Portugal

/pawr"cheuh geuhl, pohr"-/; Port. /pawrdd'too gahl"/, n.

a republic in SW Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, W of Spain. (Including the Azores and the Madeira Islands) 9,867,654; 35,414 sq. mi. (91,720 sq. km). Cap.: Lisbon.

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Portugal

Introduction Portugal -
Background: Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left- wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal entered the EC (now the EU)in 1985. Geography Portugal
Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
Geographic coordinates: 39 30 N, 8 00 W
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 92,391 sq km land: 91,951 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries: total: 1,214 km border countries: Spain 1,214 km
Coastline: 1,793 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
Terrain: mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m
Natural resources: fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 20.57% permanent crops: 7.74% other: 71.69% (1999 est.)
Irrigated land: 6,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes Environment - current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas Environment - international party to: Air Pollution,
agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar People Portugal -
Population: 10,084,245 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.9% (male 875,485; female 827,670) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 3,324,215; female 3,463,301) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 644,761; female 948,813) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.18% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 11.5 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/ female total population: 0.93 male(s)/ female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.14 years female: 79.87 years (2002 est.) male: 72.65 years
Total fertility rate: 1.48 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.74% (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 36,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 280 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Portuguese (singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese
Ethnic groups: homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal
Religions: Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995)
Languages: Portuguese
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87.4% male: NA% female: NA% Government Portugal -
Country name: conventional long form: Portuguese Republic conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Lisbon Administrative divisions: 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu
Independence: 1143 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)
National holiday: Portugal Day, 10 June (1580)
Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997
Legal system: civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996) note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president head of government: Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso (since 6 April 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Jorge SAMPAIO reelected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1%
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP 8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc 2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS 96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) Political parties and leaders: The Greens or PEV [no leader]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/The Greens or PCP/PEV [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Eduardo Ferro RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso]; United Democratic Coalition or CDU [leader NA]; The Left Bloc [no leader] Political pressure groups and NA
leaders: International organization AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE,
participation: CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joao Alberto Bacelar ROCHA PARIS consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador-
US: designate John N. PALMER embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 727-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Flag description: two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three- fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line Economy Portugal
Economy - overview: Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating its new currency, the euro, on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but GDP per capita stands at just 75% of that of the leading EU economies. The government has failed to reign in a widening deficit and to advance structural reforms needed to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower- cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $174.1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.7% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $17,300 (2001 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.8% industry: 30.5% services: 65.7% (2000) Population below poverty line: NA% Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 3.1%
percentage share: highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.) Distribution of family income - Gini 35.6 (1994-95)
index: Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 5.1 million (2000) Labor force - by occupation: services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.4% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $45 billion expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (2001 est.) Electricity - production: 43.242 billion kWh (2000) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 70.03% hydro: 25.91% other: 4.06% (2000) nuclear: 0% Electricity - consumption: 41.146 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 3.767 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 4.698 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products
Exports: $24.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides
Exports - partners: EU 79% (Spain 19%, Germany 18%, France 13%, UK 11%, Benelux 6%), US 6% (2000)
Imports: $37.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products
Imports - partners: EU 74% (Spain 25%, Germany 14%, France 11%, Italy 7%, UK 6%), US 3%, Japan 3% (2000)
Debt - external: $13.1 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $271 million (1995)
Currency: euro (EUR); Portuguese escudo (PTE) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Currency code: EUR; PTE
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Portugal - Telephones - main lines in use: 5.3 million (yearend 1998) Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,074,194 (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, achieved a state-of- the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53% domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations international: 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned Radio broadcast stations: AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 3.02 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 62 (plus 166 repeaters) note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995)
Televisions: 3.31 million (1997)
Internet country code: .pt Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)
Internet users: 2 million (2001) Transportation Portugal -
Railways: total: 2,850 km broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double- tracked) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2001)
Highways: total: 68,732 km paved: 59,110 km (including 797 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (1999)
Waterways: 820 km note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow- draft craft limited to 300 metric- ton or less cargo capacity
Pipelines: crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km; natural gas 700 km note: the secondary lines for the natural gas pipeline that will be 300 km long have not yet been built
Ports and harbors: Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo
Merchant marine: total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,001,440 GRT/1,519,701 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 71, chemical tanker 17, container 10, liquefied gas 8, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 6, Germany 20, Greece 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 2, Norway 5, Panama 5, Spain 22, Switzerland 8, United Kingdom 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 67 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 40 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 7 (2001) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 27 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 26 (2001) Military Portugal -
Military branches: Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines), Air Force, Republican Guard (includes Fiscal Guard) Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,525,848 (2002 est.) Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 2,024,526 (2002
service: est.) Military manpower - reaching males: 71,404 (2002 est.)
military age annually: Military expenditures - dollar $1.286 billion (FY99/00)
figure: Military expenditures - percent of 2.2% (FY99/00)
GDP: Transnational Issues Portugal - Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin

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officially Portuguese Republic

Country, western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, southwestern Europe.

Area: 35,662 sq mi (92,365 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 10,384,000. Capital: Lisbon. Most of the people are Portuguese. Language: Portuguese (official). Religion: Roman Catholicism. Currency: euro. Administratively, the Atlantic islands of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. Portugal is divided roughly in half by the Tagus River; the highlands rise mostly north of the Tagus and stretch northeast into Spain. It has an industrialized economy in which both the public and private sectors participate. Major industries were nationalized after a military coup in 1974, but many were returned to the private sector beginning in the late 1980s. Light industries predominate, and products include textiles and clothing, paper and wood products, and chemicals. Portugal is a republic with a unicameral legislature; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. In the 1st millennium BC, Celtic peoples settled the Iberian Peninsula. They were conquered с 140 BC by the Romans, who ruled until the 5th century AD, when the area was invaded by Germanic tribes. A Muslim invasion in 711 left only the northern part of Portugal in Christian hands. In 1179 it became the kingdom of Portugal and expanded as it reconquered the Muslim-held sectors. The boundaries of modern continental Portugal were completed in 1270 under King Afonso III. From 1580 to 1640 Portugal was united with Spain. In the 15th and 16th centuries the monarchy encouraged exploration that took Portuguese navigators to Africa, India, Indonesia, China, the Middle East, and South America. Although it established several colonies, they achieved independence over the years (see Brazil; Goa; Cape Verde Islands; East Timor; Angola; Guinea-Bissau; Mozambique; Macau). António de Oliveira Salazar ruled Portugal as a dictator from 1932 to 1968. The country's dictatorship was overthrown in the April 25, 1974, Revolution of the Carnations. A new constitution was adopted in 1976, and civilian rule resumed. Portugal was a charter member of NATO and is a member of the European Union (EU). In 1999 the government adopted the euro as the country's official monetary unit and returned Macau, its last overseas territory, to Chinese rule.

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▪ 2009

Area:

92,090 sq km (35,556 sq mi)

Population

(2008 est.): 10,649,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Head of government:

Prime Minister José Sócrates

Politics in Portugal remained mostly subdued in 2008, with the Socialist Party's absolute majority in the parliament and squabbling within the main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) combining to facilitate the government's activities. The government continued its efforts to reduce the budget deficit while promoting growth. It was a difficult balance to achieve, however, and against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, Portuguese GDP growth stalled. While exports remained robust, they were outpaced by import growth (exacerbated by the sharp rise in fuel prices), and consumer confidence dwindled, setting the economy on track to grow less than 1% in 2008. Unemployment was essentially steady at about 7.5%, and spending cuts, combined with the weak economy, helped the budget shrink steadily, on track for a 2.2% gap for the year, well below the European Commission's 3% limit. Since Portugal's housing market had long been more stable than that of neighbouring Spain, there was little backlash from that segment, though rising interest rates over most of the year cut into consumer spending, further denting confidence. As in much of Europe, inflation was a problem, running at just under 3% on an annualized basis, driven by the higher prices of fuel and food.

In an effort to cool inflation and boost exports, Prime Minister José Sócrates signed a series of trade agreements with Venezuela, which pledged to send crude oil to Portugal in exchange for finished goods. Galp Energia, Portugal's only oil refiner, saw its stock price soar after the Brazil-based consortium in which it held a 10% stake made a series of potentially huge crude oil discoveries in deep waters off the Brazilian coast. The Portuguese government also launched one of the world's first wave-powered generators in the rough waters off northern Portugal.

The overall economic woes meant that Sócrates's government saw its popularity fade, which political analysts said would likely make it more difficult for the Socialists to retain their parliamentary majority in the next national election, expected in late 2009. The opposition PSD was not able to make much headway, suffering a leadership battle midyear that saw former finance minister Manuela Ferreira Leite take the helm. Sócrates and his team meanwhile continued their focus on education and economic stimuli, neatly combining the two with the launch in September of a low-cost laptop computer, called the Magalhães (after the historic Portuguese maritime explorer Ferdinand Magellan). The computer was developed by a local company (JP Sá Couto) in conjunction with American chipmaker Intel and was produced entirely in Portugal. It was designed for primary-school students and would be exported to numerous countries, including Brazil, Venezuela, and Luxembourg.

The investigation into the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann finally came to a controversial end as Portuguese authorities closed the case in August, more than a year after the girl went missing from a luxury resort in the southern Algarve region. The final police report cleared the parents of any culpability, reversing an earlier decision that had identified them as suspects. Another named suspect, a British citizen resident in the Algarve, was also cleared in the final report. Madeleine's parents were continuing their efforts to find her, using private investigators in Portugal and elsewhere. The case was just one factor in what many Portuguese considered to be rising crime levels in a country that prided itself on security and placid customs. Carjacking made headlines throughout the year, with one big hit netting the thieves a reported €1 million (about $1.6 million) worth of gems from a dealer who was transporting them to a trade fair. There were also a number of highly visible bank robberies, including a €2.5 million ($3.7 million) heist from an armoured currency-transport van and a bank holdup that turned into a televised drama as police snipers fired on the hostage takers, killing one.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2008

Area:

92,090 sq km (35,556 sq mi)

Population

(2007 est.): 10,629,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Head of government:

Prime Minister José Sócrates

Portugal enjoyed a fairly quiet year on the political front in 2007 as the Socialist Party's dominance in the parliament allowed it to have a free hand in forming legislation. Prime Minister José Sócrates used this leverage in February to fulfill a campaign pledge on a national referendum on abortion. Portugal's abortion laws, among the most restrictive in the EU, had been upheld at the polls in 1998. The 2007 vote was again marred by broad absenteeism; just 44% of the 8.8 million eligible voters turned out, but this time the pro-liberalization crowd won, with nearly a 60% margin. Despite the vote's being technically invalid because a referendum required at least a 50% turnout, Sócrates asserted that the people had spoken, and he forced through the legislation. Pres. Aníbal Cavaco Silva later ratified the law, which allowed abortions up until the 10th week of pregnancy and provided terminations via the national health service. In this mainly Roman Catholic country, however, the issue remained controversial, with some doctors refusing to carry out abortions.

In July Portugal took over the six-month EU presidency and highlighted employment, education, and further integration of the EU as its main priorities. Portugal had a specific mandate to agree on a new text for the Reform Treaty intended to replace the EU constitution, which was rejected by voters in a handful of key countries in 2006. The renamed Treaty of Lisbon was signed at the summit of EU leaders in December. Portugal also organized an EU-Africa summit in Lisbon in mid-December.

Portugal saw modest economic growth, and efforts were continued to rein in spending and reduce the swollen budget deficit. GDP was growing at a 1.8% rate by the third quarter, held back a bit by rising interest rates and market turmoil in the U.S. and in some other EU countries. Inflation was relatively cool at 2.5%, though unemployment had crept up to a multiyear high of about 8%. The government continued with its privatization process, selling off a stake in electricity grid operator REN at a highly popular initial public offering and sketching out plans to sell stakes in electricity company Energias de Portugal and natural gas company Gas de Portugal. Sócrates' administration also focused on alternative- and renewable-energy projects, with the aim to put Portugal at the forefront of the EU in reducing carbon-dioxide emissions. In March the world's largest photovoltaic generating site, with a capacity of some 11 MW, opened near Serpa in the sunny Alentejo region. Plans were afoot to build more solar facilities, expand the country's wind farms, and launch a prototype wave-power facility off the Atlantic coast. Meanwhile, the two big takeover bids that had marked 2006 faded away in 2007, with Portugal Telecom fending off a hostile approach from the much-smaller SonaeCom, while Millennium BCP, the country's largest private financial services company, failed to acquire Banco BPI.

The major international event of the year concerned Madeleine McCann, a British child who disappeared from her room at a luxury resort in the Algarve region on May 3, just days before her fourth birthday. Initial reports indicated that she had been kidnapped, possibly by a pedophile ring, and an international alert went out to find her. Despite a high-profile media campaign and numerous false leads, there was no sign of the toddler, and the Portuguese police started investigating the possibility that Madeleine's parents had been involved in the girl's disappearance. The McCanns were formally named as suspects under the Portuguese legal system, even though police were unable to provide hard evidence of any crime. Protesting their innocence—and against the background of a steadily increasing spat between the Portuguese media and the British tabloid newspapers—the McCanns returned to the U.K. with their other two children, vowing to continue to search for their daughter. The deputy national director of police was put in charge of the investigation in October, but at year's end the case was still unsolved.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2007

Area:

92,118 sq km (35,567 sq mi)

Population

(2006 est.): 10,605,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

Presidents Jorge Sampaio and, from March 9, Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Head of government:

Prime Minister José Sócrates

The early part of 2006 in Portugal was dominated by politicking as former centre-right prime minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva battled with two Socialist candidates—former prime minister and president Mário Soares and Socialist Party stalwart Manuel Alegre, who ran as an Independent—in the late-January vote to replace Socialist Pres. Jorge Sampaio, who had completed two five-year terms. Though Cavaco Silva was widely seen as the front-runner and Alegre was considered the main candidate from the left, the Socialists decided late in the race to bring the party's éminence grise, Soares, on board in the hope that Alegre would stand down. When he did not, the two Socialist candidates split the vote on the left, handing Cavaco Silva a solid first-round win with 51% of the popular vote. Alegre took 21% of the ballots, Soares received 14%, and Communist Party candidate Jerónimo de Sousa finished with 9%.

Following his inauguration as president, Cavaco Silva took a statesmanlike stance on most crucial issues, in particular helping to craft a bipartisan pact to reform the country's justice system and calling for a greater effort to crack down on corruption after Portugal ranked an embarrassing 16th in Transparency International's 2006 Bribe Payers' Index.

The recessionary environment of recent years slowly dissipated, helped by an increasingly positive tone to consumer and business confidence. The country's usually staid business scene was upset early in the year by the audacious hostile takeover bid for Portugal Telecom (PT), formerly the state-held telecommunications monopoly, by national upstart SonaeCom (which was partially owned by France Télécom). The €11.1 billion (€1 = about $1.27) all-cash offer from a relative minnow—SonaeCom was about a fourth of PT's size—sent the stocks involved soaring. PT offered more than €3 billion in dividend payouts if shareholders rejected the offer. There were rampant rumours of private equity interest in mounting a counteroffer, as well as speculation that the government would use its controversial “golden share” in PT to block the takeover. In December the national competition authority gave SonaeCom's offer a final green light, despite the company's plan to merge its mobile phone unit, Optimus, with Portugal Telecom's TMN, which would reduce the number of players in that lucrative sector to two from three. PT sought to bring shareholders on board to back its alternative payout plan and growth strategy, and the government remained largely on the sidelines. The machinations were expected to lead to dramatic changes in the telecom industry in Portugal, bringing to an end decades of sector domination by PT.

The banking sector also saw excitement as the country's largest private bank, Millennium BCP, launched an unsolicited offer for rival Banco BPI. The €4.33 billion bid would launch Millennium into the top spot among Portuguese lenders, pushing it past state-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos in terms of both assets and profits. BPI's management pledged to fight what it called a “totally unacceptable” hostile approach.

Overall, the economy looked rosier than in recent years. Unemployment fell to near 7% after peaking at close to 8% early in the year. GDP was expected to grow at least 1.5% in 2006, higher than the roughly 1% initially expected, thanks in large part to burgeoning export growth. The government, led by Socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates, moved forward with a number of long-awaited reform plans, including efforts to reduce public-sector spending and cut through bureaucratic red tape. Improved tax collection, as well as reined-in spending, was expected to cut the country's budget deficit to about 4.8% of GDP in 2006, down from more than 6% in 2005.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2006

Area:

92,152 sq km (35,580 sq mi)

Population

(2005 est.): 10,513,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Pedro Santana Lopes and, from March 12, José Sócrates

Portugal suffered a year of turmoil in 2005. Pres. Jorge Sampaio called early elections following infighting in the centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Santana Lopes ran a lame-duck government until the election on February 20 and was unable to make any major policy decisions in the run-up to the vote. The Socialist Party (PS) swept to victory, winning an absolute majority in the parliament. José Sócrates, the young and charismatic PS leader who had served as environment minister from 1999 to 2002, became prime minister. His first challenge was the budget deficit, which a Bank of Portugal audit estimated would increase to more than 6.8% of GDP in 2005—more than twice the European Union's limit—if no steps were taken to reduce it. The Sócrates government moved to raise sales taxes and started cracking down on tax dodgers to boost revenue, while at the same time promising to rein in public spending. The deficit target remained a high 6.2% of GDP for the year, though it was expected to shrink to 4.8% in 2006 and to 3% by 2008.

The austerity measures heightened the country's gloomy outlook. Economic growth stumbled, heading back toward recession after a brief recovery in 2004. The country also was hit by a severe drought that dried up reservoirs and seriously reduced key agricultural output. The long dry season—which followed a stretch of low-rainfall years—resulted in an outbreak of fires, some of which were thought to have been caused by arson. More than 280,000 ha (about 700,000 ac) of forested terrain burned, and renewed questions were raised over the country's land-management regime and its emergency preparedness for what had seemingly become an annual tragedy.

The fires, the drought, and the struggling economy made Sócrates's first months in office difficult. The initial burst of postelection euphoria as the Socialists resumed control of the country faded quickly. Finance Minister Luis Campos e Cunha, a former central bank vice president, tendered his resignation, and in October municipal elections, the Socialists stumbled to their biggest loss at the polls. The centre-right PSD held such key cities as Lisbon, Porto, and Sintra and won about half of the country's total mayoral victories. While the vote was seen as a clear defeat for Sócrates and the PS, it was unlikely to spark an early general election, given the party's control of the parliament.

The next political battle was expected to be the January 2006 presidential election pitting former PSD prime minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who was seen as the front-runner, against former president and Socialist prime minister Mário Soares, as well as another PS stalwart, poet Manuel Alegre. Although the presidency was largely a ceremonial position, the next president was expected to confront the growing “democratic gap” between politicians and citizens, which had led to rising abstention rates and general political apathy. The mayoral elections contributed to the problem; three of the winners were under investigation for corruption, including one who had fled to Brazil for two years before returning to campaign.

Two significant Portuguese figures died during the year: Álvaro Cunhal (Cunhal, Alvaro Barreirinhas ), who was a force in the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) for more than half a century, and former prime minister Vasco Gonçalves (Goncalves, Vasco dos Santos ). (See Obituaries.) Although its support had fallen, the PCP remained an active minority force in domestic politics. In the February general election, the PCP and its coalition partner, the Ecology Party, saw a modest increase in their share of the vote—to 7.6% from 7% in the 2002 election.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2005

Area:

92,152 sq km (35,580 sq mi)

Population

(2004 est.): 10,524,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government:

Prime Ministers José Manuel Durão Barroso and, from July 17, Pedro Santana Lopes

The year 2004 started off on a strong note in Portugal as the economy slowly began emerging from five quarters of recession and got an extra dose of optimism from two major events: the Rock in Rio international music festival in Lisbon from May 28 to June 6 and then the monthlong Euro 2004 European association football (soccer) championship. Portugal saw the organization and logistics of these crowd-pleasing events broadly praised by most international observers. Euro 2004 in particular brought a wave of patriotism as people decked their homes and cars with the national flag; the only bitter pill came in the final, held in Lisbon on July 4, in which Portugal was defeated 1–0 by underdog Greece. Despite that loss, the Portuguese considered the championship a success, as it brought in additional visitors and shone a favourable international spotlight on the country for the tournament's duration. Seven modern stadiums were purpose- built for Euro 2004 and another three totally renovated, vastly expanding the country's network of modern sports facilities.

On the political front, things were more complicated. After months of difficult, often heated negotiations to find a European Commission president to replace the outgoing Romano Prodi, the European Union finally turned to a candidate who had consensual support among the member states: Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso. (See European Union .) Barroso accepted, setting off a political crisis at home as his centre-right coalition squabbled with the three main opposition parties over the rules of succession. As Barroso left in midterm, his Social Democratic Party (PSD) and its Partido Popular (PP) coalition partner argued that they should be allowed to form a new government. The main opposition Socialist Party (PS), as well as the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the Bloco Esquerda (BE), argued for a snap election to resolve the issue. It fell to Pres. Jorge Sampaio to make the final call, and after two weeks of consultations with party heads, constitutional experts, and other key public figures, Sampaio decided to let the ruling PSD/PP name a new government. Former Lisbon mayor and PSD vice president Pedro Santana Lopes was tapped as prime minister, and the coalition government included four ministers—including Finance Minister Antonio Bagão Félix—from the PP's ranks. Political analysts expected the new government to follow the broad outlines of policy set out by Barroso, though it was clear from a number of policy initiatives from the Santana Lopes government that a move was on to take advantage of a slightly stronger economy to deliver on some populist promises. While the draft budget for 2005 stressed the need for further fiscal consolidation and targeted a budget deficit of below 3% of GDP, it also included an above-inflation raise for public-sector workers and a small cut in income taxes. Economists and observers, including the Bank of Portugal, warned that any tax cuts would increase the risk of the budget deficit's swelling out of control. Bagão Félix said that there would be no recourse to one-off measures to keep the deficit below the EU's limit of 3% of GDP, which made it increasingly likely that the target would not be met in 2005.

