John VI succeeded to the two thrones, ruling Portugal through a council
of regency.
The Constitutional Monarchy
In 1820 the Portuguese army headed a revolution designed to bring about
a constitutional government. King John, who agreed to return to Portugal
as constitutional monarch, made his son, Dom Pedro, regent of Brazil. Brazil
proclaimed itself independent in 1822, and Pedro was made constitutional
emperor Pedro I of that country. In Portugal, meanwhile, Pedro's brother,
Dom Miguel (1802-66), appealed to the supporters of absolute monarchy to
overthrow the constitutionalists, and an insurrection led by the prince
almost succeeded on April 30, 1824. King John managed to remain in power,
however, and Miguel went into exile in Vienna.
In 1826 Pedro I of Brazil succeeded to the throne of Portugal as Pedro
IV. He put into effect a constitutional charter, providing for a parliamentary
regime based on authorisation of the monarchy rather than on popular will.
He then abdicated in favour of his daughter, Maria II, called Maria da
Gloria (1819-53), a 7-year-old child. Miguel returned from Vienna in 1828
and, ruling as regent for Maria II, seized the throne. A period of acute
civil strife followed. With the help of England, France, and Spain, Maria
was restored to the throne in 1834.
Political conflict characterised her reign as the Liberals, who supported
the 1822 constitution, opposed the Chartists, who supported the 1826 charter.
Under her successors-Pedro V (1837-61), who reigned from 1853 to 1861,
and Louis (1838-89), who reigned from 1861 to 1889-political strife became
less pronounced.
The Republic
Republican and radical movements grew during the reign of Carlos I, and
the appointment of João Franco (1855-1929), an antirepublican dictator,
as prime minister in 1906 served to increase their strength. In 1908 Carlos
and his eldest son were assassinated in Lisbon. The second son of Carlos
ascended the throne as Manuel II, and although he restored constitutional
government, his corruption equalled that of his father. In October 1910
the army and navy led a revolution that deposed Manuel and established
a republic. A liberal constitution was put into effect in 1911, and one
of its provisions separated church from state. Manuel José de Arriaga
(1842-1917) was elected first president of the Portuguese republic.
For the next 15 years Portugal was shaken by political chaos. Ministry
succeeded ministry, with an average duration of four months in office.
Early in 1916 during World War I, Portugal, honouring its alliance with
Great Britain, seized German ships in the harbour of Lisbon. On March 9
Germany declared war. Portuguese troops fought in France and in Africa.
Internal disorder and political turbulence, however, continued, and in
1919 a Royalist uprising added to the confusion. In May 1926, an army coup
deposed the 40th ministry since the proclamation of the republic.
Within a few days of their success the military leaders selected General
António de Fragoso Carmona to head the new government. In 1928 Carmona
was elected president in an election in which he was the sole candidate.
In the same year he appointed António de Oliveira Salazar, a professor
of economics at the University of Coimbra, as minister of finance. Salazar
was given extraordinary powers in order to put Portuguese finances on a
sound basis.
The Salazar Regime
Salazar was successful in this task and rapidly became the most powerful
political figure in Portugal. Profoundly religious, he restored much of
the power of the church. In 1930 he founded the União Nacional (National
Union), a political organisation based on authoritarian principles. He
became prime minister and dictator in 1932 and was influential in the promulgation
of a new constitution in 1933. Portugal became a corporative state with
a planned economy, its new regime being called the Estado Novo (New State).
No opposition was countenanced. In 1936, with the beginning of the Spanish
civil war, Salazar supported the insurgents, led by General Francisco Franco.
In 1939 Portugal signed a friendship and nonaggression pact with Spain,
to which, on July 29, 1940, was added a protocol designed to ensure the
neutrality of both countries during World War II. In October 1943, however,
when the Axis powers were weakening, Portugal allowed the Allies to base
planes and ships in the Azores.
The planned economy was considerably disturbed during the war years. The
fishing industry declined, exports lessened, and refugees crowded the country.
Moreover, the Japanese advance in the East Indies threatened Portuguese
overseas territories in Asia, and Timor was captured in 1942. By the end
of the war, unemployment and poverty were widespread. Political opposition
to Salazar was suppressed, however, and National Union candidates monopolised
the elections of November 1945. In May 1947, after crushing an attempted
revolt, the government deported numerous labour leaders and army officers
to the Cape Verde Islands. Marshal Carmona was reelected to the presidency
without opposition in February 1949. He died in April 1951 and was succeeded
in July by General Francisco Lopes (1894-1964), a supporter of Salazar.