Santana Lopes and the PSD/PP coalition faced the difficult task of balancing the need to bolster their slipping popularity in the polls while keeping the fragile economy on a recovery path and trying to implement much-needed reforms, such as overhauls of the health care and social security systems. The opposition PS, meanwhile, was gaining electoral momentum, even though the next scheduled general elections were not until 2006.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2004

Area:

92,152 sq km (35,580 sq mi)

Population

(2003 est.): 10,181,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government:

Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso

In 2003 the Portuguese government was determined to comply with the rigours of the European Union's stability and growth pact and to keep its budget deficit under 3% of gross domestic product, although unemployment crept higher and the economy was still struggling. The first half of the year showed the country suffering from recession, and it was not until late in the third quarter that the first tentative signs of recovery appeared. This gloomy backdrop kept pressure on Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso's centre-right coalition government, especially as it made other unpopular decisions, such as supporting the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Even as Portuguese citizens—like many other Europeans—expressed their opposition to the impending conflict, Portugal's Azores archipelago was the scene of a prewar summit with U.S. Pres. George W. Bush, Spain's Prime Minister José María Aznar, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Durão Barroso just days before Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

Durão Barroso stressed the business-friendly side of his administration and insisted on plans to cut the corporate tax rate in 2004, despite warnings from the central bank and opposition political parties. At year's end the spending cuts and increased efforts to fight tax evasion brought the 2003 budget in under the 3% limit without having to resort to major one-time asset sales, as had been necessary in 2002.

Another shadow throughout the year was the long-running investigation into an alleged pedophilia and child-pornography ring that centred on the state-run Casa Pia orphanage. More than 10 people were detained as the inquiry into what was allegedly decades of abuse of young children continued; those detained included a popular television personality, a former diplomat, and the Socialist Party spokesman. The high-profile case sparked national soul-searching as people questioned everything from the sluggish judicial system to the rules for the preventive detention of suspects and the duties of journalists to protect underage or threatened sources. Though the Socialist Party spokesman was released, most of the suspects remained in custody, and in late December prosecutors brought pedophile charges against 10 people, including a lawmaker and 2 television personalities.

Extreme heat was blamed for a large number of deaths during the summer, though fewer than in Italy and France. The hot, dry air also contributed to Portugal's worst forest fires in living memory, with some 400,000 ha (almost one million acres)—around 8% of the country's total forests—burned and damages estimated at more than €1 billion (about $1.12 billion). At least 18 people died in the blazes, most of which stemmed from carelessness or lightning strikes, though some were thought to have been caused by arson.

In the autumn the government suffered its first major setbacks when two ministers were forced to resign over allegations of favouritism. Foreign Minister António Martins da Cruz was considered a key ally of the prime minister and was in the middle of complex negotiations over Europe's planned constitution when he resigned. Education Minister Pedro Lynce, meanwhile, had been working on one of the government's key programs, a long-awaited overhaul of the university system. While the cabinet shuffle was a blow to Durão Barroso's government, the coalition with the right-leaning Partido Popular remained strong, and the 2004 budget—which continued to tighten the belt on spending in an effort to keep the deficit below 3% of GDP—passed in its parliamentary vote in November.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2003

Area:

92,365 sq km (35,662 sq mi)

Population

(2002 est.): 10,384,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government:

Prime Minister António Guterres and, from April 6, José Manuel Durão Barroso

The year 2002 was not a very good one for Portugal. Economic stagnation, political turmoil, an embarrassing reprimand from the European Union (EU), and a feeble showing at the association football (soccer) World Cup all brought clouds of pessimism and a sense that after more than a decade of robust growth and modernization, the country had lost its way.

In December 2001 the Socialist-led government, headed by Prime Minister António Guterres, ran into trouble after losing ground in key municipal elections. Two major cities—Lisbon and Oporto—saw Socialist mayors ousted in favour of candidates from the Social Democratic Party (PSD). The political shift to the right, as well as slow economic growth, forced Guterres—in power since 1995—to call early elections. In the March vote the Socialists lost to the right-leaning PSD, led by José Manuel Durão Barroso, who fell short of an absolute majority in the parliament but was able to form a coalition government with the more conservative Partido Popular (PP).

Durão Barroso, a foreign minister in the previous PSD government, campaigned on a platform that included a “fiscal shock”—cutting taxes while tightening government spending in an effort both to reduce Portugal's budget deficit and to jump-start the faltering economy. A midyear audit of the public finances by the Bank of Portugal and the National Statistics Institute revealed that the combination of a sharp downturn and spending overruns by the previous government reversed seven straight years of deficit reduction and left the gap at a whopping 4.1% of gross domestic product in 2001. That figure was well above the forecast deficit of 1.1% of GDP and also breached the EU's limit of 3%, which forced the EU to reprimand Portugal and initiate—for the first time ever—its excessive-deficit procedure, which could eventually lead to a fine.

The incoming prime minister was forced to delay his tax-cut plans and hike value-added taxes (VAT). The government also sold some of its real-estate holdings and curtailed state spending in order to restore finances. In October the government published a draft budget for 2003, targeting a deficit of 2.4% of GDP and cutting operating expenses at most ministries by 10%. In an effort to stimulate the flagging economy, Durão Barroso's 2003 budget sought to boost public investment and lower the corporate tax burden for companies that invested in capital goods and infrastructure, among other measures. Straightforward income and corporate tax cuts were delayed, however, and the VAT hike remained in place. The 2003 budget was expected to clear the parliament when the final vote came in mid-November, as the PSD-PP coalition controlled a majority of seats.

Meanwhile, growth slowed to a forecast 0–1% for 2002 and was expected to recover only modestly in 2003, by 1.25–2.25%. The austerity measures sparked labour unrest, with the main unions threatening strikes over the public-sector wage containment planned for 2003. As in other parts of the euro zone, inflation also crept higher, above 3%, though unemployment remained relatively muted. The main opposition party, the Socialists, headed by former infrastructure minister Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, chastized Durão Barroso for having created a “climate of crisis” around the deficit troubles, though the PSD remained firm in stressing the need for Portugal to toe the line and restore credibility within the EU and among international investors.

At the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Portugal lost its debut game in a shocker to the underdog U.S. team and then suffered elimination after another loss in the first round—a poor showing for what was heralded at home and abroad as a team of “golden boys.”

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2002

Area:

92,365 sq km (35,662 sq mi)

Population

(2001 est.): 10,328,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government:

Prime Minister António Guterres

Against a backdrop of slowing growth, rising inflation, and growing public deficits, Portugal's government lost its popular appeal in 2001; opposition parties remained fragmented, however, and were unable to capitalize on the Socialist government's woes. Though the government won reelection in January, it looked particularly shaky in the first half of the year. Finance Minister Joaquim Pina Moura was forced to resign at the end of June after issuing a “corrective” supplementary budget to get the economy back on track. The reshuffle also brought changes at the Health, Economy, Defense, Education, and Culture ministries but did not—as some observers expected—spark snap elections.

The economic problems continued in the fall, exacerbated by global fallout from the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Drafts for the 2002 budget indicated that the government deficit would rise to 1.7% of gross domestic product by year's end. Along with other European Union (EU) partners, Portugal blamed the deficit slippage on the global economic troubles. The new finance minister, Guilherme de Oliveira Martins, stressed that the 2002 budget would cut back sharply on ministerial spending but would boost state investment in an attempt to make the economy grow. In addition, efforts to fight tax fraud and tax evasion would be stepped up. The Socialist government—which held 115 seats in the 230-seat Assembly of the Republic (parliament)—would once again be forced to forge a deal with at least one of the opposition parties in order to pass the 2002 budget.

In the December local and municipal elections, the main interest was the Lisbon mayoral race between Portuguese Socialist Party (PSP) incumbent João Soares—son of former president Mário Soares—and centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate Pedro Santana Lopes. Though Lisbon had long been a Socialist stronghold, Santana Lopes had found support there for his urban-renewal platform, and he emerged victorious. In addition, the PSD also won local elections in Porto and the Lisbon suburb of Sintra. After the PSD won control of 144 councils, compared to the 98 captured by the PSP, Prime Minister António Guterres took responsibility for the poor PSP showing and resigned. Pres. Jorge Sampaio dissolved the parliament and called a general election for March 17, 2002.

One of the country's deadliest accidents claimed the lives of 59 persons in March when a bridge spanning the northern Douro River collapsed while a bus and three cars were passing over it. The collapse—which occurred after a support pillar gave way—was blamed on erosion and extensive sand dredging in the area, as well as on a stronger river current due to the unusually rainy winter. The incident spurred inspection of all the country's bridges, and, as a result, a handful of spans were either closed or reinforced.

Late in the year the government moved to tighten drunk-driving and speeding laws in hopes of reducing the country's troubling rate of road deaths, one of the highest in the EU. Vehicular accidents in Portugal annually killed about 240 of every million persons, compared with an EU average of about 110 per million population. Wine producers protested the new blood-alcohol limit of 0.2 g per litre from the previous 0.5 g per litre limit, complaining that it would severely cut consumption. In addition, professional truck drivers staged a one-day strike, saying that they had been unfairly targeted by the new laws.

Another legal change that drew criticism from a number of quarters was a decision to treat drug use as an illness rather than a crime. In July the parliament voted that drug users would not face jail sentences, a law that effectively decriminalized drugs and replaced prison time with counseling and monitoring of addicts. Though the changes focused mainly on heroin and Portugal's growing population of heroin users, other drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy were also covered. Trafficking and drug dealing remained a criminal offense punishable with jail time, but the changes brought a rash of foreign media coverage touting Portugal as a “paradise” for “drug tourism,” an accusation swiftly and forcefully challenged by the government.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2001

Area:

92,365 sq km (35,662 sq mi)

Population

(2000 est.): 10,005,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government:

Prime Minister António Guterres

Portugal's government came under pressure in 2000 as an unpopular decision in the spring to raise fuel prices by more than 10%, because of the rise in global market prices for oil, sparked popular backlash. Prime Minister António Guterres saw his popularity decline for the first time since his first electoral victory in 1995, and the government went through a series of reshuffles in an effort to maintain credibility.

Crime was a major source of discontent, and sentiment that Portugal was becoming increasingly unsafe led to the dismissal of Internal Administration Minister Fernando Gomes in September on the heels of apparent gang violence that made headlines during the summer. Opposition parties took advantage of the government's fragility to step up their efforts to trigger new elections, but Guterres's Socialist Party—one seat short of an absolute majority in the legislature—faced down a no-confidence motion and appeared likely to pass its belt-tightening 2001 budget without being forced into an early vote.

Along with the short-lived gang crime wave, which involved large groups of youths wreaking havoc on commuter train lines and robbing gasoline (petrol) stations, the country was also shocked by a gas attack on a Lisbon nightclub that panicked patrons and sparked a stampede, killing seven. The nightclub was popular with immigrants from the former colony of Angola, though investigators concluded that revenge rather than racism was behind the deadly attack. The victims included six Angolans and a Spanish tourist.

On the economic front, Portugal continued to outpace the European average for gross domestic product (GDP) growth, with the economy set to increase by more than 3.5%. Inflation, however, remained a worry, driven by falling unemployment, low interest rates, the rise in gasoline prices, and weakness of the euro. Construction of stadiums and other infrastructure for the Euro 2004 soccer championship began, and investment related to those projects was expected to add 1.5% to Portugal's GDP over the next three years.

Portugal was in the European spotlight in the first half of 2000, as it held the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU). The Portuguese presidency was praised for the informal Lisbon summit in March that formulated an Internet and e-commerce strategy for the 15-member bloc, highlighted the importance of sustainable growth and education, and made progress toward further liberalization of a number of market sectors in Europe, including telecommunications and energy. At the final EU summit in Santa Maria da Feira, near Porto, in June, the heads of state were able to hammer out a rough agreement on plans for future tax harmonization in the union.

The Portuguese national soccer team's stunning upset of England in an early game of the Euro 2000 championship and solid play throughout the series raised hopes of a cup for the underdogs, though they finally ran aground in a thrilling semifinal game against the eventual series winner, France. The defeat was softened somewhat by news that Luis Figo, a key player for the Portuguese national team, was the focus of the most expensive transfer ever in soccer history, moving from Barcelona to Real Madrid for the princely sum of $56 million.

As 2000 drew to an end, the focus of the nation turned again to Porto, which was to be one of Europe's culture capitals, along with Rotterdam, Neth., in 2001. Infrastructure investment, which was focused on preparing the city for the related events as well as improving many urban zones, was expected to total some €212 million (about $170 million).

Erik T. Burns

▪ 2000

Area:

92,135 sq km (35,574 sq mi)

Population

(1999 est.): 9,988,000

Capital:

Lisbon

Chief of state:

President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government:

Prime Minister António Guterres

Portugal had a tumultuous year in 1999, with the country suffering a slight “hangover” effect following the “party” of 1998, which saw José Saramago named Nobel laureate for literature and culminated in Portugal's successful entry into Europe's single-currency zone. The economy, helped by historically low interest rates set by the European Central Bank, continued to outpace the European Union (EU) average in 1999 as the housing market boomed, unemployment eased, and inflation remained muted. While the stock market sagged after three straight years of having skyrocketed higher, consumer confidence surged, which led to an increase in private spending.

The country was also cheered by news in October that the Union des Associations Européenes de Football, European soccer's governing body, had chosen Portugal as the site for the Euro 2004 championship. It was predicted that investment related to Euro 2004 would add 1.5% to Portugal's already robust gross domestic product over the next three years.

In October, Prime Minister António Guterres was elected to a second four-year term, thanks in part to the feel-good factor and the best overall economic conditions in a decade. While Guterres's Socialist Party once again fell short of an absolute majority in the parliament, he was able to form a government that was expected to continue its tight budgetary policy accompanied by increased attention to social issues such as health care and justice. Voters' apparent swing to the left—the main opposition Social Democratic Party saw a falloff in parliamentary representation—put pressure on Guterres to deliver on campaign promises of reforming the health system and overhauling the civil service. A full majority would have increased Guterres's ability to push through his ambitious reform package as well as remove the spectre of early elections, although most expected the prime minister to steer policy through continued dialogue and negotiation with the main opposition parties.

There was elation in midsummer as Indonesia finally held a referendum on self-determination for the former Portuguese colony of East Timor, long a primary goal of Portugal's foreign policy. Initial euphoria swiftly turned sour as Indonesian army-backed militia attacked the local population, sending thousands of refugees into the countryside. Portugal pledged “unlimited” support for the reconstruction effort and promised $225 million in aid over three years to help achieve the transition to statehood. The crisis brought a massive outpouring of national sentiment in Portugal, unseen since the time of the 1974 revolution, with crowds massing in the streets to protest Indonesia's actions. With the focus on East Timor, Portugal's diplomatic efforts to broker an end to the conflict in Angola, another former Portuguese colony, moved somewhat to the back burner. Guinea-Bissau Pres. João Bernardo Vieira, deposed by a coup in that country, another former colony, sought asylum in Portugal. Close to home, Portugal was eagerly preparing to take on the rotating six-month EU presidency in January 2000.

Portugal lost a cultural icon in October with the death of Amália Rodrigues, the undisputed queen of fado, the melancholic, heartfelt music that embodies and celebrates the ancient Portuguese seafaring spirit. (See Obituaries (Rodrigues, Amalia da Piedade Rebordao ).) News of her death led to three days of national mourning, with hundreds of thousands of Portuguese paying tribute at Lisbon's Estrela Basilica, where she lay in state.

Erik T. Burns

▪ 1999

Area: 92,135 sq km (35,574 sq mi)

Population (1998 est.): 9,964,000

Capital: Lisbon

Chief of state: President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government: Prime Minister António Guterres

Culminating five years of hard work, the EXPO '98 World Exposition opened in May 1998 in Lisbon. Though some 10 million saw the sprawling fair, which celebrated the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India, attendance was far below the forecast of 15 million, and a deficit for the project estimated at $400 million was left.

Also in May, Portugal finally achieved a much-hoped-for national goal by being chosen to enter the European Monetary Union along with 10 other members of the European Union (EU). That decision gave the official seal of approval to the nation's decade-long campaign to control inflation, reduce the government's budget deficit, and lower interest rates. Those efforts resulted in above-average growth for an EU country in 1998.

The 1999 draft budget called for further reductions in the government deficit and once again included increased spending on items close to the Socialist government's heart, including health care, education, and the justice system. Cost reductions would be achieved mainly through the personnel cuts in some government ministries and by increased efforts to collect taxes efficiently. The budget was important because the Socialists faced a general election in late 1999, and although they did not want to provoke a spending spree, some popularist measures such as public works projects were expected to be enacted in order to woo votes. With the main opposition parties still fragmented, most analysts believed that the Socialist Party had a good chance of winning the 1999 election and perhaps even gaining an absolute majority in the parliament.

The year was marred by a shockingly low turnout at a much-publicized abortion referendum in June, at which just 32% of the country's 8.4 million eligible voters went to the polls. It was Portugal's first referendum, and a 50% turnout was required for the result to be binding. Consequently, the vote was thrown out. Political analysts considered the result particularly surprising because of the intense emotions stirred by the high-profile attention given to the campaigns of each side. The turnout for another, less-emotional referendum on November 8, on whether the country should be broken up into eight mainland administrative regions was marginally better. The Socialists maintained that such a reorganization would give authority to local governments and eventually save money. Some 51% of voters turned out, and they rejected the proposal almost two to one.

Portugal suffered some setbacks on the international front, with renewed civil war in the former colonies of Angola and Guinea-Bissau damaging the nearly constant efforts of Portuguese officials to help broker a lasting peace. Also, while Indonesia suffered economic and eventually political turmoil early in the year, many observers believed that Portugal did not take advantage of that country's disorder to advance the process of autonomy for East Timor, a former Portuguese colony illegally annexed by Indonesia in 1976. Negotiations were broken off in late November. Honour was somewhat recouped, however, when Portugal was host to the eighth annual Ibero-American Summit in Oporto, which brought together 21 heads of state from Latin-American countries, Spain, and Portugal. Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres presided over negotiations to achieve a lasting peace between Ecuador and Peru, and the leaders hammered out a strategy to try to protect their regional economies from global turmoil by calling on the major industrial countries to get their houses in order.

The year ended on a strong positive note when Portuguese writer José Saramago won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony." Saramago flew to Lisbon from his home on the Spanish island of Lanzarote after winning the prize and was cheered by crowds of well-wishers. (See Nobel Prizes .)

ERIK T. BURNS

▪ 1998

Area: 92,135 sq km (35,574 sq mi)

Population (1997 est.): 9,943,000

Capital: Lisbon

Chief of state: President Jorge Sampaio

Head of government: Prime Minister António Guterres

Portugal's Socialist government continued to take advantage of rosy economic conditions in 1997 as it appeared increasingly likely that the country would become a founding member of the European economic and monetary union (EMU) at the scheduled Jan. 1, 1999, start date. Thanks to strong economic growth—3.5% in 1997—lower interest rates, and a continuing crackdown on tax evasion, the government was able to increase spending on social programs like health care and education without threatening the budget-deficit target of 2.9% of gross domestic product. In October the government of Prime Minister António Guterres unveiled another EMU-friendly budget that again proposed increased social spending while further reducing the deficit. Characterizing the budget as "rigorous, but with a social conscience," Finance Minister António Sousa Franco stressed that it would guide Portugal through the transition to monetary union.

Throughout the country the effects of economic good health were visible. Construction—much of it centred on the site of Lisbon's World Exposition, scheduled to open in May 1998—continued apace. The capital continued its facelift for EXPO '98: work progressed on the new Vasco da Gama automobile bridge across the Tagus River; the subway system was being renovated; and new roads, office complexes, and apartment buildings were under construction. The Iberian peninsula's largest shopping mall opened in Lisbon, and the government began intensive study of plans for a new airport for the capital on the southern bank of the Tagus by early in the next century.

The stock market enjoyed a banner year, rising almost 70% during the first nine months as interest rates fell further and the privatization program gained momentum. The U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley lauded the country's progress and upgraded its rating of the Lisbon exchange to a developed market from an emerging one. Dow Jones Global Indexes also announced it was adding the Lisbon exchange to its portfolio. The government, meanwhile, said it would take in more than 800 billion escudos from the sale of shares in Portugal Telecom, the electric utility Electricidade de Portugal, and the highway operator Brisa, among others. Tax benefits and aggressive marketing encouraged hundreds of thousands of first-time investors to enter the market. Unemployment, running at a modest 6.7% at the end of the third quarter, seemed on track to decline further.

On the political front, parliamentary deputies narrowly rejected a law that would have allowed unrestricted abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The new law, which would have replaced one of Europe's most restrictive statutes, spurred heated legislative debate and led to confrontations between pro-choice and antiabortion supporters. The controversy brought to light deep divisions in the culture of this predominantly Roman Catholic country, where an estimated 16,000 illegal abortions were performed each year. Another issue that promised to animate the 1998 political agenda was the government proposal for "regionalization," or the devolution of some governmental power to regional authorities. The Socialists, for whom regionalization was a key platform plank in the 1995 general election, claimed it would make government more sensitive to local needs, whereas the opposition expressed fears that it would burden the budget and create national divisions. Regionalization faced a national referendum in 1998.

Portugal during the year celebrated the 500th anniversary of explorer Vasco da Gama's historic departure for India, which opened a new era of trade and helped elevate the country to world superpower status in 1497. The country's only museum of international modern art opened in a gloriously refurbished 19th-century casino in Sintra.

ERIK BURNS

See also Dependent States, below.

* * *

Introduction

officially Portuguese Republic , Portuguese República Portuguesa

Portugal, flag of country lying along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe.

Once continental Europe's greatest power, Portugal shares commonalities—geographic and cultural—with the countries of both northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Its cold, rocky northern coast and mountainous interior are sparsely settled, scenic, and wild, while the country's south, the Algarve, is warm and fertile. The rugged Estrela Mountains (Serra da Estrela, or “Star Mountain Range”), which lie between the Tagus (Tagus River) and Mondego (Mondego River) rivers, contain the country's highest point.

In the 1st millennium BC the Celtic Lusitani entered the Iberian Peninsula and settled the land, and many traces of their influence remain. According to national legend, though, Lisbon, the national capital, was founded not by Celts but by the ancient Greek warrior Odysseus, who was said to have arrived at a rocky headland near what is the present-day city after leaving his homeland to wander the world and who, liking what he saw, stayed there for a while; his departure was said to have broken the heart of the nymph Calypso, who, the legend goes, turned herself into a snake, her coils becoming the seven hills of Lisbon. Of course, had Odysseus actually come to Portugal, he would have found the land already well settled by the Lusitani.

Lusitani tribes battled the Romans for generations before acceding to empire, whereupon Rome established several important towns and ports; the Roman presence can be seen in the very name of the country, which derives from Portus Cale, a settlement near the mouth of the Douro River and the present-day city of Porto. Later, the descendants of Romans and the Lusitani would live under Moorish rule for several centuries until an independent kingdom was established.

In constant battle and rivalry with Spain, its eastern neighbour, Portugal then turned to the sea and, after Henry the Navigator's establishment of a school of navigation at Sagres, in time founded a vast overseas empire that would become Europe's largest and richest. Much of that empire was quickly lost, but even then Portugal retained sizable holdings along the African coast, in southern and eastern Asia, and in South America. Portugal remained a colonial power until the mid-1970s, when a peaceful revolution transformed the country from a dictatorship into a democratic republic. Long among the poorest countries of Europe, Portugal modernized in the last decades of the 20th century, expanding its economy from one based primarily on textile manufacture and livestock raising to include a range of manufactures and services.

Lisbon is Portugal's capital and economic and cultural centre. The city clings to low but steep hills situated on the right bank of the Tagus and is a popular tourist destination. Lisbon is rather more tranquil and reserved than Madrid in neighbouring Spain, but it shares with it a reputation for great food, melancholy and romantic music, dance, and sport. Portuguese traditionally have prized a simple and unostentatious life, favouring the rural over the urban and the traditional to the modern, where a fine meal might consist of carne de porco à Alentejana (lean pork stuffed with clams), thick-crusted bread, and dark wine. Portuguese delight in the countryside, where they gather to hold family picnics, tend to their gardens and orchards, and relax. It is from the countryside that the fado, a form of romantic ballad, is thought to have come (though it is now clearly associated with the cities of Lisbon and Coimbra), and it is in the countryside that the country's traditional sport of bullfighting takes its finest form, though in Portuguese bullfighting the bull is not killed but rather is retired to the countryside for the rest of its life.

Land

Portugal occupies one-sixth of the Iberian Peninsula at Europe's southwestern perimeter. To its north and east is Spain, which makes up the rest of the peninsula; to the south and the west is the Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and southwest lie the Azores (Açores) and the Madeira Islands, which are part of metropolitan Portugal. Portugal is not a large country, but it offers a great diversity of physical geography, ranging from low-lying coasts and plains to the Estrela Mountains, which rise to nearly 6,500 feet (2,000 metres) at the country's highest point.

With Spanish Galicia, northern Portugal comprises the mountainous border of the Meseta (Meseta Central) (the block of ancient rock that forms the core of the Iberian Peninsula); southern Portugal also contains extensive areas of limestone and other sedimentary strata, mostly plateaus or plains. Other physical features link Portugal with Spain: its major rivers—Douro (Douro River), Tagus (Tagus River) (Rio Tejo), Guadiana (Guadiana River)—rise in the central Meseta before draining west (or, in the case of the Guadiana, south) to the Atlantic, while the proximity of the Meseta affects the climate and increases the rainfall of the northern Portuguese interior, contributing to that region's verdant vegetation. Southern Portugal, however, is predominantly Mediterranean both in vegetation and in climate. Despite Portugal's remarkable scenic diversity, the essence of its relief and underlying geology can be described under three headings: the north, the northern interior, and the south. The old coastal provinces of Beira Litoral (see Beira) and Estremadura are transitional in cultural landscape, vegetation, and climate but southern in relief and geology.

In order to discuss Portugal's physiographic regions, however, it is necessary to consider the provincial divisions of the country that no longer exist as administrative entities but that survive as important geographical designations. Although superseded by several planning regions and districts (see below Local government (Portugal)) that now organize Portugal, six provinces have traditionally divided the country since the Middle Ages (though these never served as administrative units): Minho, located between the Minho and Douro rivers; Trás-os-Montes, bounded by Spain (north and east), by the gorges of the Douro River (south), and by the mountains (west); Beira, extending from the Douro River in the north to the Tagus in the southeast and from the border with Spain to the Atlantic Ocean; Estremadura, containing Lisbon; the Alentejo, covering south-central Portugal; and the Algarve, in southern Portugal. From 1933 to 1959, mainland Portugal also was officially further divided into 11 new provinces that were created on a geographic and economic basis: the Algarve, the Alto (Upper) Alentejo, the Baixo (Lower) Alentejo, Beira Alta (Upper Beira), Beira Baixa (Lower Beira), Beira Litoral, Douro Litoral, Estremadura, Minho, Ribatejo, and Trás-os-Montes e Alto (Upper) Douro.

Relief

Less than one-eighth of Portugal rises above 2,300 feet (700 metres). Most of the country's mountains are north of the Tagus River, which flows northeast to southwest and divides the country. North of the Tagus, more than nine-tenths of the land rises above 1,300 feet (400 metres); in the south, only one range, São Mamede, surpasses 3,200 feet (1,000 metres).

North

In the northwest the mountains of the Minho province, surmounted by the Larouco Mountains, which rise to 5,010 feet (1,527 metres), form an amphitheatre facing the Atlantic Ocean. The area is composed of metamorphic rocks (crystalline schists, slates, and quartzites) and intrusive or granitic rocks, marked by fault lines that give rise to hot springs. Rolling plateaus and deeply entrenched streams characterize the relatively fertile granitic regions; the schist outcrops offer poor soils. Between the ridges, rivers such as the Lima and the Cávado flow through deep gorges or in flat-floored valleys. The narrow coastal strip is backed by hills that rise steeply to 1,000 to 2,000 feet (300 to 600 metres).

Northern interior

Beyond the mountains of the Minho is Trás-os-Montes, which is bordered on two sides by Spain. In the region south of the Douro, which is also the western extension of the Spanish Meseta, are Beira Alta and Beira Baixa.

In the north of the northern interior region are high plateaus (terra fria [“cold country”]) at 2,000 to 2,600 feet (600 to 800 metres) that are heavily faulted and composed largely of ancient Precambrian (Precambrian time) rock (more than 540 million years old), such as granites, schists, and slates. They form a rolling topography. The rivers follow lines of structural weakness and run northwest-southeast. After rejuvenation in Pliocene (Pliocene Epoch)- Quaternary times (less than 5 million years old), they now flow in deep valleys and canyons that reach depths of as much as 1,600 feet (500 metres) below sea level. The singular monadnock of the Nogueira Mountains rises to 4,330 feet (1,320 metres) above the general plateau level.

A similar pattern of relief and geology is found south of the Douro, but the sheltered valleys of dark-coloured schists trap the heat of a Mediterranean climate, creating a terra quente (“hot country”). The high Beiras plain is bounded on the northwest by the Caramulo (3,527 feet [1,075 metres]) and Montemuro mountains (4,531 feet [1,381 metres]) and their foothills; the plain is flanked to the south and southeast by the granite and schist escarpment of the Estrela Mountains, which, together with the lower Guardunha Mountains (4,026 feet [1,227 metres]), represent the continuation in Portugal of the Central Sierras of Spain. Between the two ridges, the Guarda plateau has an average elevation of 3,000 feet (900 metres). The mountain chain extends southwestward to the Açor (4,652 feet [1,418 metres]) and Lousã mountains (3,953 feet [1,205 metres]). Farther south the eroded plateau of Beira Baixa drops from an elevation of 1,600 feet (500 metres) to 700 feet (200 metres) toward the Tagus River. It merges almost imperceptibly into the highlands of the Alto Alentejo.

South

Some three-fifths of Portugal's land below 1,300 feet (400 metres) is found in the south. From the lower Douro to Lisbon and the lower Tagus, the plains—mainly Triassic (Triassic Period) sandstones—of the old western provinces of Beira Litoral and Estremadura descend to low-lying, sometimes marshy coasts. Shifting sands and dunes have been stabilized since the 19th century, but lagoons and salt marshes still characterize the river mouths (e.g., Aveiro Lagoon at the mouth of the Vouga River).

Inland, east and south of Leiria, Jurassic (Jurassic Period) limestones interspersed with large areas of slightly younger Cretaceous (Cretaceous Period) sandstones and conglomerates have been eroded into rolling sandy hills and steep calcareous escarpments. Ancient volcanic activity has left basalt plateaus. Between the Tagus and the Guadiana, the Alto Alentejo is a continuation of the Spanish tablelands—a series of plateaus, either crystalline (Paleozoic Cambrian (Cambrian Period) and Silurian (Silurian Period) schists), at 600 to 1,300 feet (180 to 400 metres) with poor soils except where outcrops of diorite have weathered into rich black soils, or limestone, with piedmont springs at their foot. North of Beja, in the Baixo Alentejo, ridges of quartz and marble oriented northwest-southeast account for a monotonously undulating relief between 300 and 600 feet (90 and 180 metres). This terminates in the east with the schistose Caldeirão Mountains (1,893 feet [577 metres]). Sheltered by the mountains from northern climatic influences are the more extensive scarps and hills of the Algarve. These are composed of limestones and sandstones of the Mesozoic (Mesozoic Era) Era. The Monchique Mountains, a dissected massif of intrusive igneous rock (syenite), rise to 2,959 feet (902 metres) at Mount Foia.

The Madeira Islands

The Madeira archipelago includes eight volcanic islands in the Atlantic, 600 miles (1,000 km) southwest of the mainland. Only two of these, Madeira and Porto Santo, are inhabited. Madeira forms an asymmetrical mountainous hump in midocean, rising to 6,109 feet (1,862 metres) in the interior, falling more steeply in the north. Thick layers of basalt alternating with beds of ash and scoriae create a stepped relief that has been deeply dissected into gorges and canyons. The cratorial Curral das Freiras is about 2,265 feet (690 metres) deep. Paul da Serra is a bleak high-level plateau. The eastern tip of Madeira, like the uninhabited Desertas Islands, is sandy. The island of Porto Santo is low-lying and flat.

The Azores

Nine islands constitute the Azores, which extend in three groups over 400 miles (650 km) in the mid-Atlantic. The easternmost island, Santa Maria, lies 875 miles (1,408 km) from the Portuguese mainland; the westernmost, Flores, is about 1,230 miles (1,980 km) from Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada. The islands are volcanic, occasionally active. Their varied scenery includes crater lakes, plateaus at various elevations, mountainous massifs, flat-bottomed valleys, and rugged coastlines.

Drainage

All of Portugal's main rivers flow from Spain over the edge of the Meseta in a series of defiles (narrow gorges), and their usefulness, either for navigation or as routeways for roads and railways, is thus limited. The longest river crossing Portugal, the Douro (Douro River), which extends some 200 miles (300 km) in the country, has been made navigable from near Porto to the Spanish frontier. In its upper reaches, the Douro riverbed drops 16 feet (5 metres) per mile in gorges 90 to 160 feet (30 to 50 metres) deep, a navigability problem resolved by locks built into five dams, including one that is 115 feet (35 metres) high. The longest river wholly in the country is the 137-mile (220-km) Mondego River, which rises in the Estrela Mountains. Other mainly Portuguese rivers include the Vouga, Sado, and Zêzere (a tributary of the Tagus). Like the Mondego, all are navigable for short distances. Rich silt land (campo) in the lower Tagus valley is the result of regular flooding, which is especially severe when strong southerly gales drive high seas up the estuary. The Guadiana, which flows south into the Gulf of Cádiz, forms part of the frontier with Spain, as does the Minho in the north.

Portugal has more than 500 miles (800 km) of coastline, four-fifths of which faces westward. Except at the mouths of the larger rivers, there are few major indentations or natural harbours; the most important are those of Lisbon, on the Tagus, and Setúbal, on the Sado. The entrance to the Tagus is a long, narrow deepwater channel opening out into a broad expanse of inland water. Other harbours depend on the protection of headlands (e.g., the artificial harbours of Leixões and Sines).

Soils

Most of Portugal's soils are arid, acidic, and sandy, though in the north the soil often is rocky. Except for parts of northern Portugal that receive significant precipitation and along the country's primary rivers, which deposit fertile alluvium, the soils are not suitable for intensive agricultural production. In the central and southern parts of the country, the soils are generally poor and incapable of significant agricultural production without extensive irrigation schemes.

Climate

Climate, through its effect on vegetation, divides Portugal. As in Spain, three sets of influences are involved: Atlantic, continental (Mesetan), and Mediterranean. The Atlantic climate predominates overall, putting most of the country into the humid zone of the Iberian Peninsula; this is especially true in the northwest, where the climate is mild and rainy. Summer temperatures near sea level may average up to 76 °F (24 °C) but are rather lower at exposed higher elevations. Winter temperatures average 37 to 40 °F (3 to 4 °C) but tend to be milder south of the Douro. Annual rainfall averages more than 40 inches (1,000 mm).

In the extreme northwest, much of the Minho receives 40 to 80 inches (1,000 to 2,000 mm) of precipitation, with more than 100 inches (2,500 mm) falling on mountain slopes. Inland, lee slopes are arid, receiving at most 20 inches (500 mm), much of which is lost through high evaporation rates. In the interior, continental influences increase the duration of the summer drought to more than a month and intensify winter severity. High-pressure conditions from the Spanish Meseta or from Siberian anticyclones bring very cold temperatures. The Alentejo can experience both acute winter cold and extreme summer heat. In the highest areas of the Estrela Mountains and northern ranges, temperatures drop to 32 °F (0 °C), and snow remains on the summits for several months. In the south, where the Azores high-pressure system prevails in summer, the period of drought lengthens to two months or more. Temperatures average about 75 °F (24 °C) in summer and 50 °F (10 °C) in winter. Mean annual precipitation is slightly more than 20 inches (500 mm) along the coast and a bit higher in the mountains of the Algarve. Nevertheless, there is considerable climatic variability from one year to the next.

Mediterranean, Saharan, and oceanic influences produce seasonal precipitation, occasional dry winds, and thermal equability, respectively, in the Madeiras. Climate varies markedly with altitude. In the Azores the anticyclone dominates, though conditions can be highly variable. Rainfall, for example, is irregular both in annual total and in regime: Horta (on Faial Island) may have more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) a year or may suffer severe drought.

Plant and animal life

Vegetation

Portugal's vegetation is a mixture of Atlantic, or European, and Mediterranean (with some African) species. Overall, the former accounts for some two-thirds of species, but the regional distribution is revealing. North of the Mondego valley, nearly three-fifths of the plants are European species (some seven-eighths in the northern interior), and only one-fourth are Mediterranean; in the south the proportions are three-tenths and nearly one-half, respectively. One-third are foreign species, introduced in periods of colonization.

Millennia of human activity have left Portugal with only one-fourth of its area under woodland; the remainder of the country features two types of Mediterranean scrublands—called maquis and matorral, or steppe. Mixed deciduous trees are confined to the north and northern interior, where the landscapes of the Minho are lush and green except for the heaths (mato) of the Cambrian schists. These carry erica, heather, cistus, and bracken. The original oak climax (with Quercus robur as the dominant species) has been largely replaced by maritime pine with some cork oak and extensive plantations of eucalyptus. Olives (olive) extended into the north in Roman times but are now generally limited to elevations below 1,200 feet (400 metres); inland, where the summer drought is longer, they can be found in some areas with elevations as high as 2,200 feet (700 metres). In the Douro valley, juniper scrub has been replaced by vineyards.

The thickest forests in Portugal are found in the traditional province of Beira, where cultivation is limited to less than one-fourth of the area. Pines prevail in the north, chestnut groves on the granites, and ericas on the dense maquis. The elevational succession of vegetation is strongly marked on the Estrela Mountains, where a zone of Pyrenean oak extends above the pedunculated oaks, chestnuts, and pines to 5,500 feet (1,700 metres), while southern slopes are covered with a maquis of cistus and tree heath. The central ridge marks the southern limit of deciduous oak, which is thereafter replaced by Q. lusitanica (Portuguese oak). Heat-loving stone pines mix with maritime pines.

In the south the Alentejo still has extensive matorral and charneca, uncultivated land dominated by cistus or groves of cork oak, often managed in estates, and holm oak. Most of the Algarve landscape is dominated by the vine and by trees typical of Mediterranean arboriculture—olive, fig, almond, and carob.

The rich vegetation of both Madeira and the Azores has been Europeanized. The climate encourages year-round growth of a considerable variety of flora. A wealth of ferns, mosses, heaths (especially tree heaths), and junipers reflects the influence of grazing and human activities on these islands. About 100 plants are peculiar to Madeira, either as indigenous or as highly individualized varieties. Only Madeira has much woodland, most of it the result of reforestation (e.g., of poplar, pine, and eucalyptus). Two-thirds of Madeira is a conservation area; its Laurel Forest (Laurisilva) was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

Parks, reserves, and other protected areas covering more than 5 percent of the mainland have been declared from the far north of Portugal (Peneda-Gerês and Montesinho) to the extreme south (Formosa River), from the east (Malcata Mountains and Guadiana valley) to the west (Berlengas Islands, Sintra), and in several areas of natural beauty in between. Since the mid-1980s, environmental concerns and ecological associations have grown slowly but steadily. In 1990, as part of an effort to expand protection of the environment, the government established an environment ministry.

Wildlife

The fauna of Portugal is a mixture of European and North African types. As in Spain, the wild goat, wild pig, and deer can be found in the countryside. The wolf survives in the remote parts of the far north and northeast, and the lynx inhabits the Malcata Mountains. The fox, rabbit, and Iberian hare are ubiquitous. Birdlife is rich because the peninsula lies on the winter migration route of western and central European species. Hunting zones cover nearly one-third of Portugal. In the Azores, only the smaller mammals are found—such as the rabbit, weasel, ferret, rat (brown and black), and mouse as well as various types of bats. Game birds include woodcock, red partridge, quail, and snipe. The highly endangered Mediterranean monk seal is native to Madeira's Desertas Islands, which were designated a nature reserve in 1990. Some 40 species of birds breed there, including the Madeira laurel pigeon and the Zino's petrel. The variety of beetles (coleopteran) (nearly 700 species, many indigenous) and moths (moth) (more than 100 species, about one-fourth of which are peculiar to the Madeiras) is remarkable.

Fish are plentiful in the Atlantic waters of mainland Portugal, especially the European sardine. Crustaceans are common on the northern rocky coasts, and clams and oysters are raised in the Algarve. Larger fish (tunny, bonito) as well as mullet are caught off the Azores and the Madeira Islands.

Ilídio Melo Peres do Amaral Catherine Delano Smith Marion Kaplan

People (Portugal)

Ethnic groups and languages

Although western Iberia has been occupied for a long time, relatively few human remains of the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age) have been found. Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) and Bronze Age discoveries are more common, among them many dolmens (stone monuments). Some of the earliest permanent settlements were the northern castros, hill villages first built by Neolithic farmers who began clearing the forests. Incoming peoples—Phoenicians, Greeks, and Celts—intermingled with the settled inhabitants, and Celticized natives occupied the fortified castros. For two centuries these were centres of resistance to the Roman legions. Subsequently the Romans, Suebi, Visigoths, Moors, and Jews exerted influence on the territory. Portugal's location at the western extremity of Europe made it a gathering place for invaders by land, and its long coastline invited settlement by seafarers.

More than nine-tenths of the country's population are ethnic Portuguese, and there are also small numbers of Brazilians, Han Chinese, and people from Portugal's former colonial possessions in Africa and Asia. Ethnic Marranos (Marrano) (descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity but who secretly continued to practice Judaism) constitute about 1 percent of the population, and the country's Roma (Rom) (Gypsy) population lives primarily in the Algarve. Language is an extremely common bond: Portuguese is the first language of nearly the entire population.

Religion

More than ninth-tenths of Portugal's citizens are Roman Catholic (Roman Catholicism). Regular attendance at mass, however, has declined in the cities and larger towns, particularly in the south. Less than 2 percent of the population is Protestant, with Anglicans and Methodists the oldest and largest denominations. In the late 20th century, fundamentalist and Evangelical churches grew in popularity, though the number of their adherents remained quite small. The Jewish (Jew) population of Portugal is also tiny, as Jews were forced to convert or emigrate during the Inquisition in the late 15th century.

Settlement patterns

The landscapes of mainland Portugal are the result of human activity since prehistoric times. Inhabited caves and rock shelters, some with rock art (e.g., in Escoural), indicate occupation during the Upper Paleolithic Period. The discovery of 20,000-year-old engravings in the Côa River valley led to the opening in 1996 of an archaeological park of prehistoric rock art. Most of the later Neolithic megalithic monuments and rock-cut tombs are found in west-central Portugal or south of the Tagus. Known sites of early metal-using (Copper Age [Chalcolithic Period] and Bronze Age) people are concentrated in the drier portions of Portugal. Only from the Early Iron Age onward does the whole of Portugal appear to have been equally densely occupied, although the area lying between Braga and the Gerez (Gerês) valley is singularly rich in Roman remains.

Many of Portugal's urban centres date from Roman times. Settlements developed on lower ground around native fortified hilltop castros in northern Portugal. The harbour at Lisbon had been used by the Carthaginians, but it was the Romans who enlarged the site into a strategically located administrative centre for the province of Lusitania. Lisbon continued as a Visigothic stronghold. Indeed, fortification is the keynote for most of Portugal's settlement history. The Middle Ages and the Reconquista (Reconquest) left fortified, usually hilltop towns throughout the country but especially toward the Spanish frontier in the south (e.g., Santarém, Tomar, Évora, Portalegre, Estremoz, Beja, Castelo Branco, Abrantes, and Monsanto). Other small towns grew from Cistercian colonization on the Estremadura coast (e.g., the abbey at Alcobaça and granges at Alvominha, Cós, Maiorga, Salir do Porto, and Turquel). New towns were created later for a variety of reasons, including proximity to mineral springs (Caldas da Rainha) or important fortresses (Leiria and Viana do Castelo). Along the coasts the fortunes of port settlements were as unstable as the shifting sands that blocked their harbours, and most modern ports are of relatively recent origin (e.g., Faro, in the south, and Olhão, an 18th-century fishing settlement).

The pattern of rural settlement also reflects both historical and physical factors. The bocage (hedgerow country: fields surrounded by woodlands) of the Minho is associated with a dense distribution of individual holdings on granite that drops to a thin scatter in areas of schist. Most buildings are of two stories with an outside staircase. Nucleated settlement, formerly associated with communal farming systems, is characteristic of the Trás-os-Montes and the pastoral districts of Beira Alta. In Estremadura, traditional farmsteads consist of a number of single-storied buildings. In the formerly feudal south, estate labourers and tenants were housed centrally in long barracklike buildings grouped around montes (courtyards), whose origins date from Arab and even Roman times. The waterwheels and fig-drying floors associated with the dispersed farmsteads of arboriculture districts in the Algarve are another Arab legacy. Neither the Madeiras nor the Azores were occupied before the start of colonization by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

Today the population distribution within Portugal reveals striking contrasts between the more densely populated north and the more sparsely populated south. A number of rural areas have suffered considerable population losses, resulting in economic and social depression, particularly in parts of the north, the Alentejo, and southern inland areas. The coastal zones between Braga and Setúbal, with their low-lying plains and urban development, have attracted a large proportion of the population. Few places outside the industrial areas of Lisbon, Setúbal, and Porto are able to absorb their own working populations. Areas such as the Minho and parts of the coastal plains are seriously overpopulated. Overall, about two-thirds of Portugal's population live in urban areas.