During the 1950s, Portugal developed close relations with the United States,
and in 1958 Salazar allowed an opposition candidate, Humberto Delgado (1904-65),
to run for the presidency, but he was defeated by the government's candidate,
Rear Admiral Américo Deus Tomás (1894-1987). Tomás
was reelected in 1965 and 1971.
In the 1960s, Portugal faced opposition to its rule in the overseas territories.
India annexed Portuguese Goa in 1961. In Africa, rebellion broke out in
Angola in early 1961, in Portuguese Guinea in late 1962, and in Mozambique
in the fall of 1964. The government mounted intensive military campaigns
against each African rebellion. It also passed measures to improve political
and economic conditions within the territories. In 1961 Portugal extended
Portuguese citizenship to Africans in the territories; however, heavy fighting
continued throughout the decade and into the 1970s. During these years
the United Nations condemned Portugal for waging "colonial wars."
In the mid-1960s a number of foreign loans helped to finance major irrigation
and construction projects, and some economic growth was gradually realised.
Although several student demonstrations occurred during this period, political
opposition to the Salazar regime remained uncoordinated.
Democratic Reforms
On September 29, 1968, Marcello Caetano (1906-80), a law professor and
businessman and a long-time associate of Salazar, became prime minister,
succeeding Salazar, who had been incapacitated by a cerebral stroke. Although
Caetano called for reforms when he took office, he continued Salazar's
repressive policies, especially in Africa.
A series of military and political advances made by African liberation
movements threatened Portugal's economic stability and led to the overthrow
of the Caetano government by a group of Portuguese army officers on April
25, 1974. A seven-man junta, under Gen. António de Spinola (1910-1996
), was installed and promised democracy at home and peace for the African
territories. During 1974 and 1975, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, the Cape
Verde Islands, São Tomé and Principe, and Angola became independent,
and in 1975-76 Portuguese Timor was occupied by Indonesian forces. The
return of troops and European settlers to Portugal from the newly independent
nations aggravated Portugal's own problems of unemployment and political
unrest.
On September 30, 1974, Spinola resigned the presidency, warning of growing
Communist influence. He was replaced by General Francisco da Costa Gomes
(1914- ). Vasco Gonçalves (1921- ), who had become prime minister
in July, remained in office. Early in 1975, the Movement of the Armed Forces
(Movimento das Forças Armadas, or MFA) assumed a formal role in
the government, and steps were taken to reorganise the armed forces. The
provisional government passed a law establishing a single trade union confederation
and began to reform the economic and social life of Portugal. Among the
first actions to be undertaken were the nationalisation of certain types
of heavy industry and banking, and the expropriation and redistribution
of large agricultural holdings. In March a right-wing coup attempt, reportedly
directed by Spinola, was suppressed. In April the Socialists led in the
voting for a constituent assembly.
Gonçalves formed a new government, but it proved unstable. After
a series of clashes between Socialists and Communists, followed by violent
anti-Communist demonstrations, especially in the north, the MFA established
a triumvirate consisting of Costa Gomes, Gonçalves, and General
Otelo de Carvalho (1934?- ), Portugal's security chief. In September, at
the army's insistence, Gonçalves was replaced as prime minister
by Vice Admiral José de Azevedo (1917-83). Under the Azevedo government,
relative stability was restored, and a new investment code was adopted
to attract foreign capital. In parliamentary elections in April 1976, the
Socialists won a plurality of the vote, and their leader, Mário
Soares, became prime minister. In June General António Ramalho Eanes
(1935- ) was elected president of Portugal.
The country experienced severe economic problems during the next two years,
and in mid-1978 Soares was dismissed. After the fall of two successive
interim governments, the conservative Democratic Alliance, headed by Francisco
Manuel de Sá Carneiro (1934-80), won a clear majority in parliamentary
elections held in December 1979. Sá Carneiro took office as premier
in January 1980, but was killed in a plane crash the following December.
He was succeeded in January 1981 by Francisco Pinto Balsemão (1937-
), another conservative. On his initiative, the military Council of the
Revolution was abolished in 1982 by constitutional amendment. Parliamentary
elections in April 1983 brought Soares back into power as prime minister.
Soares's government introduced an austerity program and conducted negotiations
leading toward Portugal's entry into the European Community.
Elections in October 1985 led to the formation of a minority government
under a Social Democrat, Aníbal Cavaco Silva (1939- ). Soares returned
as president following elections in 1986; Portugal entered the European
Community the same year. In the 1987 elections the Social Democrats won
control of parliament, the first time a single party held the majority
since 1975. President Soares won another 5-year term in January 1991, and
the Social Democrats held their majority in parliamentary elections in
October. In 1995 the Socialist party won the Portuguese elections. At the
same year Jorge Sampaio was elected President of the Portuguese republic.