In the main, rural settlement is dispersed, with inhabitants living in small villages under a system of open-field farming. Beira Litoral and Estremadura have settlements varying between dispersed and clustered farmsteads. In the Aveiro district, clusters of farmsteads and other dwellings are strung along roads in strips, often of considerable length and density. Fishing, one of the earliest enterprises of the Portuguese, still plays an important role in coastal communities. Owing in part to the rigours and hazards of this and certain other traditionally male occupations, as well as intensive waves of largely male emigration, women have substantially outnumbered men in the Portuguese population since the first modern census in 1864 (a previous census had been carried out in 1527).

Demographic trends

The decolonization process that took place after the Revolution of the Carnations (April 25, 1974) inevitably had demographic repercussions on metropolitan Portugal because of the large number of people (mostly Portuguese) who left the former overseas provinces. Some one million refugees, most of whom came from Angola in part because of the civil war between the liberation movements, settled in Portugal. The majority of the repatriates (retornados) crowded into Portuguese cities and towns, the effect of which was a high unemployment rate that continued for the next decade.

Portugal has one of the highest rates of emigration in Europe. Before 1960 most of its émigrés went to Brazil and a few other Latin American countries. The population underwent its only decline in the modern period during the 1960s, when two external developments coincided: severe labour shortages in industrialized western Europe induced an outflow of Portuguese workers, and Portugal's efforts to suppress the liberation movements in its African colonies prompted thousands of young men to emigrate illegally in order to avoid conscription. From Madeira and the Azores too, emigration was a continuing pattern—from the Azores mainly to the United States and from Madeira mainly to South America.

Life expectancy in Portugal is high in comparison with the rest of the world, but it is slightly lower than most other countries in western Europe. Birth rates are about half the world average; death rates are slightly higher than the world average. At the beginning of the 21st century, population growth was slow, and it was anticipated to begin a slight decline.

Economy

Portugal was the world's richest country when its colonial empire in Asia, Africa, and South America was at its peak. Because this wealth was not used to develop domestic industrial infrastructure, however, Portugal gradually became one of western Europe's poorest countries in the 19th and 20th centuries. From the mid-1970s, after the Portuguese revolution, the country's economy was disconnected from Portugal's remaining overseas possessions in Africa and reoriented toward Europe. In 1986 Portugal joined the European Economic Community (since 1993 the European Community, embedded within the European Union [EU]), spurring strong and steady economic growth. Similar to those of other western European countries, Portugal's economy is now dominated by services; manufacturing constitutes a significant share of output, while agricultural output is relatively minor, accounting for less than 5 percent of output. Economic growth has improved living standards dramatically, raised incomes, and reduced unemployment. In addition, since Portugal's accession to the EU, large inflows of structural funds, private capital, and direct investment have fostered and sustained development.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

Crop yields and animal productivity in Portugal are well below the EU average because of low agricultural investment, minimal mechanization, little use of fertilizers, and the fragmented land-tenure system. The main crops grown in Portugal are cereals (wheat, barley, corn [maize], and rice), potatoes, grapes (for wine), olives, and tomatoes. Portugal is among the world's largest exporters of tomato paste and is a leading exporter of wines. port and muscatel, both dessert wines, are among Portugal's most famous varieties of wine. In mainland Portugal, where there are nearly 50 demarcated wine regions, well over 100,000 people are involved in viticulture; many also work in the industry on the island of Madeira, where investment in vinification techniques has sustained the renown of Madeira wines. Newer crops include sunflowers, and Portugal also produces large quantities of fruits such as oranges and apples. The country's agricultural exports help offset the cost of imported wheat and meat. Nearly one-third of Portugal's land area is used for agriculture.

Small farms predominate, particularly in the north, where they are too small and made up of too many dispersed holdings to allow integrated farming and rational crop rotation. In the south (except for the Algarve region) before 1975, intensive cultivation was prevented by the system of latifúndios (latifundium), or large estates, which were owned by absentee landlords who had no interest in making capital investment in machinery, fertilizers, and other items that would increase productivity. After the 1974 revolution, agrarian reforms were implemented south of the Tagus, where about 3.2 million acres (1.3 million hectares) of land in large holdings were expropriated (with compensation) and nationalized. The policy was aimed at, among other things, destroying the latifúndio system, changing the tenancy system, handing uncultivated land back to the people, abolishing quitrent, increasing the irrigated area, introducing new crops, intensifying the output of fodder and cereals, and developing livestock. A large part of the nationalized land was turned over to collective and cooperative production units. The hasty transition, however, precipitated political tension and a decline in the agricultural output of the Alentejo region. The land redistribution policy was reversed after 1976, as succeeding governments sought to encourage modernization and higher productivity by a return to private ownership. Agricultural subsidies were made available, though not all farmers took advantage of them. The Alqueva Dam—criticized for its destruction of a significant amount of rock art and rare fauna and flora, including some one million trees—began operations in 2002 and provides irrigation to southern Portugal.

Some one-tenth of Portuguese land is used for pasture. Sheep, pigs, and cattle are among the country's leading livestock. Beef cattle, dairying, and wool production contribute to Portugal's economy, though their relative importance varies by region.

About one-third of Portugal is wooded, and some nine-tenths of its forests are privately owned (among the highest proportions in Europe). Most of the mountainous areas are well suited to forestry, and the demand for forest products has prompted considerable reforestation efforts since the last quarter of the 19th century in areas where crop yields are low and where erosion tends to be severe. The pulp and paper industry contributes significantly to the economy. Portugal is a leading producer of cork, which has become a significant export. Eucalyptus plantations cover about one-seventh of forest land, and pine is also important.

Portugal's long coastline and the abundance of fish in the surrounding waters have favoured the development of the fishing industry. Among some 70 varieties are sardines, horse mackerel, and hake caught near the coasts, tuna from the Azores, scabbard fish from Madeira, and codfish from the North Atlantic, which together make a large contribution to food supplies. The fishing industry, facing intense international competition and disadvantaged by small, old boats, suffered a severe decline in the mid-1980s. With funds from the EU for new fishing vessels, a program for renovation, new EU agreements and bilateral accords, and the establishment of seaport training schools, the fishing industry revived in the 1990s, and its products are exported all over the world. The Port of Leixões (Leixões, Port of) in the north, Peniche and Setúbal in the west, and Portimão and Olhão in the Algarve are among the main fishery centres. Compared with other coastal European countries (e.g., Norway and Denmark), however, catches are relatively small, and the fishing industry is unable to meet domestic need; about one-fourth of the fish consumed in Portugal is imported, mainly from Iceland (stockfish), Norway (dried cod), and Russia (sardines).

Power and resources

Portugal depends heavily on the importation of petroleum and petroleum products. coal, which accounts for about 5 percent of the country's energy use, is also imported, though domestic production has increased since the mid-1980s. Portugal's domestic coal is of fairly low quality, however. About one-third of Portugal's electricity is provided by hydropower, and a smaller proportion comes from thermal energy. A natural gas pipeline from North Africa was completed in 1997.

Tungsten, tin, chromium, and other alloy metals are mined (mining) in commercial quantities, and most of the tungsten is exported. Ornamental and industrial rocks, especially marble, have become a substantial export. Coal mined at Moncorvo supplies the national steelworks. copper is extracted at the extensive Neves Corvo mine, and since 1989 Portugal has exported large quantities of copper concentrates. Other products range from granite to mineral water, and the country has large uranium reserves.

Manufacturing

About four-fifths of Portugal's industrial capacity is concentrated around Lisbon and Setúbal in the south and Porto, Braga, and Aveiro in the north. Lisbon and Setúbal support oil refining, chemical industries, cement processing, steelmaking, shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing and assembly, electronics manufacture, wood-pulp and cork production, and fish and beverage processing. Light industry prevails in the north. Porto produces textiles, footwear, furniture, wine, and processed food; Aveiro is a centre for wood pulp and wood products; and Braga specializes in clothing, cutlery, and electronics. Fuel and energy production is important at Sines, a deepwater port about 90 miles (150 km) south of Lisbon, and Coimbra and Leira are notable for the production of plastic molds and machine tools.

In 1975 (after the revolution) Portugal's heavy industry, basic industries (e.g., cement and petrochemical processing, shipbuilding, generation of electricity), and even some light industries were nationalized. However, in the late 1980s these industries underwent privatization, which has had far-reaching effects. Nearly all public enterprises were privatized, some in tranches, providing the central government with large revenues. Private domestic firms handle the traditional labour-intensive light industries and construction, and subsidiaries of multinational corporations dominate the more technologically advanced industries such as electronics manufacture, automobile manufacture and assembly, and pharmaceutical production.

Finance

Portugal's currency was formerly the escudo, which had replaced the real in 1911 after the overthrow of the monarchy the previous year. However, after meeting the EU's convergence criteria, Portugal adopted the euro, the EU's single currency, in 1999. In 2002 the euro replaced the escudo as Portugal's sole currency.

Like the manufacturing sector, the banking and insurance industries were nationalized in the mid-1970s. Beginning in the 1980s, however, these sectors were liberalized and reprivatized. By the beginning of the 21st century, with full liberalization long established, financial markets had been extensively modernized and insurance companies and banks privatized. Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Portugal's largest bank, was an exception. New banks and brokerage houses were established and a wide range of financial instruments created. During the 1990s there was significant consolidation of the banking sector, and now only a handful of major groups dominate the market. Leading commercial banks, involved in securities, have established investment companies. Spanish banks are also important within Portugal, though there is an ambivalent attitude toward them.

Portuguese bond and stock markets operate on a par with other European and world markets. Trading activity has expanded, and Portuguese bonds appear in globally recognized indices. In 2000 the Lisbon exchange merged with the exchange in Porto. The Lisbon exchange handles spot transactions, while Porto is a futures and options exchange. In 2001 the Lisbon exchange became a member of Euronext, a European stock-exchange consortium involving exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris, and it has also formed an alliance with São Paulo's Bovespa.

Trade

For a relatively small country, Portugal has a large foreign trade. Total imports (primarily food and beverages, wheat, crude oil, machinery, automobiles, and raw materials) generally have far outpaced total exports. Among Portugal's chief exports are automobiles and transport components, machine tools, textiles, clothing, footwear, paper pulp, wine, cork, plastic molds, and tomato paste. EU countries are Portugal's principal trading partners, accounting for four-fifths of exports and three-fourths of imports. Major trading partners include Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Trade with Portugal's former colonial possessions in Africa has declined to a small fraction of the total, but trade has increased with Latin America, especially Portuguese-speaking Brazil. Brazil's size and historical and linguistic relationship have made it attractive for investments from major Portuguese companies. Portugal's trade deficit has traditionally been financed by emigrant worker remittances and income from tourism.

Services

The service sector is extremely important to Portugal's economy, accounting for more than three-fifths of total output. About 1 in 20 workers is employed in public administration, including defense. Tourism has surged to become a major industry, employing about 5 percent of the workforce. More than 10 million people visit Portugal annually, their primary destinations including Lisbon, the Algarve, and the Douro valley. Visitors from France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom make up the bulk of tourists.

Labour and taxation

Employment in Portugal is fairly diversified. More than half of all workers are employed in services, while one-eighth work in the primary sector, including agriculture and mining. Manufacturing, construction, and the public utilities employ about one-third of workers.

Workers have the right to be represented, and there are several hundred trade unions (organized labour) and two trade union federations. One federation, the Intersindical, grew from communist roots. Formed in 1970 and reorganized in 1974, it has more than 100 affiliated organizations. The other major federation is the União Geral dos Trabalhadores (UGT; General Union of Workers), which developed out of the socialist movement and has some one million members. Although no official statistics exist, it is estimated that about 30 percent of workers belong to a union. The overall rate of unionization declined from the 1970s, when a system was implemented allowing workers to forgo payment of union membership dues.

Taxation, at about one-third to two-fifths of gross domestic product, is relatively low in comparison with that of many other western European countries. Individual income tax rates are progressive, varying considerably depending upon an individual's level of income. Corporate taxes and the value-added tax provide a significant source of revenue for the government. Consumption taxes account for some two-fifths of total revenue, compared with about one-tenth for corporate taxes and one-sixth for individual income taxes. Payroll and social security taxes constitute about one-fourth of total revenue.

Transportation and telecommunications

Several of Portugal's main roads date to ancient times. Transport and communications were seriously neglected for much of the 20th century, but, beginning late in the century, there was a concerted effort backed by massive funding from the EU to remedy the situation. As a result, the total road network has been extended. A four-lane auto-estrada (superhighway) now connects Lisbon to Porto, the capital of the north. A motorway links Lisbon with Madrid, and there is a four-lane highway from Lisbon to the Algarve. Expressways reach the largest towns and extend to the border and ports. Secondary roads link the towns with almost every part of the interior. The 10.7-mile (17.2-km) Vasco da Gama Bridge, the second bridge in Lisbon to span the Tagus River, was completed early in 1998. However, the bridge has not totally relieved traffic congestion, prompting consideration of building either a new bridge or a tunnel to cross the Tagus.

The national railroad system has been improved, and a new enterprise, Refer EP, was established in 1997 to manage it. There were also plans to introduce high-speed rail connections, particularly between Lisbon and Madrid. In the 1990s and early 21st century, Lisbon's metro system was extended outside the city limits with the addition of several new stations, including a main station, Gare do Oriente, which opened in the Parque das Nações on land east of the city centre. Porto also has developed a light rail system, parts of which run underground. Lisbon's 25th of April Bridge (Ponte 25 de Abril), once Europe's longest suspension bridge, has been adapted to include a railway line.

Portugal's main international airport is Lisbon's Portela Airport. There are also international airports in Faro and Porto, and airports in Madeira and the Azores receive flights from international destinations. Small airports for domestic flights are located near several other cities. The country's flagship airline is TAP Portugal. There are several other Portuguese airlines, and the country is also served by numerous international carriers that provide both passenger and cargo services.

Portugal's ports have received considerable investment to improve and expand their ability to handle cargo and containers and to provide other services. Major Portuguese ports include Lisbon, the Port of Leixões (Leixões, Port of) (serving Porto), Setúbal, and Sines. The northern Douro is now navigable. River transport includes both pleasure cruisers and commercial barges carrying loads such as granite.

Advances in technology and telecommunications have speeded the transformation of Portugal's finance and business sector. Historically, the extension of fixed telephone lines in Portugal was slow; as a result, many individuals have adopted cellular phones, making Portugal among Europe's early leaders (outside the Scandinavian countries) in per capita mobile phone use. The cellular phone market is intensely competitive. Portugal has implemented reforms in its telecommunications sector that favoured liberalization and privatization. Internet use grew dramatically in the late 1990s and early 21st century, though computer use in Portugal remained low compared with that of most other EU countries.

Ilídio Melo Peres do Amaral Walter C. Opello, Jr. Marion Kaplan

Government and society

Constitutional framework

Portugal has been a republic since the overthrow of King Manuel II and the house of Bragança (Bragança, House of) in 1910. From 1910 to 1926, the era of Portugal's First Republic, a parliamentary democracy was established, though monarchists attempted to overthrow it, and factions quickly arose among republicans. In 1926 a bloodless military coup overthrew the republic, replacing it with an authoritarian government. In 1932 António de Oliveira Salazar (Salazar, António de Oliveira) established a corporative dictatorship—the so-called Nuevo Estado (New State)—that lasted until 1974, four years after Salazar's death. During the dictatorship, democratic-like institutions existed but were merely a facade, stacked with supporters of Salazar; political freedoms were suppressed, sometimes ruthlessly. Since the Revolution of the Carnations on April 25, 1974, Portugal has had a democratic republic. Its postrevolutionary constitution, first adopted in 1976 and modified several times since, established a semipresidential system whereby executive power was divided between a president and a prime minister. The constitution was revised in 1982, when ideological elements were minimized, and again in 1989, when the way was paved for privatization and a transition to a free-market economy.

Portugal's chief of state is the president, who is directly elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term and may be elected to only two consecutive terms. The president is responsible for guaranteeing Portugal's independence and national unity. Presidential duties also include serving as chief commander of the armed forces, appointing and dismissing the prime minister (who must be able to command majority support in the legislature), appointing and dismissing other members of the government at the proposal of the prime minister, sending messages to parliament and convening or dissolving it as necessary, and setting the dates of elections after consultation with the Council of State.

The constitution designates the Council of Ministers, the cabinet, as Portugal's chief policy-making body. The cabinet consists of the prime minister, who presides over its meetings, the ministers of government departments, and some secretaries of state (ministers without portfolios). The prime minister is simultaneously responsible to the president (regarding the overall functioning of governmental institutions) and to parliament (regarding the content of public policy). The prime minister directs, coordinates, and implements government policy. By tradition the prime minister is the head of the civil service.

The parliament comprises the unicameral Assembly of the Republic, which has 230 deputies. Its duties include debating and voting upon legislation, authorizing the government to raise revenues, and approving the laws passed by the legislatures of the autonomous regions. The parliament may also dismiss the government by rejecting a vote of confidence requested by the government or by passing a motion of censure against the government.

Local government

Portugal has three tiers of government below the national level. The lowest tier comprises the parishes (freguesias), of which there are about 4,000. Each parish has a directly elected assembly (assembleia de freguesia), which appoints its own executive body, the parish board (junta de freguesia). The second tier consists of the municipalities (concelhos), which number some 300. Municipalities include rural and urban areas within their territorial limits. Each municipality has a municipal assembly (assembleia municipal), made up of the presidents of the boards of the constituent parishes and an equal number plus one of directly elected members; a municipal chamber (câmara municipal), which is the executive of the municipality; and a municipal council (conselho municipal), a consultative organ through which the views of social, cultural, professional, and economic organizations within the municipality are transmitted to the municipal chamber. Above the municipalities are 18 districts (distritos)—20 including Madeira and the Azores—each with an appointed civil governor.

The constitution of 1976 called for the establishment of administrative regions (regiões administrativas), and the government created plans to subdivide the country, but by the early 21st century such a scheme had yet to be implemented (and had been rejected in a national referendum in 1998). Nevertheless, to simplify the implementation and administration of EU programs, the government devised a system consisting of five regions for the mainland: North (Norte), Central (Centro), Lisbon and the Tagus Valley (Lisboa e Vale do Tejo), the Alentejo, and the Algarve. The archipelagoes of Madeira and the Azores are autonomous regions (regiãos autónomas), a special status granted in the 1976 constitution, in recognition of their geographic, economic, social, and cultural uniqueness and their historical aspirations for greater independence. Each autonomous region has its own government (cabinet and president), legislature (regional assembly), and administration.

Justice

Portugal's judiciary is formally independent of the executive and legislative branches. The country is divided into several dozen judicial circuits, above which there are four regional districts. The highest judicial organ is the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. There is also a Constitutional Tribunal, which has 13 justices appointed by parliament and which rules on the constitutionality of laws. A jury system was introduced with the 1976 constitution.

The role of the military as the watchdog of the 1974 revolution and the subsequent transition to democracy was enshrined by the 1976 constitution in the Council of the Revolution. A constitutional committee operated in conjunction with the Council of the Revolution, which determined the constitutionality of legislation. Revisions made to the constitution in 1982 abolished the Council of the Revolution and the constitutional committee and replaced them with a Council of State and the Constitutional Tribunal. Members of the Council of State are the president of the republic (who presides over the council), the president of the parliament, the prime minister, the president of the Constitutional Tribunal, the attorney general, the presidents of the governments of the autonomous regions, certain former presidents of the republic, five persons appointed by the president, and five persons selected by the Assembly of the Republic.

Political process

All citizens at least age 18 are eligible to vote. Voters directly elect the president, who serves a five-year term, and members of the Assembly of the Republic. Elections to the Assembly of the Republic must occur at least once every four years; seats are apportioned to parties (voters cast ballots for party lists rather than for individual candidates) on the basis of proportional representation in multiseat constituencies. Although Portugal utilizes a proportional system, two parties are dominant: the centre-left Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) and the centre-right Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata). There are also several minor parties, including the conservative Popular Party (Partido Popular) and communist and ecologist parties. Voters (including EU citizens living in Portugal) also elect deputies to the European Parliament, the EU's legislative body. Women (woman suffrage), who were first granted the right to vote in Portugal in 1931 (though the franchise then was limited to women with university degrees or secondary-school qualifications), have made great strides in postrevolutionary Portugal, regularly constituting about one-fifth of the members of the Assembly of the Republic.

Security

The Portuguese military is commanded by the president, who also appoints the chiefs of staff. Formerly, military service was compulsory, but conscription was eliminated in the early 21st century. The armed forces consist of an army, an air force, and a navy. Before passage of the National Defense Law in 1982, the military had veto power over legislation affecting it, including expenditures and international agreements. Portugal was a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949, and it is also a member of the Western European Union, which serves to coordinate European defense and security policies.

The Portuguese police are divided into four categories. The Public Security Police (Polícia de Segurança Pública; PSP) and the Republican National Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana; GNR) are under the control of the Ministry of Internal Administration. The GNR includes the road police and has jurisdiction over rural areas. The PSP patrols urban areas and directs city traffic. The Fiscal Guard (Guarda Fiscal), which is stationed at frontier crossings and points of entry and is responsible for collecting import duties and investigating smuggling and other violations of border regulations, is under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. There is also a judicial police force, the Polícia Judiciária. The crime rate in Portugal is low.

Health and welfare

The Portuguese welfare system is composed of several types of institutions that insure workers against sickness, disability, and old age and provide for the payment of pensions and family allowances. Compulsory insurance is provided by employers in most sectors of business and industry; employees also pay into the fund. Trade-union provident funds and welfare funds for other employees provide assistance for most categories of workers, and there are voluntary mutual assistance associations and provident institutions for the military forces and civil servants. Many large companies maintain their own welfare and sickness benefit programs and pensions for their employees.

Portugal has both public and private hospitals. Major hospitals are generally located in the main district capitals, and other hospitals are found in smaller centres. There are also several hundred other health centres. Charity hospitals (santas casas da misericórdia), which were first founded in 1498 when the Irmandade da Misericórdia (Fraternity of Mercy) was formed in Lisbon by Leonor de Lencastre, the widow of King John II, are funded by a national lottery and play an important social role, especially among the elderly. Special institutions include a cancer hospital and research unit in Lisbon, a school of tropical medicine, and a modern rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities near Lisbon. The health care system has long been undermined by inefficiency, funding shortfalls, and a shortage of doctors, though, beginning in the 1990s, the government began to address the system's endemic problems.

Housing

Article 65 of Portugal's constitution proclaims that all citizens have a right to “a dwelling of adequate size satisfying standards of hygiene and comfort and preserving personal and family privacy.” It further requires the government to establish housing policies that are “based on urban planning that secures the existence of an adequate network of transport and social facilities” and to create a “system of rents compatible with family incomes and of individual ownership of dwellings.” Nevertheless, particularly in urban areas, Portugal has suffered from substandard housing and severe housing shortages. Dwelling size is small by European standards. However, the rate of home ownership is fairly high, some two-thirds of dwellings being owner-occupied (a marked increase from 1970, when only about half were owner-occupied), and comparatively few owner-occupied homes carry mortgages (though the proportion of mortgages has increased as home ownership has grown). In rural areas the situation was no better, and many places were not electrified until the 1990s. During the 1980s, shantytowns consisting of several hundred thousand dwellings (many of which were unsafe) were constructed on the outskirts of metropolitan areas, particularly Lisbon and Porto. The government began to address poor housing conditions in the 1990s, when it adopted measures to increase and improve the housing stock for less-affluent people. Overall, property values are high, and some of the most desirable apartments are those in residential blocks built in the riverside area east of Lisbon that was cleared in the late 1990s for the World's Fair (Expo '98).

Education

Early education for children age 3 to 6 is available for free, and schooling is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15. Education has become a high priority of government funding, particularly since the late 1980s, when a study found that one-fifth of the population over age l5 was illiterate. By the beginning of the 21st century, the literacy rate exceeded 90 percent, and nearly every child was enrolled in school; however, failure rates remain high, and child labour, prevalent especially in the north, has not yet been eliminated. Private schools supplement the state schools, which provide free education for the majority of people. There are several public and private universities, including the long-established University of Coimbra (originally founded in Lisbon in 1290, relocated permanently to Coimbra in 1537), the University of Lisbon (Lisbon, University of) (founded 1911), the Technical University of Lisbon (founded 1930), the University of Porto (founded 1911), and the Portuguese Catholic University (founded in 1968 in Lisbon). There are also technical institutes, nursing and technical health schools, military academies, and several specialized schools for subjects such as the sciences and hotel management.

Cultural life

Portuguese culture is based on a past that dates from prehistoric times into the eras of Roman and Moorish invasion. All have left their traces in a rich legacy of archaeological remains, including prehistoric cave paintings at Escoural, the Roman township of Conimbriga, the Roman temple (known as the Temple of Diana) in Évora, and the typical Moorish architecture of such southern towns as Olhão and Tavira. Throughout the centuries Portugal's arts have been enriched by foreign influences, including Flemish, French, and Italian. The voyages of the Portuguese explorers, such as Ferdinand Magellan (Magellan, Ferdinand), who was the first to circumnavigate the globe, and Vasco da Gama (Gama, Vasco da), who pioneered an eastern route to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope (Good Hope, Cape of) (the first European to sail around the cape was another Portuguese navigator, Bartolomeu Dias (Dias, Bartolomeu), in 1488), opened the country to Asian influences, and the revelation of Brazil's wealth of gold and jewels fed the Baroque flame in decoration. There have been considerable efforts to conserve architecture and art across the country, especially religious artifacts, palaces, and the several distinctive styles of casas portuguesa, or modest homes. Preservation has led to the declaration of the city centres of Évora, Sintra, Porto, and, in the Azores, Angra do Heroísmo as UNESCO World Heritage sites (World Heritage site).

Daily life and social customs

Despite certain affinities with the neighbouring Spaniards, the Portuguese have their own distinctive way of life. The geographic variety of the country has evoked different responses, but there is less regionalism than in Spain. Moreover, lifestyles have altered radically as rural populations have declined and cities and their suburbs have expanded. Urban centres provide a range of entertainment, and fairs and markets are highlights of social gatherings. A long tradition of dancing and singing continues among the Portuguese. Nearly every village has its own terreiro, or dance floor, usually constructed of concrete, though in some places it is still made of beaten earth. Each region has its own style of dances and songs; most traditional songs are of a slower rhythm than those in Spain. Small accordions and gaitas, or bagpipes, are among a considerable range of instruments that accompany dances, and Portuguese guitars (and sometimes violas) accompany the fado, a song form that epitomizes saudade—the yearning, romantic aspect of the Portuguese character. Regional dances, which include the vira, chula, corridinho, tirana, and fandango, often reflect the courting and matrimonial traditions of the area. Much has been done to preserve these and other folk expressions as tourist attractions.

National dress is still seen in the northern Minho province at weddings and other festivals. Traditional garments such as the red and green stocking cap of the Alentejo cattleman still exist, and the samarra (a short jacket with a collar of fox fur) and cifões (the equestrian's leather chaps) survive. Rustic plows and wooden carts drawn by oxen or mules are still used by small farmers (though in the perennial battle against forest fires, shepherds who guard their flocks in forest areas have been supplied with mobile phones). The wearing of black for protracted periods of mourning is common, especially in the villages.

Access to supermarkets has transformed eating habits in cities and urban areas. In the countryside the staple diet is one of fish, vegetables, and fruit. Although Portugal's waters abound with fresh fish, the dried salted codfish known as bacalhau, now often imported, is considered the national dish. A seafood stew known as cataplana (for the hammered copper clamshell-style vessel in which it is cooked) is ubiquitous throughout the country. In many areas meat is seldom eaten, although the Alentejo region is known for its pork and Trás-os-Montes for cured meats. Cozido a portuguesa, a stew made with meats and vegetables, is a popular dish. Breads, cakes, and sweets—the last one a legacy of Moorish occupation—take a variety of forms, with many regional specialties. Portugal is well known for its wide variety of cheeses. Wine is the ubiquitous table beverage. In the north the wine of choice is often the red version of the so-called green wine, or vinho verde, usually preferred as a lightly sparkling white wine. Perhaps the most famous Portuguese export is the fortified wine called port, named after the town of Porto, where it has been bottled for centuries. Distinguished mainly for notable vintages, port is also enjoyed as ruby, tawny, and dry white varieties.

Portugal has a wide variety of regional fairs, many of which are combined with religious festivals. Religious customs in this Roman Catholic (Roman Catholicism) country still include, in the north, the burning of the yule log in the atrium of the village church at Christmas so that the poor may warm themselves. Twice annually (May and October) large numbers of the faithful make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Fátima, where three children reported that they had received messages from the Virgin Mary. All Saints' Day festivals (November 1), especially in Lisbon and Porto, draw large crowds. Among the secular holidays are Liberty Day (April 25), which marks the Revolution of the Carnations of 1974 and is accompanied by parades and various cultural events; Portugal Day (June 10), which commemorates the death of 16th-century soldier-poet Luís de Camões (Camões, Luís de); and Republic Day (October 5), which celebrates the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic in 1910.

The arts

Literature

The Portuguese language became synthesized in the 12th century, when a lyrical quality was outstanding in both poetry and prose. With Os Lusíadas (1572; The Lusiads), Camões (Camões, Luís de) first gave expression to the nation's epic genius, and the 20th-century poet Fernando Pessoa (Pessoa, Fernando), writing under numerous pseudonyms, introduced a Modernist European sensibility. Lyric poetry still flourishes. The tendency of fiction has been away from the romanticism of the 19th and early 20th centuries and toward realism. José Maria Eça de Queirós (Eça de Queirós, José Maria de), whose works include Os Maias (1888; The Maias) and A cidade e as serras (1901; The City and the Mountains), was an outstanding realist novelist. In the first half of the 20th century, Aquilino Ribeiro (Ribeiro, Aquilino) was an exceptional regional novelist whose writings include Jardim das tormentas (1913; “Garden of Torments”) and O homem que matou o Diabo (1930; “The Man Who Killed the Devil”), while José Maria Ferreira de Castro (Ferreira de Castro, José Maria) was a notable realist and author of A selva (1930; The Jungle) and Os emigrantes (1928; “The Emigrants”). The novelist, essayist, and poet Vitorino Nemésio received acclaim for his novel Mau tempo no canal (1944; “Bad Weather in the Channel”; Eng. trans. Stormy Isles: An Azorean Tale).

Censorship under the Salazar regime considerably stifled meaningful literary production. With the revolution and the end of the dictatorship in 1974, literature flourished; among the notable figures of the postrevolutionary period were Neorealist poet and writer Fernando Namora (Namora, Fernando Goncalves) (1919–89), poet and diarist Miguel Torga (Torga, Miguel) (1907–95)—both country doctors—and novelist Vergílio Ferreira (Ferreira, Vergílio) (1916–96). Eduardo Lourenço was a leading essayist, and younger writers, such as Margarida Rebelo Pinto, gained popularity. Admired novelists in the late 20th and early 21st centuries included Almeida Faria, José Cardoso Pires, António Lobo Antunes, and José Saramago (Saramago, José), the last of whom won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. Among Saramago's many works are Memorial do convento (1982; “Memoirs of the Convent”; Eng. trans. Baltasar and Blimunda); O ano da morte de Ricardo Reis (1984; The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis), a tribute to Fernando Pessoa; and O homem duplicado (2002; The Double). For further discussion, see Portuguese literature.

Architecture

Portugal boasts several scores of medieval castles, as well as the ruins of several villas and forts from the period of Roman occupation. Romanesque and Gothic influences have given Portugal some of its greatest cathedrals, and in the late 16th century a national style—Arte Manuelina (Manueline)—was synthesized by adapting several forms into a luxuriantly ornamented whole. Outstanding examples of Portuguese architecture include the ornate Manueline-style Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon; the Sé (cathedral) of Lisbon, in the facade of which the remains of Roman construction may still be seen; the Palace of Justice in Lisbon, a fine, soaring example of austere modern architecture; the castle and church of the Convent of Christ in Tomar; the late Portuguese Gothic abbey of Santa Maria da Vitória in Batalha; the granite Tower of the Clerics in Porto; and Braga's Romanesque cathedral. Lisbon's Baixa neighbourhood, in Pombaline style (named for Sebastião de Carvalho, marquês de Pombal (Pombal, Sebastião de Carvalho, marquês de), who rebuilt Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake), remains admirable today. As modern cities have expanded, there has been a revival of interest in traditional domestic and folk architecture, as is found in the hand-hewn stones of the Beiras, the low farms of the Alentejo, and the cottage chimneys in the Algarve.

Modern architecture has aroused considerable controversy. Some buildings with stark lines include the National Archives of Torre do Tombo, the Belém Cultural Centre, the grandiose Caixa Geral bank building, and the Expo '98 site in the Parque das Nações, which includes an oceanarium and a railroad station. Some contemporary architects have successfully blended classical Portuguese styles with modern functions; among these are Fernando Távora, Nuno Teotónio Pereira, and Álvaro Siza Vieira, who was responsible for the successful reshaping of Lisbon's Chiado area, a historic section of the city that suffered extensive fire damage in 1988.

Visual and decorative arts

Sculpture found rich expression in the magnificent tombs of the 12th and 13th centuries, and late 18th-century Baroque wood sculptures, of which the crèches of Joachim Machado de Castro are the finest, also are outstanding. The Classical and Romantic traditions of Italy and France influenced Machado de Castro in the late 18th century and António Soares dos Reis a century later. A school of primitive painters headed by Nuno Gonçalves (Gonçalves, Nuno) was prominent in the 15th century, and subsequently Flemish artists interpreted the native style, decorating palaces and convents and leaving a rich heritage of religious art. Notable among them isJosefa de Óbidos (Josefa de Ayala), known especially for her religious paintings in Óbidos and her still lifes. The 19th century saw another rebirth of national art with a late Romantic period. An era of naturalist realism that followed, dominated by António Silva Porto, José Malhoa, and Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, gave way to the nonconformist imagery of the 20th century, such as that found in the work of José Almada Negreiros. Maria Elena Vieira da Silva (Vieira da Silva, Maria Elena), who did much of her work in France, was arguably the country's finest abstract painter. Carlos Botelho is notable for his street scenes of Lisbon.

Among the decorative arts, the Portuguese glazed tiles (azulejos (azulejo)) are outstanding. Many 16th- and 17th-century buildings are faced with tiles, and the rooms and halls of palaces and mansions exhibit blue-and-white tiled panels or motifs in other soft colours. Exceptionally fine examples are found in the Pátio da Carranca, the courtyard of the royal palace at Sintra; in the São Roque Church and the Fronteira Palace in Lisbon; and in the Quinta da Bacalhoa, a wine-making estate at Vila Fresca de Azeitão near Setúbal. A remarkable array of panels of decorative tiles from the 15th century onward are displayed in the National Tile Museum in Lisbon.

Music

Liturgical forms such as plainsong dominated early Portuguese music, but the secular tradition of troubadour singing became popular in the Middle Ages. Polyphonic music, employing multiple vocal parts in harmony, was developed in the 15th century. The Renaissance fostered a rich output of compositions for solo instruments and ensembles as well as for the voice. The modern revival of so-called academic music in Portugal was primarily the work of Luís de Freitas Branco, whose Neoclassic tradition has been perpetuated by Joly Braga Santos. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (founded by and named for the oil magnate) continues to inspire much of the country's musical life. Composers acquiring prestige both at home and abroad include António Victorino d'Almeida, Jorge Peixinho, Miguel Azguime, Pedro Amaral, and João Pedro Oliveira. Orchestras of note include the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa and the Gulbenkian Orchestra. Porto has had its own symphony orchestra since 1962, when the Chamber Orchestra was set up by the Gulbenkian Foundation. Lisbon also has a metropolitan orchestra, and the National Theatre of São Carlos in Lisbon, which was built in the late 18th century, has its own orchestra and ballet company. Among notable pianists, Maria João Pires has won worldwide acclaim.

Cultural centres such as the Belém Cultural Centre and the Culturgest, both in Lisbon, and commercial sponsorship have expanded opportunities for major concerts. Madredeus is among the most successful popular music groups. Singer Dulce Pontes is also widely admired, and Carlos Paredes is considered by many to have been Portugal's finest guitarist. Folk music and dancing and the traditional fado remain the country's fundamental forms of musical expression. When the renowned fadista (fado singer) Amália Rodrigues da Piedade Rebordão (Rodrigues, Amália da Piedade Rebordão) (known simply as Amália throughout the world) died in 1999, three days of national mourning were declared. Younger fadistas such as Mariza, Katia Guerreiro, and Cristina Branco gained an international audience in the early 21st century.

Theatre and motion pictures

Along with a small but lively theatre, the Portuguese film industry, aided by subsidies and coproductions, has made its mark. Major filmmakers include João Botelho and João César Monteiro. Manoel de Oliveira, who made his first film in 1931 and was considered one of the world's most innovative filmmakers, was still achieving critical successes and major awards into the early 21st century. His films include Aniki-Bobó (1942), Francisca (1981), Os canibais (1988; The Cannibals), O convento (1995; The Convent), and Porto da minha infância (2001; Porto of My Childhood). The actor Joaquim de Almeida gained an international following and appeared in many Hollywood films as well as in Maria de Medeiros's Capitães de Abril (2000; Captains of April), which chronicles the April 1974 revolution. There are performances of both serious plays and witty musicals at the National Theatre of Dona Maria II in Lisbon. State and Gulbenkian Foundation aid has given new life to the “little theatre” both in Lisbon and in the provinces. International opera, theatre, and ballet are prominent in regular seasons in the National Theatre of São Carlos, in Lisbon, and in other theatres.

Cultural institutions

Lisbon is home to the vast Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Museum—considered by many to be Portugal's best museum, with its collections of sculptures, ceramics, and paintings from around the world—and its modern art centre. Lisbon also has other notable museums covering a broad range of art, including the National Art Museum; the National Museum of Coaches, which has a fine collection of antique vehicles; the National Museum of Ancient Art, which has excellent displays of Portuguese painting; the National Museum of Medieval Art; the National Museum of Contemporary Art; the National Tile Museum; the Maritime Museum, which has displays of royal galleons; the Museum School of Decorative Arts, which trains craftsmen in furniture restoration, bookbinding, the repair of ancient tapestries, and other fine handicrafts; and the Casa Fernando Pessoa, an arts centre honouring the great poet. Outstanding museums are also found throughout the country. Porto, for example, contains the Soares dos Reis National Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, which is housed in a pink Art Deco mansion, and the Museum of St. Francis, which displays thousands of skulls from catacombs. The Machado de Castro National Museum in Coimbra houses a vast collection of sculpture, and there is a regional museum in Aveiro. The National Library and the Ajuda Library in Lisbon have fine collections, while the National Archives of Torre do Tombo contain valuable national documents. Outside Lisbon, the library of the Mafra Convent and that of the University of Coimbra have historical importance.

Sports and recreation

bullfighting is a popular sport in Portugal and varies markedly from its Spanish counterpart. The Portuguese bullfighter, usually dressed in an 18th-century-style coat and tricornered hat, rides a horse and does not seek to kill the bull, the horns of which may be sheathed to protect the horse. The bullfighter is followed by young men called forcados, who confront the bull bare-handed.

Football (football (soccer)) (soccer), the most popular national sport, evokes intense emotion. The national team is among the world's finest, though it has often had disappointing results in the World Cup tournament. Portugal's most renowned player, Eusebio (originally from Mozambique), was one of the most prolific goal scorers in European football in the 1960s. As elsewhere in much of Europe, basketball has grown in popularity. In individual events Portugal's long-distance runners have proved exceptional, winning Olympic gold medals and world championships. Rosa Mota won the marathon at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea, a world championship title, and three European championships; and Carlos Lopes won the men's marathon at the Summer Games in Los Angeles (1984).

Portugal's long seacoast and mild climate make beachgoing a popular pastime, particularly in the Algarve. The country is also well known throughout the world for its many championship-level golf courses, especially in the south. In the 1990s Portuguese entrepreneurs began promoting Portugal as an ocean sports destination, drawing on a strong local tradition of sailing and surfboarding. As a result of this effort, the country has become a centre for scuba diving, with a number of attractive sites, including a dive over the wreckage of a British steamship that sank in 1847. Another favourite dive is Pelo Negro, a complex of shallow undersea canyons just beyond the beach at Leça da Palmeira. Skiing, particularly in the Estrela Mountains (which contain Portugal's highest peaks), is popular in winter. Visits to Portugal's many national parks are among the other popular recreational activities in the country.

Media and publishing

Before the revolution of 1974, all media in Portugal were censored. The 1976 constitution guaranteed freedom of the press. Readership of daily newspapers in Portugal is quite limited, particularly outside the urban centres. The nationalization of industry that began in 1974 encompassed the leading Lisbon newspapers, which had been owned by banks. Gradual reprivatization began in 1979. The daily Diário de Notícias (founded 1864) was long Portugal's most prestigious newspaper. With privatization, however, the position of Diário has been challenged. Leading dailies include Público (founded 1990) and Correio da Manhã (founded 1979), and one of the most widely read newspapers is the weekly Expresso. Despite Lisbon's prevalence in publishing, some regional daily newspapers, such as the Jornal de Notícias in Porto, enjoy wide circulation. The English-language The Portugal News is published weekly. Magazines of national and international news and review include the weekly Visão. In business and finance the magazine Exame and the newspaper Semanário Económico are leaders. Among the most widely read publications are A Bola (founded 1945), a daily sports paper, and Maria, a weekly magazine for women.

The broadcast media reach a much larger portion of the Portuguese population than do the print media. In 1975 all private radio broadcasting, except the church-owned Rádio Renascença, was nationalized. The reprivatization process has paralleled that of other industries. Radio broadcasting is dominated by two networks: Rádio Renascença, which offers both national and regional programming, and the state-run Radiodifusão Portuguesa (RDP), which has regional centres throughout the country and produces an international service (Radio Portugal). Ownership reform came much more slowly to television broadcasting, which since its inception had been limited to the state-owned Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). In 1991 two private companies—one (Sociedade Independente de Comunicação; SIC) financed by a publishing group and the other by the Roman Catholic Church—received television broadcasting licenses. Another private television company is Televisão Independente (TVI). The news agency Lusa provides extensive national and world coverage.

Jose Shercliff Walter C. Opello, Jr. Marion Kaplan

History

Pre-Roman, Roman, Germanic, and Muslim periods

The earliest human remains found in Portugal are Neanderthal-type (Neanderthal) bones from Furninhas. A distinct culture first emerged in the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) middens of the lower Tagus valley, dated about 5500 BC. Neolithic (New Stone Age) cultures (Neolithic Period) entered from Andalusia, leaving behind varied types of beehive huts and passage graves. Agriculture, pottery, and the working of soft metals followed by the same route. In the 1st millennium BC, Celtic (Celt) peoples entered the peninsula via the Pyrenees, and many groups were projected westward by natural pressure. Phoenician and later Carthaginian influence reached southern Portugal in the same period. By 500 BC, Iron Age cultures predominated in the north. Celtic hilltop settlements (castros) retained their vitality after the Roman conquest.

After the Second Punic War (Punic War, Second) (218–201 BC), Rome dominated the eastern and southern seaboards of the Iberian Peninsula, and Celtic peoples who had partially absorbed the indigenous population occupied the west. A Celtic federation, the Lusitani, resisted Roman (ancient Rome) penetration under the brilliant leadership of Viriathus; however, after Viriathus was assassinated about 140 BC, Decius Junius Brutus led a Roman force northward through central Portugal, crossed the Douro River, and subdued the Gallaeci. Julius Caesar (Caesar, Julius) governed the territory for a time. In 25 BC Caesar Augustus (Augustus) founded Augusta Emerita ( Mérida) as the capital of Lusitania, which incorporated present-day central Portugal. Gallaecia (Galicia) (Galicia), to the north of the Douro, became a separate province under the Antonines. In Roman times the present-day districts of Beja and Évora formed a wheat belt. The valley of the Tagus was famous for its horses and farms, and there were important mines in the Alentejo. Notable Roman remains include the Temple of Diana at Évora and the site of Conimbriga (Condeixa). Christianity reached Lusitania in the 3rd century and Galicia in the 4th.

After AD 406, foreign invaders forced their way into Gaul and crossed the Pyrenees. A Germanic tribe, the Suebi, settled in southern Galicia, and their rulers resided at or near Bracara Augusta (Braga) and Portucale. The Suebi annexed Lusitania and for a time overran the rest of the peninsula, but the Visigoths (Visigoth) subdued them and extinguished their monarchy in 469. There are no records until about 550, when the Suebic monarchy had been restored and was reconverted to Catholicism by St. Martin of Braga. When Muslim (Islāmic world) forces invaded in 711, the only serious Gothic resistance was made at Mérida; upon its fall the northwest submitted. Berber troops were placed in central Portugal and Galicia. When Abd al-Raḥmān Iʿ set up the Umayyad (Umayyad Dynasty) monarchy at Córdoba in 756, there was some resistance in the west; indeed, Lisbon was independent for a few years in the early 9th century. The restoration of the Christian sees of Galicia, the discovery of the supposed tomb of St. James, and the erection of his shrine at Santiago de Compostela (Santiago) were followed by the organization of the frontier territory of Portucale in 868 by Vimara Peres; Coimbra was annexed by the Christians but later was lost again.

The county and kingdom of Portugal to 1383

By the 10th century the county of Portugal (north of the Douro) was held by Mumadona Dias and her husband Hermenegildo Gonçalves and their descendants, one of whom was tutor and father-in-law to the Leonese ruler Alfonso V. However, when this dynasty was overthrown by the Navarrese-Castilian house of Sancho III Garcés (Sancho the Great), the western county lost its autonomy. Sancho's son Ferdinand I of Castile reconquered Coimbra in 1064 but entrusted it to a Mozarabic governor. When the African Almoravids annexed Muslim Spain, Alfonso VI, who ruled Castile and León (1072–1109), provided for the defense of the west by calling on Henry, brother of Duke Eudes (Odo) of Burgundy, whom he married to his illegitimate daughter Teresa and made count of Portugal. Thus, from 1095 Henry and Teresa (who used the title of queen) ruled Portugal and Coimbra. Upon Alfonso VI (Alfonso VII)'s death, his realms passed to his daughter Urraca, who was queen from 1109 to 1126, and her little son Alfonso (who became Alfonso VII upon Urraca's death). Henry of Portugal sought power but had achieved little when he died in 1112, leaving Teresa with an infant son, Afonso Henriques (later Afonso I). Teresa's intrigues with her Galician favourite, Fernando Peres of Trava, lost her the support of the Portuguese barons, and in 1128 followers of Afonso Henriques defeated her and drove her into exile.

Afonso Henriques (Afonso I) became count of Portugal, and, although he was at first obliged to submit to Alfonso VII, his cousin, Afonso began to use the title of king, according to tradition following on his victory over the Muslims at Ourique on July 25, 1139 (though this may be more legend than history). In 1143 Alfonso VII accepted his cousin's autonomy, but the title of king was formally conceded only in 1179, when Afonso Henriques placed Portugal under the direct protection of the Holy See, promising an annual tribute. Afonso had captured Santarém (March 1147) and Lisbon (October 1147), the latter with the aid of English, French, German, and Flemish Crusaders bound for Palestine. An English priest, Gilbert of Hastings, became the first bishop of the restored see of Lisbon.

Although the new Moroccan dynasty of the Almohads struck back (1179–84), the Portuguese frontier was firmly established on the Tagus when Afonso I died (December 6, 1185). The new military order, the Templars (Templar)—including those of Calatrava (from c. 1156) and of Santiago (from c. 1170)—governed castles and territory on the frontier, and the Cistercians (Cistercian) were responsible for the introduction of agriculture and architecture in central Portugal (Alcobaça).

The kingdom and the Reconquista

Although Afonso I granted charters to new settlements, it was his son Sancho I (reigned 1185–1211) who enfranchised many municipalities (concelhos), especially in eastern and central Portugal. The privileges of these communities were embodied in charters (forais), which attracted settlers from the more feudal north. Even Muslims were enfranchised, though many of them were enslaved. Assisted by transient Crusaders, Sancho captured Silves in the Algarve in 1189; however, the following year an Almohad army from Africa advanced to the Tagus, and, although Lisbon, Santarém, and Tomar stood firm, the Muslims recovered Silves in 1191, together with most of the land south of the Tagus. But peace was made before Sancho's death, and it was left to his son Afonso II (1211–23) to endeavour to strengthen the power of the throne at the expense of the church.

Although Afonso II was an unwarlike king, his followers were beside the Castilians at the great Christian victory in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (Navas de Tolosa, Battle of Las) in 1212 and, again assisted by Crusaders, recovered Alcácer do Sal in 1217. Meanwhile, Afonso repudiated the bequests of large estates made by his father to his brothers and accepted those to his sisters only after a war with León and in a form, settled by the pope, that recognized Afonso's sovereignty. In the first year of his reign, Afonso called a meeting of the Cortes (parliament) at Coimbra, to which the nobility and prelates were summoned (representatives of the commoners were not to appear until 1254). Both estates obtained important concessions; in fact, the position of the church and the orders was now so strong that Afonso II and his successors were involved in recurrent conflicts with Rome. Afonso himself instituted (from 1220) inquirições, or royal commissions, to investigate the nature of holdings and to recover whatever had been illegally taken from the crown.

Little is known of the reign of his son Sancho II (1223–c. 1246), but the reconquest of the Alentejo was now completed, and much of the Algarve had also been retaken. When Sancho became king, he found the church in full ascendancy as a result of the agreement made before his father's death. At all events, his younger brother Afonso, who had become count of Boulogne through his marriage (1238) to Matilde, daughter of Raynald I, Comte (count) de Dammartin, was granted a papal commission (1245) to take over the government, and Sancho was ordered to be deposed by papal bull. When Afonso reached Lisbon (late 1245 or early 1246), he received the support of the church and of the inhabitants of Lisbon and other towns. After a civil war lasting two years, Sancho II retired to Toledo, dying there in January 1248.

On his arrival the count of Boulogne had already declared himself king as Afonso III, and the death of Sancho without issue gave his usurpation the mantle of legality. He brought together the divided kingdom, completed the reconquest of the Algarve, transferred the capital from Coimbra to Lisbon, and, fortified by the support of the towns, summoned the Cortes at Leiria, where in 1254 commoners representing the municipalities made their first appearance. Afonso III's conquest of the Algarve aroused the jealousy of Castile. Campaigns were fought in 1250 and 1252, and peace was made only by means of a marriage pact. Although still the husband of Matilde of Boulogne, Afonso married Beatriz, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X of Castile, holding the disputed territory of the Algarve as a fief of Castile until the eldest son of the marriage should reach age seven, at which time the Algarve was to return to Portugal. This marriage led to a dispute with the Holy See, in which Afonso was placed under an interdict. Though beholden to Rome, Afonso refused to give way; in 1263 the bigamous marriage was legalized and his eldest son, Dinis, legitimized. Shortly afterward Afonso launched inquirições that deprived the church of much property. The prelates protested these actions of the royal commissions, and most of them subsequently left the country. Although Afonso was excommunicated and threatened with deposition, he continued to defy the church until shortly before his death early in 1279.

The achievements of Afonso's reign—the completion of the Reconquista, the assertion of royal power before the church, and the incorporation of the commoners in the Cortes—indicate important institutional advances. Under his son Dinis (1279–1325), Portugal came into closer touch with western Europe. The chartering of fairs and the increased use of minted money bear witness to the growth of commerce, and the planting of pine forests to hold back the advancing sand dunes near Leiria illustrates Dinis's interest in furthering shipbuilding and agriculture. Having already adopted various measures to stimulate foreign trade, Dinis in 1317 engaged a Genoese admiral, Emmanuele Pessagno, to build up his navy. He founded the University of Coimbra (at first in Lisbon) in 1290 and was both a poet and a patron of literature. Yet he was especially famed as the rei lavrador (farmer king) for his interest in the land.

Despite Dinis's attachment to the arts of peace, Portugal was involved in strife several times during his reign. In 1297 the Treaty of Alcañices with Castile confirmed Portugal's possession of the Algarve and provided for an alliance between Portugal and Castile. The mother of Dinis's son, the future Afonso IV (1325–57), was Isabel, daughter of Peter III of Aragon. This remarkable woman, later canonized as St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Elizabeth of Portugal, Saint) and popularly known as the Rainha Santa (the Holy Queen), successfully exercised her influence in pursuit of peace on several occasions.

Disputes with Castile

Afonso IV (the Brave) was also involved in various disputes with Castile. Isabel, who had retired to the convent of Santa Clara at Coimbra, continued to intervene in favour of peace. However, upon Isabel's death in 1336 war broke out, and peace terms were not made until 1340, when Afonso, leading a Portuguese army, joined Alfonso XI of Castile in the great victory over the Muslims on the Salado River in Andalusia. Afonso's son Peter was married (1336) to Constança (died 1345), daughter of the Castilian infante Juan Manuel. Soon after the marriage, however, Peter fell in love with her cousin Inês de Castro (Castro, Inês de), with whom he had several children. Afonso was persuaded to allow the assassination of Inês in 1355, and one of the earliest acts of Peter I as king was to take vengeance on her murderers. During his short reign (1357–67), Peter devoted himself to the dispensation of justice; his judgments, which he executed himself, were severe and often violent, and his iron rule was tempered only by fits of reveling.

Ferdinand I (1367–83), Peter's (Peter) son by Constança, inherited a wealthy throne almost free of external entanglements, but the dispute between Peter, king of Castile and León, and Henry of Trastámara (later Henry II) over the Castilian throne was raging. On the murder of Peter in 1369, several Castilian towns offered Ferdinand their allegiance, which he was unwise enough to accept. Henry II duly invaded Portugal, and, by the Peace of Alcoutim (1371), Ferdinand was forced to renounce his claim and to promise to marry Henry's daughter; however, he instead took a Portuguese wife, Leonor Teles, despite the fact that she was already married and against the wishes of the commoners of Lisbon. In 1372 Ferdinand made an alliance with the English (England) through John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, who had married the elder daughter of Peter and claimed the Castilian throne. In 1372 Ferdinand provoked Henry II, who invaded Portugal and besieged Lisbon. Unable to resist, Ferdinand was forced to repudiate his alliance with John of Gaunt and to act as an ally of Castile, surrendering various castles and persons as hostages. It was only on the death of Henry in 1379 that Ferdinand dared to openly challenge Castile again. In 1380 the English connection was resumed, and in the following year John of Gaunt's brother Edmund of Langley (York, Edmund of Langley, 1st duke of), earl of Cambridge (afterward Edmund of Langley, 1st duke of York (York, Edmund of Langley, 1st duke of)), took a force to Portugal for the invasion of Castile and betrothed his son Edward to Ferdinand's only legitimate child, Beatriz. In mid-campaign Ferdinand came to terms with the enemy (August 1382), agreeing to marry Beatriz to a Castilian prince. She did, in effect, become the wife of John I of Castile, and, when Ferdinand died prematurely decrepit, Leonor became regent and Castile claimed the Portuguese crown.

Leonor had long been the paramour of the Galician João Fernandes Andeiro, conde de Ourém, who had intrigued with both England and Castile and whose influence was much resented by Portuguese patriots. Opponents of Castile chose as their leader an illegitimate son of Peter I: John (John I), master of Aviz, who killed Ourém (December 1383) and, being assured of the support of the populace of Lisbon, assumed the title of defender of the realm. Leonor fled first to Alenquer and then to Santarém, and the king of Castile came to her aid; soon, however, he relegated her to a Spanish convent. Lisbon was besieged for five months (1384), but an outbreak of plague forced the Castilians to retire.

The house of Aviz, 1383–1580

The legitimate male line of Henry of Burgundy ended at Ferdinand's death, and, when the Cortes met at Coimbra in March–April 1385, John of Aviz was declared king (as John I) and became the founder of a new dynasty. This result was not unopposed, as many of the nobility and clergy still considered the queen of Castile the rightful heiress. However, popular feeling was strong, and John I had valuable and trusted allies in Nuno Álvares Pereira (Pereira, Nuno Álvares, Blessed), “the Holy Constable,” his military champion, and in João das Regras, his chancellor and jurist.

Independence assured

A number of towns and castles still held out for Castile when in August 1385 John I of Castile and a considerable army made their appearance in central Portugal. Although much outnumbered, the Portuguese won the great Battle of Aljubarrota (August 14, 1385), in which the Castilian chivalry was dispersed and John of Castile himself barely escaped. The victory assured John I of his kingdom and made him a desirable ally. A small force of English archers had been present at Aljubarrota in support of the Portuguese. The Treaty of Windsor, concluded on May 9, 1386, raised the Anglo-Portuguese connection to the status of a firm, binding, and permanent alliance between the two crowns. John of Gaunt duly went to the Iberian Peninsula in July 1386 and attempted an invasion of Castile in conjunction with John I. The invasion was not successful, but in 1387 the Portuguese king married John of Gaunt's daughter Philippa of Lancaster, who introduced various English practices into Portugal. The truce arranged with Castile in 1387 was prolonged at intervals until peace was finally concluded in 1411.

The victory of John I may be regarded as a triumph of the national spirit over the feudal attachment to established order. Because much of the older nobility sided with Castile, John rewarded his followers at their expense and the crown's. Meanwhile, commerce prospered, and the marriage of John's daughter Isabella to Philip III (the Good (Philip III)) of Burgundy was to be followed by the growth of close trading relations between Portugal and Philip's county of Flanders. With the conclusion of peace with Castile, John found an outlet for the activities of his frontiersmen and of his own sons in the conquest of Ceuta (1415), from which the great age of Portuguese expansion may be dated.

In 1437, during the short reign of John's eldest son, Edward (Duarte; 1433–38), an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Tangier was made by John's third son, Prince Henry the Navigator, and his younger brother Ferdinand (who was captured by the Moors and died, still unransomed, in 1443). Edward's son Afonso V (1438–81) was still a child when Edward died, and Edward's brother Pedro, duke of Coimbra (Coimbra, Pedro, 1o duque de) (Dom Pedro), had himself made regent (1440) instead of the widow, Leonor of Aragon. However, Pedro's own regency was later challenged by the powerful Bragança family (Bragança, House of), descended from Afonso, illegitimate son of John of Aviz, and Beatriz, daughter of Nuno Álvares Pereira. This family continued to set the young king against his uncle, who was forced to resign the regency, driven to take up arms, and killed at Alfarrobeira (May 1449). Afonso proved unable to resist the demands of the Braganças, who now became the wealthiest family in Portugal. Having married Joan, daughter of Henry IV of Castile, Afonso laid claim to the Castilian throne and became involved in a lengthy struggle with Ferdinand (Ferdinand II) and Isabella (Isabella I) in the region of Zamora and Toro, where he was defeated in 1476. He then sailed to France in a failed attempt to enlist the support of Louis XI, and on his return he concluded with Castile the Treaty of Alcáçovas (1479), abandoning the claims of his wife. Afonso never recovered from his reverse, and during his last years his son John administered the kingdom.

Consolidation of the monarchy

John II (1481–95) was as cautious, firm, and jealous of royal power as his father had been openhanded and negligent. At his reign's first Cortes, John exacted a detailed oath of homage that displeased his greatest vassals. A suspicion of conspiracy enabled him to arrest Fernando II, duke of Bragança, and many of his followers; the duke was sentenced to death and executed at Évora in 1484. As well as attacking the power of the nobility, John lessened the effects of the unfavourable treaty with Castile. Calculating and resolute, he later received the epithet “the Perfect Prince.”

Predeceased by his legitimate son, John II was succeeded by his cousin the duke of Beja, as Manuel I (1495–1521), known as “the Fortunate.” Manuel, who assumed the title of “Lord of the Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of India, Ethiopia, Arabia, and Persia,” inherited, because of the work of John II, a firmly established autocratic monarchy and a rapidly expanding overseas empire. Drawn toward Spain by the common need to defend their overseas interests as defined by the Treaty of Tordesillas (Tordesillas, Treaty of) (1494), Manuel nourished the hope that the whole peninsula could be united under the house of Aviz; to that end he married Isabella, eldest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. However, she died in 1498 while giving birth to a son, Miguel da Paz. This child, recognized as heir to Portugal, Castile, and Aragon, died in infancy. Manuel then married Isabella's sister Maria (died 1517) and eventually Eleanor, sister of the emperor Charles V.

As a condition of his marriage to Isabella, Manuel was required to “purify” Portugal of Jews (Jew). After Jews were expelled (anti-Semitism) from Spain in 1492, John II had admitted many Jewish refugees; he had taxed the Jews heavily but was also to supply ships for them to leave Portugal. This was not done, however, and Manuel now ordered all Jews to leave within 10 months, by October 1497. On their assembly in Lisbon, every effort was made to secure their conversion by promises or by force. Some who resisted were allowed to go, but the rest were “converted” under promise that no inquiry would be made into their beliefs for 20 years. As “Christians,” they could not be forced to emigrate, and, indeed, they were prohibited from leaving Portugal. In April 1506 a large number of these “new Christians,” or Marranos (Marrano), were massacred in Lisbon during a riot, but Manuel afterward protected the Marranos and allowed many to emigrate to Holland, where their experience with Portuguese trade was put at the service of the Dutch.

If Manuel failed to realize his dream of ruling Spain, his son John III (1521–57) lacked the power to resist Castilian influence. A pious, retiring man, he was ruled by his wife, Catherine, sister of Emperor Charles V, and encouraged the installation of the inquisition (1536); the first auto-da-fé (“act of faith,” a public condemnation or punishment of so-called heretics during the Inquisition) was held in 1540. The Society of Jesus (Jesuit) (the Jesuits (Jesuit)), established in 1540, soon controlled education in Portugal. In 1529 the settlement by the Treaty of Zaragoza (Saragossa) of a dispute over the possession of the Moluccas (an island group part of present-day Indonesia) removed an obstacle to Portuguese-Spanish understanding, and the line dividing Portuguese and Spanish interests in the New World (established by the Treaty of Tordesillas) was matched by a similar line in the Pacific. Meanwhile, this dual theoretical division of new lands between the Portuguese and Spanish and the Reformation had come between Portugal and its English ally.

John III was succeeded by his grandson Sebastian (1557–78), then only three years old. As a child Sebastian became obsessed with the idea of a Crusade against Morocco. Fanatically religious, he had no doubts of his own powers and listened only to flatterers. He visited Ceuta and Tangier in 1574 and began in 1576 to prepare a large expedition against Larache; his forces departed in June 1578 and on August 4 were utterly destroyed by the Moors in the Battle of the Three Kings (Three Kings, Battle of the) near Alcazarquivir (Ksar el-Kebir). Sebastian and some 8,000 of his forces were killed, some 15,000 were captured, and only a handful escaped.

Sebastian was succeeded by his great-uncle, Cardinal Henry (1578–80), a brother of John III. His age and celibacy made it certain that the Portuguese throne would soon pass from the direct line of Aviz. Philip II of Spain, nephew of John III and husband (by his first marriage) of John's daughter Maria, had already made his preparations, and, when the cardinal-king died on January 31, 1580, Philip summoned the authorities to obey him. An army under the great duke of Alba (Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3er duque de (3rd duke of)) entered Portugal in 1580; the resistance of António, Prior Of Crato (illegitimate son of John III's brother Luís), acclaimed António I at Santarém, collapsed; and Philip II of Spain became Philip I of Portugal (1580–98).

Medieval social and economic development

Medieval Portugal comprised regions of considerable diversity. In the north the old aristocracy of Leonese descent owned large estates worked mainly by serfs. In the southern territory that had been reconquered from Muslim rule, there were many towns, often separated by districts almost barren and depopulated. Cistercian monks, who had reached Portugal by 1143, took the initiative in settling these areas; later kings such as Sancho I and Afonso III established concelhos (municipalities), granting them chartered privileges designed to attract settlers. Tax concessions were often given, and freedom was promised to serfs or to Christian captives after a year's residence. In the south, however, the concelhos were burdened with defense duties. The cavaleiros-vilãos (villein knights) were obliged to horse and arm themselves; the peões, or less-substantial men, were required to serve as foot soldiers in defense of the country and perhaps also on a fossado (raid) into Muslim territory.

At court the king was advised by his curia regis (court or council), comprising the majordomus curiae, the head of the administration, the military chief or signifer, the dapifer curiae (steward of the household), the chancellor (an official whose origins in Portugal were Burgundian rather than Visigothic), and any members of the greater aristocracy, the ricos-homens, who might be at court. The ricos-homens also comprised the bishops and abbots and masters of the orders of knighthood; many held private civil or military authority. The lesser nobility were without such rights. Below them came various classes of free commoners, such as the cavaleiros-vilãos and the malados, men who had commended themselves to protectors. There were numerous serfs and slaves.

There had been several shifts in the social structure by the end of the medieval period. Many of the old aristocracy lost their position at the advent of the house of Aviz, and the new nobility, exemplified in the house of Bragança, was often of bureaucratic or ministerial origin. Representatives of the commoners, first attending the Cortes in 1254 on behalf of the concelhos, took an increasing part in politics. The Cortes were very frequently called during the reigns of John I, Edward, and Afonso V, but the avenues of power had become wider by the 16th century, and John III's proposal (1525) to call them only every 10 years aroused no opposition. Although the trade guilds were slow in developing, they took some part in determining local taxation in the 13th century. Trade increased, Portuguese merchants having had connections with the Low Countries (Low Countries, history of) from the time of Afonso Henriques and with England from the early 13th century. The political crisis of 1385 was followed by inflation and debasements; thereafter there was no national gold currency until 1435, when West African sources began to be tapped.

The discoveries and the empire

Conquest and exploration (European exploration)

The idea of expansion into Africa was a logical result of the completion of the Reconquista in the peninsula, and the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa (1415) probably provided the impulse toward further expansion. The simple idea of fighting the Muslims on their own soil was linked with more-complicated motives: the desire to explore in a scientific sense, the hope of finding a way to the rich spice trade of the Indies, and the impulse to spread the Christian faith. These purposes were gradually molded together into a national enterprise, though at first they represented the hopes and aspirations of one man, Prince Henry (Henry the Navigator). The third son of John I and Philippa of Lancaster, known rather inaccurately as “the Navigator” (he himself never went farther afield than Tangier), Henry became (1420) master of the Order of Christ, which King Dinis had founded (1319). The resources of the order were used to draw together skilled geographers and navigators and to equip a series of expeditions that only gradually began to bear fruit.

The date of Prince Henry's earliest expedition was about 1418, visiting the island of Porto Santo; the first call at Madeira (Madeira Islands) probably dates from 1419. An attempt was made to settle in the Canary Islands, and between 1427 and 1431 the Azores were visited by Portuguese seamen. Both the Azores and Madeira were then uninhabited, and their colonization (colonialism, Western) proceeded fairly rapidly from about 1445. Sugar was exported to Europe and gave the islands great economic importance. Meanwhile, Prince Henry's ships were probing the African coast, passing Cape Bojador (Bojador, Cape) in 1434 and Rio de Oro (Río de Oro) in 1436. The unsuccessful expedition against Tangier (1437) was followed by a break in the explorations, but in 1439 Prince Henry was authorized to colonize the Azores; from 1440, further expeditions equipped with a new and lighter ship, the caravel, reached the Bay of Arguin (1443) and Cape Verde (1444) and by Henry's death (1460) had explored the coast as far south as Sierra Leone.

Under Afonso V, three military expeditions were sent against Morocco (1458, 1463, and 1471); by the last of them, Tangier and Arzila were captured. The African explorations were not entirely neglected, but it remained for John II, with his sharp sense of the national interest, to found a fortress and trading post in the Gulf of Guinea at Elmina (São Jorge da Mina, 1481–82). Diogo Cão (Cão, Diogo) explored the mouth of the Congo (Congo River) in 1482 and then advanced to Cape Cross, 200 leagues southward (1486). The Kongo kingdom (Kongo) converted to Christianity and allied itself with the Portuguese; its first Christian king, Afonso I (c. 1506–43), made M'banza Congo (renamed São Salvador do Congo in 1534) a centre of Portuguese influence, but the Kongo kingdom fell into internal strife, and Portuguese interests were transferred to the neighbouring kingdom of Angola. Paulo Dias de Novais founded Luanda, the first European-style city in western Africa south of the Equator, in 1576. In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias (Dias, Bartolomeu) rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached the East African coast, and the seaway to India lay open. Dias's return was followed in 1493 with the news that Christopher Columbus (Columbus, Christopher) had, he thought, found the “Indies” by sailing across the Atlantic. Much as this news must have perturbed the Portuguese, Columbus brought no news of the spiceries or the cities of the East. John II ordered the preparation of an expedition to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope, though this sailed only after his death. John also contested the Spanish claim to all lands discovered west of the Atlantic, and, by the Treaty of Tordesillas (Tordesillas, Treaty of), Spain's rights were limited to what lay more than 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Thus the territory that was to become Brazil was reserved for Portugal.

The Treaty of Tordesillas had also confirmed Portugal's right to the exploration of Africa and the seaway to India. In July 1497 Vasco da Gama (Gama, Vasco da) set sail with four ships on the first expedition to India. It reached Calicut ( Kozhikode) on the southwestern coast of India the following spring, and the survivors made their way back to Lisbon in the autumn of 1499 with specimens of Oriental merchandise. A second fleet was prepared under Pedro Álvares Cabral (Cabral, Pedro Álvares), who touched the Brazilian coast (April 22, 1500) and claimed it for Portugal.

Control of the sea trade

In 1505 Francisco de Almeida (Almeida, Francisco de) arrived as viceroy of India and supported the ruler of Cochin (Kochi) against the zamorin (Hindu ruler) of Calicut. The control of sea trade, the chief source of Portuguese wealth in the East, was assured by the defeat of Muslim naval forces off Diu in 1509. Almeida's successor, Afonso de Albuquerque (Albuquerque, Afonso de, the Great), conquered Goa (1510), which he made the seat of Portuguese power, and Malacca (Malacca, sultanate of) (1511); sent two expeditions to the Moluccas (1512 and 1514); and captured Hormuz in the Persian Gulf (1515). Soon after, Fernão Peres de Andrade reached Guangzhou (Canton) (Canton) in China; in 1542 Portuguese merchants were permitted to settle at Liampo ( Ningbo), and in 1557 they founded the colony of Macau (Macao).

Albuquerque was responsible for this conception of a system of strongpoints that secured Portuguese domination of trade with the Orient for nearly a century. Goa soon became the chief port of western India; Hormuz controlled the Persian Gulf, and Malacca became the gateway from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, while a string of fortified trading posts secured the coast of East Africa and the gulf and shores of India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Farther east, less-fortified settlements were established with the consent of the native rulers from Bengal to China, and the trade of the principal Spice Islands was in Portuguese hands. The preservation of the whole system was entrusted to a governor, who sometimes held the rank of viceroy, at Goa; although Portuguese arms had both triumphs and reverses, their control of the Oriental trade remained substantial, if never complete, until the 17th century, when the Dutch, at war with the joint crown of Portugal and Spain and deprived of their traditional trade with Lisbon, began to seek spices from their source and effectively demolished the Portuguese monopoly.

Union of Spain and Portugal, 1580–1640

After Philip II of Spain had occupied Portugal in 1580, the island of Terceira (Terceira Island) in the Azores held out for António of Crato, who himself sought alliances in England and France. In 1582 a French expedition to establish him in the Azores was defeated, and in 1589 an English attempt upon Lisbon, led by Sir Francis Drake (Drake, Sir Francis) and Sir John Norris, failed dismally. António died in Paris in 1595, but the true symbol of Portuguese independence was not him but King Sebastian himself. The Portuguese people refused to believe that he was dead and nourished a messianic faith in his reappearance, of which four pretenders sought to avail themselves, the last as late as 1600 and as far afield as Venice.

Meanwhile, Philip arrived in Portugal and was accepted as King Philip I (1580–98) by the Cortes held at Tomar in 1581. Philip sought to preserve Portuguese autonomy, to consider the union as a personal one like that of Aragon and Castile under Ferdinand and Isabella, to appoint only Portuguese to the administration, to summon the Cortes frequently, and to be accompanied by a Portuguese council in Madrid. However, these undertakings were neglected by his successor, Philip II (III of Spain; 1598–1621), and completely violated by Philip III (Philip IV) (IV of Spain; 1621–40).

Portuguese resentment against Spanish rule was exacerbated by the failure of these kings to visit Portugal, the appointment of Spaniards to Portuguese offices, the loss of trade as a consequence of Spain's foreign wars, and the levying of taxation to sustain these wars. In 1624 the Dutch seized Bahia in Brazil, only to be expelled by a joint Spanish and Portuguese expedition the following year. But in 1630 the Dutch occupied Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil and the adjoining sugar estates, which they held for a generation. The final straw was the plan formulated in 1640 by Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimental, conde-duque de Olivares (Olivares, Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimental, conde-duque de, duque de Sanlúcar de Barrameda), to use Portuguese troops against the equally discontented Catalans. Two Portuguese insurrections, in 1634 and 1637, had failed to mount real threats, but in 1640 Spain's power was extended to the utmost by war with France and revolt in Catalonia. The French minister, Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal et duc de Richelieu (Richelieu, Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal et duc de), already had agents in Lisbon, and a leader was found in John, duke of Bragança, a grandson of the duchess Catherine (niece of John III) whose claims had been overridden in 1580 by Philip II of Spain. Taking advantage of the unpopularity of the governor, Margaret of Savoy, duchess of Mantua, and her secretary of state, Miguel de Vasconcelos, the leaders of the party of independence carried through a nationalist revolution on December 1, 1640. Vasconcelos was almost the only victim; the Spanish garrisons were driven out, and on December 15 the duke of Bragança was crowned as John IV (1640–56).

The house of Bragança (Bragança, House of), 1640–1910

The success of the new regime was not finally assured until 1668, when Spain at last recognized Portuguese independence. Before that, faced with the threat of a Spanish invasion, John had sent missions to the courts of Europe in quest of alliances. France now refused a formal treaty. The Dutch, having seized northern Brazil, accepted a truce in Europe and proceeded to capture Angola from Portugal. In 1642 John negotiated a treaty with Charles I of England, but this was made void by Charles's execution in 1649. Meanwhile, the Portuguese defeated the Spaniards at Montijo (May 26, 1644) and warded off several invasions. In 1654 they made a treaty with the English Commonwealth, obtaining aid in return for commercial concessions. The Dutch were finally expelled from Pernambuco in northern Brazil. By a secret article of the Peace of the Pyrenees (Pyrenees, Peace of the) (November 7, 1659), France promised Spain that it would provide no further assistance to Portugal, but in 1661 Portugal signed a treaty of alliance with the restored English monarchy. In 1662 Charles II of England married John's daughter Catherine of Bragança (Catherine Of Braganza) and, in return for a large dowry including the cession of Bombay and Tangier, provided arms and men for the war with Spain. The Portuguese defense was organized by the German soldier Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg (Schomberg, Frederick Herman, duke of) (later duke of Schomberg (Schomberg, Frederick Herman, duke of)); in June 1663 Sancho Manuel, conde de Vila Flor, defeated Don Juan de Austria at Ameixial, and in June 1665 von Schönberg won the important victory of Montes Claros. Peace was finally made by the Treaty of Lisbon early in 1668.

When John IV died, his second son, Afonso VI (1656–83), was only age 13. Afonso's mother, Luísa de Gusmão, acted as regent until June 1662, when he began to rule. Afonso himself was feebleminded, but the country was capably governed by Luiz de Vasconcelos e Sousa, conde de Castelo Melhor (Castelo Melhor, Luiz de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3o conde de, 6o Conde Da Calheta), until 1667. At that point, the French princess, Maria Francesca of Savoy, who had married Afonso the previous year, entered into an intrigue with his more personable brother Peter, who later reigned as Peter II. They contrived to dismiss Castelo Melhor and to have Maria Francesca's marriage to Afonso annulled. She at once married Peter (1668), who was declared regent. Afonso, though still king, was kept a virtual prisoner in the Azores and at Sintra until his death.

During the reign of Peter II (1683–1706), Portugal recovered from the strain of the Spanish wars and began to benefit from the discovery of gold and precious stones in Brazil. The first gold strike in Minas Gerais took place in 1693, and, in the last years of the 17th century, considerable wealth was extracted; however, it was not until 1728, when diamonds were discovered, that the mineral wealth of Brazil formed a very substantial part of the revenue of the Portuguese crown.

The 18th century

In the War of the Spanish Succession (Spanish Succession, War of the) (1701–14), Portugal's recent friends England and France fought on opposing sides. Although Peter initially sought to remain neutral, Portugal joined the Anglo-Austrian Grand Alliance (Grand Alliance, War of the) in 1703 and provided a base for the archduke Charles (later Emperor Charles VI) to conduct his war for the Spanish throne. Then on December 27, 1703, the English envoy, John Methuen, concluded the treaty that bears his name, by which the exchange of port wine for English woolens became the basis for Anglo-Portuguese trade. Although the treaty of 1654 had secured great privileges for English merchants in Lisbon, neither it nor the treaties of 1642 and 1661, by which the traditional alliance was restored, had created trade. This was now done, and, with the wealth that soon poured into Lisbon from Brazil, the English merchants gained a commanding position in the trade of Portugal. The political treaties of 1703 proved less fruitful. The Portuguese general António Luís de Sousa, marquês das Minas, entered Madrid in 1706, but French and Spanish forces were victorious at Almansa in 1707, and in 1711 the French admiral René Duguay-Trouin sacked Rio de Janeiro. At the conclusion of the war, Portugal negotiated a peace treaty with France (April 1713), but peace with Spain was not concluded until 1715.

Portugal under Peter's son John V (1706–50) attained a degree of prosperity unknown since the restoration of independence from Spain. The tax of a royal fifth levied on the precious metals and stones of Brazil gave the monarchy an independent source of wealth. The Cortes, which had met irregularly since 1640, was no longer summoned, and government was carried out by ministers appointed by the king. John V desired the absolute authority enjoyed by Louis XIV in France. John converted his wealth into papal and other dignities: the archbishop of Lisbon became a patriarch (1716); Pope Benedict XIV (Benedict (XIV)) gave John the title “His Most Faithful Majesty” (1749); and royal academies, palaces, and libraries were inaugurated. But in his later years, his ministers proved inadequate, and the kingdom sank into stagnation.

On John's death, his son Joseph (1750–77) appointed as minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (later conde de Oeiras and marquês de Pombal (Pombal, Sebastião de Carvalho, marquês de)), who soon gained a complete ascendancy over the king and endeavoured to replace the stagnant absolutism with a more active type of despotism that, with some qualifications, deserves the epithet “enlightened.” Pombal's full powers date from his efficient handling of the crisis caused by the disastrous Lisbon earthquake of November 1755, but even before this he had reformed the sugar and diamond trades, set up a national silk industry (1750), and formed one chartered company to control the sardine- and tunny-fishing industry of the Algarve and another to trade with northern Brazil. In 1756 he founded a board of trade with powers to limit the privileges enjoyed by the English merchants under the treaties of 1654 and 1661 and set up the General Company for Wines of Alto Douro to control the port wine trade. Industries for the manufacture of hats (1759), cutlery (1764), and other articles were established with varying success.

Pombal's methods were arbitrary and his enemies numerous. His reform of the wine industry provoked a riot in Porto (1757) that was savagely repressed. However, his principal victims were the Jesuits (Jesuit), who were expelled in 1759 from all the Portuguese dominions, and the nobility, in particular José Mascarenhas, duque de Aveiro, and the Távora (Távoras, Conspiracy of the) family (see Conspiracy of the Távoras (Távoras, Conspiracy of the)), who were accused of an attack on the king (September 3, 1758), condemned, and executed (January 12, 1759). Having eliminated the Jesuits from the educational system, Pombal applied regalist principles in the reform of the University of Coimbra (1772) and the royal board of censorship (1768), which supervised the system of lower education from 1771.

While Pombal succeeded in modifying the ascendancy of the British merchants in Portugal, he invoked the English alliance in 1762 when Spain, prompted by the renewal of the Bourbon Family Compact (Famille, Pacte de) with France, invaded Portugal. The Portuguese army was reformed by Wilhelm von Schaumburg-Lippe, and an English force was led by James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, and John Campbell, 4th earl of Loudoun. A peace treaty was signed in February 1763 at Fontainebleau. After Joseph's death on February 24, 1777, his daughter Maria I (1777–1816), who had married Joseph's brother and her uncle ( Peter III), acceded to the throne; Pombal was dismissed (1777) and eventually found guilty on several charges. His successors made peace with Spain by the Treaty of San Ildefonso (1777).

The French revolutionary (French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars) and Napoleonic wars

After the death of Peter III in 1786 and her eldest son Joseph in 1788, Maria I suffered from melancholia. In 1792 her mental instability increased following news of the radical phases of the French Revolution, and she ceased to reign. Her surviving son ruled in her name, formally became prince regent in 1799, and on her death became John VI (1816–26). In 1793 Portugal joined England and Spain against France, sending a naval division to assist the English Mediterranean fleet and an army to the Catalan front. The Peace of Basel (July 1795), by which Spain abandoned its allies, left Portugal still at war. Although subjected to pressure from the French Directory and from the Spanish minister, Manuel de Godoy (Godoy, Manuel de), Portugal remained unmolested until 1801, when Godoy sent an ultimatum and invaded the Alentejo. By the Peace of Badajoz (June 1801), Portugal lost the town of Olivenza and paid an indemnity.

From the Peace of Amiens (Amiens, Treaty of) (1802) until 1807, Portugal was once more immune from attack, though it was subjected to continuous pressure to break off the English connection. Napoleon (Napoleon I) sought to close all continental ports to British ships, but Portugal endeavoured to maintain neutrality. The secret Franco-Spanish Treaty of Fontainebleau (October 1807) provided for Portugal's eventual dismemberment by Napoleon I and Godoy. Already one of Napoleon's generals, Andoche Junot (Junot, Andoche, duc d'Abrantès), was hastening across Spain with a French army, and on November 27 the prince regent and the royal family and court embarked on a fleet lying in the Tagus River and were escorted by British vessels to Brazil; the court remained at Rio de Janeiro for 14 years. Junot declared the Braganças deposed, but his occupation of Portugal was challenged in August 1808 by the arrival of Sir Arthur Wellesley (later duke of Wellington (Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of, marquess of Douro, marquess of Wellington, earl of Wellington, Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington, Baron Douro or Wellesley)) and 13,500 British troops in Mondego Bay. Winning the victories of Roliça (August 17) and Vimeiro (August 21), Wellington enabled his superiors to negotiate the Convention of Sintra (August 31), by which Junot was allowed to evacuate Portugal with his army.

A second French invasion (1808–09) led to Sir John Moore's death at La Coruña, Spain, in January 1809 and the reembarkation of the British forces. In February William Carr (later Viscount) Beresford (Beresford, William Carr Beresford, Viscount, Baron Beresford Of Albuera And Dungarvan, Duke De Elvas) was placed in command of the Portuguese army, and in March a French force under Marshal Nicolas-Jean de Dieu Soult advanced from Galicia and occupied Porto. Wellesley returned to Portugal in April, drove Soult from the north, and, after his victory of Talavera de la Reina in Spain (July), withdrew to Portugal.

The third French invasion followed in August 1810 when Marshal André Masséna with Marshal Michel Ney and Junot entered Beira province. Defeated by Wellington at Bussaco (September 27) near Coimbra, the French found themselves facing the entrenched lines of Torres Vedras, north of Lisbon, where they wintered amid great privations. By the spring of 1811 they could only retreat, and on March 5 they began the evacuation of Portugal, harassed all the way by English and Portuguese attacks and crossing the frontier after a defeat at Sabugal (April 3).

Portugal and France made peace on May 30, 1814. Portugal was represented at the Congress of Vienna (Vienna, Congress of), but it played little part in the settlement. The series of Anglo-Portuguese treaties concluded between the years 1809 and 1817, however, was important insofar as it extended many of the conditions of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance to Brazil and had an influence on the future of Africa. England's efforts to enlist Portuguese collaboration in suppressing the slave trade resulted in the treaty of January 22, 1815, and in the additional convention of 1817, by reason of which Portugal's claims to a considerable part of Africa were formally recognized.

Constitutionalism

The Napoleonic campaigns caused great devastation in Portugal, and the absence of the royal family and the presence of a foreign commander (Beresford) combined with revolutionary agitation and the influence of Spanish liberalism to produce an atmosphere of discontent. On December 16, 1815, Brazil was raised to the rank of a kingdom united with Portugal, and John VI, who took the throne in March 1816, showed no desire to return to Portugal. In 1817 Beresford suppressed a conspiracy in Lisbon, and the Masonic leader General Gomes Freire de Andrade was executed. Unrest increased, and, when Beresford himself went to Brazil (March 1820) to press John to return, a constitutionalist revolution began in Porto (August 24, 1820); the revolution soon spread throughout the country and led to the formation of a junta in Lisbon (October 4). On October 10, when Beresford returned to Portugal, he was not allowed to land, and British officers were expelled from the army. A constituent assembly was summoned that drew up a very liberal constitution, thus confronting John VI with an accomplished fact.

John's reluctance to return was at last overcome. Leaving his elder son Peter to govern Brazil, John landed at Lisbon on July 3, 1821. He swore to uphold the constitution, but his wife, Carlota Joaquina, and their second son, Michael, refused to take the oath and were sentenced to banishment, though this was not carried out. The Portuguese constitutionalists, not appreciating the determination of Brazil not to yield its status as a kingdom, sought to compel Pedro to return, but, rather than sacrifice the rule of the Braganças in Brazil, he declared Brazilian independence (September 7, 1822) and became emperor of Brazil as Pedro I. This enabled his brother Michael to appeal to absolutist forces in Portugal to overthrow the constitutionalists; an insurrection led by Michael almost succeeded (April 30, 1824), but, through the action of the foreign ministers, John VI was restored and Michael went into exile in Vienna (June 1824).

The War of the Two Brothers

John VI acknowledged the independence of Brazil in 1825, assuming pro forma the imperial title and then yielding it to Pedro (Pedro I). However, when John died (March 10, 1826), no provision had been made for the succession except that his daughter Maria Isabel was named regent. Pedro, as Peter IV of Portugal, issued from Brazil a charter providing for a parliamentary regime by the authorization of the monarchy and not based on the sovereignty of the people. He then made a conditional abdication (May 1826) of the Portuguese throne in favour of his seven-year-old daughter Maria da Glória (Maria II) provided that she marry her uncle Michael and swear to accept the charter. This compromise could not be effective. The absolutists had hoped that Pedro would resign all rights to the Portuguese crown, and the council of regency hesitated to publish the charter until General João Carlos de Saldanha (Saldanha, João Carlos de Saldanha, Duke de) (later duque de Saldanha) forced their hand. In 1827 Michael took the oath and was appointed regent; he landed in Lisbon in February 1828, and his supporters at once began to persecute the liberals. A form of the Cortes met in Lisbon and in July 1828 repudiated Pedro's claims and declared Michael the rightful king.

Only Terceira Island in the Azores sustained the liberal cause. In June 1829, however, a regency on behalf of Maria da Glória was established in Terceira, and in 1831 Pedro, having abdicated the Brazilian throne, went to Europe and began to raise money and an army for the conquest of Portugal. In February 1832 the expedition sailed to Terceira, and in July the liberals, led by Pedro, disembarked at Mindelo near Porto, which they soon occupied. However, the rest of the country stood by Michael, who besieged the liberals in Porto for a year (July 1832–July 1833). By then enthusiasm for Michael had waned, and António José de Sousa Manuel, duque de Terceira, and Captain (later Sir) Charles Napier (Napier, Sir Charles, Count Napier De São Vicente), who had taken command of the liberal navy, made a successful landing in the Algarve (June 1833). Terceira advanced on Lisbon, which fell in July 1833, and Michael capitulated at Evora-Monte in May 1834.

Further political strife

The War of the Two Brothers ended with the exile of Michael (June) and the death of Pedro (September 24, 1834). Maria da Glória became queen as Maria II (1834–53) at age 15. While Maria necessarily came under the influence of the successful generals of the civil war, her principal aim was to defend her father's charter (which had been granted by the crown) from those who demanded a “democratic” constitution like that of 1822. In September 1836 the latter, thenceforth called Septembrists, seized power. The chartist leaders rebelled and were exiled, but by 1842 the Septembrist front was no longer united, and António Bernardo da Costa Cabral restored the charter.

In 1846 the movement of Maria da Fonte, a popular rising against higher taxation to improve roads and reforms in public health in which almost all parties joined, put an end to Costa Cabral's government but left Portugal divided between the Septembrists, who held Porto, and Saldanha, now in Queen Maria's confidence, in Lisbon. Saldanha negotiated for the intervention of other members of the Quadruple Alliance (formed in April 1834 by England, France, Spain, and Portugal), and a combined British and Spanish force received the surrender of the Porto junta in June 1847 and ended the war with the Convention of Gramido (June 29, 1847). Saldanha governed until 1849, when Costa Cabral resumed office only to be overthrown in April 1851. Saldanha then held office again for five years (1851–56), and the period of peace finally allowed the country to settle down. This “Regeneration” ended civil strife and established party government.

Maria II was succeeded by Peter V (1853–61), her eldest son by her second husband, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg. Peter (Peter V), who married Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1858, showed promise of being a capable monarch but died of typhoid fever on November 11, 1861. His brother Louis (1861–89) seemed to have inherited a country that had recovered from the Napoleonic invasions and from civil wars, political strife, and pronunciamentos (military coups). But, although the main parties were now defined as Historicals (i.e., radicals) and Regenerators (moderates), the alternation of governments gradually ceased to reflect public feeling, and, in the last years of Louis's reign, republicanism began to gain ground.

Harold V. Livermore Ed.

Overseas empire

Brazil's independence in 1822 left Portugal's overseas empire a largely African one, with scattered small holdings in Asia (in western India mainly Goa, Damão [now Daman], and Diu; East Timor in Indonesia; and Macau in South China). Beginning in 1836, Portugal pursued a policy of African (Africa) territorial expansion and economic enhancement, concentrating first on Angola and later on Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau). Portugal's role in the European partition of Africa in the late 19th century was limited by its long-standing economic dependence on Great Britain. A colonial movement gained momentum in Lisbon, and a Portuguese scheme known as the “Rose-Coloured Map,” which laid claim to a colony stretching across Africa from Angola to Mozambique, was recognized by France and Germany in 1886. However, Britain challenged Portugal's claim to territory in central Africa (in what are now Malawi and Zimbabwe) and issued an ultimatum, dated January 11, 1890, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Portuguese forces from the disputed regions. The ultimatum implicitly threatened, in the short run, the use of British naval force and, in the long run, an end to the venerable Anglo-Portuguese alliance, which dated from the late 14th century. The Lisbon government, obliged to comply, subsequently resigned. The ultimatum crisis rocked Portuguese public opinion, heightening imperial fever in the capital and principal towns, compromising the monarchy of King Charles I, and bolstering republicans.

Despite the failure of the central-corridor plan, Portugal retained a large African empire (about 8 percent of the continent). Two Anglo-Portuguese agreements—the 1891 boundary treaty and the so-called Windsor Treaty of October 14, 1899—safeguarded Portugal's sovereignty over its existing colonies and reaffirmed the ancient alliance.

The rise of republicanism

During the period from 1890 to 1910, the relatively stable politics of rotating governments under the constitutional monarchy disintegrated. Feuding monarchist parties and politicians agreed that Portugal faced severe economic, financial, and social problems, but they quarreled over solutions. The republicans increased their support in Lisbon and the larger towns as well as in the rural south. In 1906 João Franco, a prominent politician with reformist plans for saving the monarchy, was appointed premier. Unable to unite the factious monarchists, he began to govern by decree. Franco boldly undertook to reform finance and administration but was accused of illegal money transfers to Charles. These scandals were followed by rumours of further intrigue, and on February 1, 1908, Charles and his heir, Louis Philip, were assassinated in an open carriage in the streets of Lisbon. Whether the regicides were isolated fanatics or agents of a hidden organization such as the Carbonária, a republican secret society, the killings were applauded by the republicans, who immediately began their preparations for a final attack on the monarchy.

Only age 18 at his accession, Charles's younger son, King Manuel II (1908–10), was ill-equipped to solidify the crumbling monarchist factions. In the general elections of August 1910, both Lisbon and Porto voted in favour of a republic. On October 3 the murder by an insane patient of a leading republican figure, the distinguished psychiatrist Miguel Bombarda, offered the pretext for a rising that had already been organized. Armed civilians, soldiers, and the men aboard some ships in the Tagus, under the leadership of António Machado Santos, a key Carbonária figure, began the republican revolution on October 4; the next morning, Portugal's First Republic was declared from the balcony of the Lisbon City Hall. Manuel escaped via his yacht to Gibraltar and then to England, where he remained in exile until his death in 1932.

Social and economic conditions

The flow of wealth from Portugal's overseas territories and trading posts helped to sustain the court and capital but did little to improve the domestic economy, which remained largely rural. The favourable financial position of the late 15th century—derived from trade in slaves, gold, and spices—did not long survive into the 16th century, when the expenses of maintaining far-flung and unproductive foreign stations and the depredations of pirates quickly absorbed any surpluses. There were few native industries. Not only were manufactured goods such as cloth, tapestry, and metalware imported, but so were basic foodstuffs, salt meat, cured fish, and dairy produce. Agriculture was little regarded, and insufficient land was available for smallholdings. During the years of Spanish domination, the ports were closed to English merchants. By the time the ports were reopened, after 1640, the flow of trade had found new channels, and the Dutch and English had outstripped Portugal as colonial powers. The discovery of gold in Brazil at the end of the 17th century revived Portugal's economy, but gold production was in decline by 1750, while the diamond market was saturated. In the later 18th century a series of protectionist measures were introduced, many by Pombal. The Methuen Treaty (1703) with England had strengthened the port wine trade at the expense of Portuguese cloth; further attempts were later made to improve the export value of port wine. Support was also given for the production of woolen goods, linen, paper, porcelain, and cutlery and to the tunny and sardine fisheries. Pombal attempted to create an educated bourgeoisie, but the Portuguese textile industry could not withstand mechanized competition. After 1850 public works, railways, and ports were given priority, but it was not until the 20th century that any sustained attack upon Portugal's economic difficulties was undertaken.

The First Republic, 1910–26

The new regime formed a provisional government under the presidency of Teófilo Braga (Braga, Teófilo), a well-known writer. A new electoral law was issued giving the vote only to a restricted number of adult males. The provisional government presided over the election of a constituent assembly, which opened on June 19, 1911. The constitution was passed by the assembly on August 20, and the provisional government surrendered its authority a few days later (August 24) to the new president, Manuel José de Arriaga. Despite initial hopes that the republic would solve the massive problems inherited from the monarchy, Portugal soon became western Europe's most turbulent, unstable parliamentary regime.

Although a monarchist invasion led by Henrique de Paiva Couceiro in October 1911 was unsuccessful, the main danger to the new regime came from its internal divisions. For the moment, it was fairly united in support of abolishing the monarchy and disestablishing the Roman Catholic (Roman Catholicism) Church. The religious orders were expelled (October 8, 1910) and their property confiscated. New legislation banned the teaching of religion in schools and universities and annulled many religious holidays. Persecution of Catholics in the early years of the republic attracted international attention and brought the new political system into conflict with foreign diplomats, humanitarian organizations, and journalists. Indeed, though the government initiated advances in education, health, civic freedoms, and colonial development, positive results were overwhelmed by administrative instability, labour unrest, public violence, and military intervention in politics.

By 1912 the republicans were divided into Evolutionists (moderates), led by António José de Almeida; Unionists (centre party), led by Manuel de Brito Camacho; and Democrats (the leftist core of the original party), led by Afonso Costa. A number of prominent republicans had no specific party. The whirligig of republican political life offered little improvement on the monarchist regime, and in 1915 the army showed signs of restlessness. General Pimenta de Castro formed a military government and permitted the monarchists to reorganize, but a Democratic coup in May led to his arrest and consignment to the Azores, along with Machado Santos. (Machado, Bernardino Luís) Dominated by Costa's oratory, partisan press, and political machine, the Democrats' regime was in turn overthrown by another bloody military coup (December 1917), led by the former minister to Germany, Major Sidónio Pais.

The authoritarian, unstable “New Republic” of charismatic President Pais failed to pacify the feuding factions, and its collapse precipitated a brief civil war. Following Pais's assassination in Lisbon (December 14, 1918), republicans and monarchists fought a civil war (January 1919) in which the final armed effort to restore the monarchy failed, and political power was restored to the chastened Democrats. Four key tensions characterized the republic's troubled political system: (1) excessive factionalism, (2) the tendency of the factions to bear allegiance to personalities rather than to ideas, institutions, and the public interest, (3) disparity between the landholding patterns of the north (typified by minifundias—small subsistence farms) and the south (typified by latifundias—large estates worked by landless peasants), and (4) the concentration of economic development in Lisbon, at the expense of the provinces.

Though officially neutral, Portugal at the outbreak of World War I had proclaimed its adhesion to the English alliance (August 7, 1914) and on November 23 committed itself to military operations against Germany. On September 11 the first expedition left to reinforce the African colonies, and there was fighting in northern Mozambique, on the Tanganyika (now Tanzania) frontier, and in southern Angola, on the frontier of German South West Africa. In February 1916, in compliance with a request from Britain, Portugal seized German ships lying in Portuguese ports, and on March 9 Germany declared war on Portugal. A Portuguese expeditionary force under General Fernando Tamagnini de Abreu went to Flanders in 1917, and on April 9, 1918, the Germans mounted a major attack in the Battle of the Lys. Although the Allies won the war and Portugal's colonies were safeguarded, the 0.75 percent of the war indemnity paid by Germany to Portugal was scant compensation for the heavy costs incurred both in the field and at home, including the casualties of the African campaigns and the Western Front, the alienation of a portion of the army officer corps, crippling war debts to Britain, intense inflation, and a scarcity of food and fuel.

Former Evolutionist Almeida became the only president to complete his term during the First Republic, but the cycles of bankruptcy, corruption, public violence, and military insurrectionism continued. Finally, on May 28, 1926, the parliamentary republic was overthrown in a bloodless military coup that instituted what was to become western Europe's most long-lived authoritarian system.

The dictatorship, 1926–74

The Salazar regime

The provisional military government was shortly taken over by General António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona (Carmona, António Oscar de Fragoso), who favoured sweeping changes. In 1928, in the face of financial crisis, Carmona appointed António de Oliveira Salazar (Salazar, António de Oliveira) minister of finance with full powers over expenditure. A prominent professor of economics at the University of Coimbra, Salazar assembled a civilian elite of intellectuals and bureaucrats to steer the course of recovery. Budgetary surpluses became the hallmark of his regime, making possible large expenditures for social programs, rearmament, and infrastructure development. This progress, coupled with personal austerity and hard work, won Salazar the grudging collaboration of diverse parties and interest groups that included monarchists, conservative republicans, fascists, pseudofascists, nationalists, the church, business leaders, land barons, and the military establishment. As minister of colonies in 1930, he prepared the Colonial Act, assimilating the administration of the overseas territories to his system. In July 1932 Salazar became prime minister, a post he was to hold (along with other key ministries during crises) until 1968.

The new constitution of 1933 declared Portugal a “unitary, corporatist republic.” Salazar's New State (Estado Novo) provided for a National Assembly, with deputies elected quadrennially as a bloc, and a Corporative Chamber comprising representatives of occupations. All seats in the assembly went to government supporters; the Corporative Chamber was not established until employers' and workers' syndicates were formed. The government regulated labour-management relations, banned strikes and lockouts, and monitored social welfare planning. Political parties were prohibited, and all eligible voters were encouraged to join the National Union, an approved loyalist movement. Ever mindful of the confusion that preceded it, the New State emphasized order over freedom and attempted to “neutralize” society through the use of censorship, propaganda, and political imprisonment. On the other hand, it partially restored the pre-1910 privileges of the church in law, society, and education.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), Salazar backed the Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco (Franco, Francisco), who triumphed and controlled all of Spain by the spring of 1939. In World War II, Portugal maintained official neutrality (while quietly favouring Britain) until Britain invoked the ancient Anglo-Portuguese alliance to obtain bases in the Azores. Portugal joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a founding member in 1949 but did not gain admission to the United Nations until 1955.

Portugal's foreign and colonial policies met with increasing difficulty both at home and abroad beginning in the 1950s. In the presidential election of 1958, General Humberto Delgado generated political heat after challenging the regime's candidate, Admiral Américo Tomás. Internationally, the tensions of the Cold War gave Portugal's largely undeveloped overseas empire a new significance. The determination of the Indian government to annex Portuguese India led to a severing of diplomatic relations (August 1955) and to mass invasions of the Portuguese possessions by Indian passive resisters. Portugal disputed but effectively lost the enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Dādra and Nagar Haveli) to India (despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice in April 1960 favouring Portugal), and on December 19, 1961, India took over Goa, Diu, and Daman.

Salazar had made it clear that he did not favour decolonization, and, when in early 1961 Angola was the scene of disturbances, he reinforced the troops in the African territories and took over the Ministry of Defense. Nevertheless, colonial wars erupted in Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea between 1961 and 1964.

Despite its failure to rejuvenate agriculture and its reluctance to industrialize, perhaps the most important contribution of the New State was to the economy. Development plans, closely monitored by the demanding Salazar, were conservative but consistent. The government significantly reduced its debt, diminished its economic dependence on British investment, and tightly controlled foreign investment and did not openly encourage it until the mid-1960s, when expensive wars in Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea prompted a revision of the investment code. The government also supported industry, though not massively, and emphasized infrastructure development over health, education, and welfare. From about 1960 until the inflation surge and energy crisis of 1973, Portugal experienced economic growth at an annual rate of 5 to 7 percent, which constituted a boom for western Europe's poorest country.

The New State after Salazar

In September 1968 Salazar was incapacitated by a stroke. President Tomás invited Marcello Caetano (Caetano, Marcello José das Neves Alves), one of the architects of the New State, to form a government, but Salazar was never informed of this transition. On July 27, 1970, he died. Although Caetano was more worldly and less reserved than his predecessor, he proved unable to reverse the tide of Portugal's African wars, to alleviate the economic woes of 1973–74, or to avert revolution.

Portugal since 1974

The Revolution of the Carnations

Two developments galvanized the movement that was shortly to topple the dictatorship. The first occurred in mid-1973, when career army officers became alienated by a government measure commissioning militia officers for service in the colonial wars. The second incitement was the publication in February 1974 of the book Portugal e o futuro (“Portugal and the Future”) by the colonial war hero General António de Spínola, who argued that the wars in Africa could not be settled by force of arms and advocated negotiated autonomy for the colonies and an alternative to Caetano's leadership. Some 200 to 300 officers calling themselves the Armed Forces Movement (Movimento das Forças Armadas; MFA), led by Francisco da Costa Gomes and other officers, planned and implemented the coup of April 25, 1974, which came to be known as the Revolution of the Carnations.

The revolution encountered little resistance from the dictatorship's remaining loyalists and won initial support from an urban middle class vexed by economic and political uncertainty. The transition to a functioning, consolidating, pluralist Portuguese democracy mirrored, though in a nonviolent way, the political course of the French Revolution: an early moderate-conservative phase (May 1974–March 1975) followed by a middle radical-leftist phase (March–late November 1975) and a final moderate reaction (late November 1975–June 1976).

After exiling Caetano and Tomás, a subgroup of the MFA calling itself the Junta of National Salvation filled the political vacuum, installing Spínola as president and commencing negotiation with the African nationalist movements. Independence was granted to Portuguese Guinea (as Guinea-Bissau) almost immediately after the revolution. The new regime abolished such instruments of repression as censorship, the paramilitary forces, and the secret police. Spínola, who opposed rapid independence for the colonies without free referendums, resigned in September 1974, launched a countercoup attempt that failed (March 1975), and fled into exile.

By this time, radical MFA elements and their leftist civilian allies in the Portuguese Communist Party and other Marxist (Marxism)-Leninist groups had won virtual control over the government in Lisbon, sections of the armed forces, and the media. The MFA itself was restructured and a Council of the Revolution installed with the support of six political parties. An election for a national assembly in April 1975 drew 92 percent of eligible voters, a record in western European history. The decolonization of the Cape Verde Islands and Mozambique was effected in July 1975. Portugal's remaining African territories achieved independence later the same year, thus ending a colonial involvement in Africa that had begun in 1415. However, in Angola full-scale, internationalized civil war followed Portugal's departure, and Indonesia forcibly annexed briefly independent East Timor, controlling the territory until 1999.

Political and social instability prevailed through most of 1975. More than half a million people fled to Portugal from the former African colonies, adding a refugee problem to the already volatile domestic situation; some 30 persons died in incidents of public violence, new political parties proliferated, and strikes were widespread. In 1975 the government also decided to nationalize banking, transport, heavy industries, and the media. In the Alentejo in southern Portugal, farmworkers expropriated latifundia and established communal farming. On November 25, 1975, moderate military elements crushed a radical leftist coup in the army and restored order.

The 1976 constitution and subsequent reforms

In April 1976 the Constituent Assembly approved a new constitution, which committed Portugal to socialism. Parliamentary elections held on April 25 produced no single majority party; the Socialists, the Popular Democrats (centre-right), the Social Democratic Centre Party (conservative), and the Communist Party (founded 1921) made the strongest showings, and the Socialist leader, Mário Soares (Soares, Mário), formed a minority government. In June, General António Ramalho Eanes, who had been instrumental in preventing a radical leftist military coup in November 1975, won more than three-fifths of the valid votes cast in the presidential election.

Soares's minority government resigned in December 1977, primarily because it was unable to enact an effective austerity program. A number of volatile coalition governments followed, until in 1980, in the general election scheduled by the constitution, a centre-right coalition, the Democratic Alliance (Alianca Democrática), swept into power. The new government swiftly moved to revise the character of the 1976 constitution. The Assembly of the Republic approved a series of reforms that included reducing the powers of the president and abolishing the Council of the Revolution, which had been given the power to determine the constitutionality of laws and gave the military effective veto power over legislation. These constitutional reforms completed Portugal's transition to full civilian rule. Both government policy and public sentiment, as reflected in numerous elections and polls, favoured reprivatization of the largely nationalized economy, a de-emphasis on communal agriculture, and entry into the European Economic Community (European Community) (EEC; renamed the European Community and now embedded in the European Union [EU]) as soon as possible.

The alliance faltered in 1982, propelling the country into yet another crisis. President Eanes called an early general election for April 1983, and the Socialists, led by Soares, scored an inconclusive victory. Because Portugal urgently needed a stable, broadly based government to tackle its severe economic problems, Soares formed a coalition government with the Social Democrats (formerly the Popular Democrats). It successfully implemented an 18-month emergency program and a four-year modernization plan in its quest for admission to the EEC.

The coalition, though precarious, lasted until June 13, 1985. It survived several internal crises caused predominantly by a division within the Social Democrats between a left wing favouring the coalition and a right wing that opposed the coalition's economic policies. In May 1985 Aníbal Cavaco Silva (Cavaco Silva, Aníbal), leader of the right wing, became head of the party. Almost immediately, Cavaco Silva questioned the viability of the coalition, voicing doubts especially on the subjects of labour and agrarian reform.

This crisis, which ended the coalition in June, had been intensified by nationwide strikes in the industrial and transport sectors led by communist unions and by demonstrations by parties on both the left and the right of the political spectrum calling for an end to the coalition government. Soares resigned, and in October 1985 the Social Democrats, campaigning on a platform advocating a free-market economy, became the largest single party in the Assembly of the Republic and were able to form a minority government with Cavaco Silva as prime minister. Portugal was admitted to the EEC on January 1, 1986, and on February 16 Soares became the country's first civilian president in 60 years. The parliamentary elections of 1987 marked another milestone as Cavaco Silva's Social Democrats won the first clear majority in the Assembly since the 1974 revolution. A renewal of this mandate four years later provided the continuity necessary for carrying out reforms.

Stabilization and the European future

By the end of the 20th century, Portugal's democracy had become solidified. With the military's withdrawal from politics and several revisions of the constitution, Portugal adopted what could be called a semipresidential system, which limited the president's powers by investing significant authority in the prime minister. Portugal developed a multiparty system in which two major parties (the Socialists and the Social Democrats) and several minor parties emerged. In 1995 Cavaco Silva left office, replaced by Socialist António Guterres; the following year, Soares was succeeded as president by Socialist Jorge Sampaio, the former mayor of Lisbon. In 1999 the government adopted the euro, the EU's single currency—which fully replaced the escudo as Portugal's sole currency in 2002—and also returned Macau, its last overseas territory, to Chinese rule. Sampaio was reelected in 2001, but in 2002 Guterres's government was ousted by the Social Democrats, whose leader, José Manuel Durão Barroso, formed a centre-right coalition government and promised to reduce taxes and spending and privatize some public services. Economic problems beset the new government, which in 2005 lost power to the Socialists.

Perhaps a reflection of the tremendous progress made by Portugal in establishing a successful democracy and in fully integrating itself into Europe, a Portuguese, Durão Barroso, was named president of the European Commission in 2004. Nevertheless, Portugal continued to experience several troubling problems. Despite economic growth during the 1990s, high unemployment persisted. Also of concern to political leaders were continued poverty in rural and urban areas, a growing gap between rich and poor, and administrative and labour inefficiency. Moreover, too large a share of Portugal's population over age 40 had little formal education, and Portugal remained among western Europe's poorest countries.

The protection of Portugal's historic heritage became a serious issue; Portugal's economy was partly dependent on tourism, but its fragile environment was endangered by the impact of tourism, urban sprawl, and a failure to limit and control air, water, and soil pollution brought on by growth and development. The increasing depopulation of interior rural areas, the result in part of urbanization and rural-urban migration, was an issue of major concern. Rural and provincial areas of Portugal experienced the steady loss of population to urban areas such as Greater Porto, Coimbra, and Lisbon. This movement further hampered agriculture, which faced stiff competition from other EU countries, and limited the availability of educational, health, and social services in rural areas. As Portugal increasingly evolved into an urban society, political leaders attempted to achieve a balance between growth and development (modernization) and the need to protect consumers, the public interest, and the rare but vulnerable environment.

By the beginning of the 21st century, Portugal had benefited from substantial improvements in health, communications, transportation, welfare, and education. The new pluralist democracy provided citizens with historically unprecedented civil liberties. Nevertheless, the country's empire had vanished, and Portugal was highly dependent on imports of energy, capital, and food. During the 1990s, as a partner in further European integration, Portugal was under great pressure to conform to rigorous EU standards, procedures, and rules. New layers of administration were established, and trade, travel, employment, and other barriers started to fall in 1993, when Portugal began preparing for full economic and monetary union with other EU members.

From 1988 through 2000, Portugal celebrated many historical feats. Notably, the government sponsored commemorations of Portuguese exploration, including the 500th anniversaries of Bartolomeu Dias's 1488 voyage that rounded the Cape of Good Hope and the founding of Brazil by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. In 1998 Lisbon hosted the World's Fair (Expo '98), which also marked the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Vasco da Gama in Asia following his discovery of an all-water route from Europe. As the celebrations ended and the 21st century began, many wondered how the new Portugal would conceive of its national tradition and what effect European integration would have on the country's self-image and national identity.

Douglas Lanphier Wheeler

Additional Reading

General works

Eric Solsten (ed.), Portugal: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (1993), contains chapters on the country's history, society, government and politics, economy, and national security. A helpful but dated survey is Sarah Bradford, Portugal (1973). Walter C. Opello, Jr., Portugal: From Monarchy to Pluralist Democracy (1991), is a comprehensive overview of the Portuguese state from its founding through its democratic consolidation. The long-standard Grande enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira (more than 40 volumes originally and with updated additional volumes, 1935–1960, and later supplements from the 1980s and '90s) is still useful despite its lacunae, errors, and old entries.

Land and people

An overview of the country's features is presented in Clifford Embleton (ed.), Geomorphology of Europe (1984). The development of the cultural landscape, including a summary of the physical landscape, is provided in Jose Mattosé and Francisco Faria Paulino, Portugal, Building up a Country (1992); Orlando Ribeiro, Portugal, o Mediterrâneo e o Atlântico, 7th ed., rev. and enlarged (1998); and Orlando Ribeiro, Hermann Lautensach, and Suzanne Daveau, Geografia de Portugal, 4 vol. (1987–91). Essays on the land use of Santa Maria and Faial in the Azores and of eastern Madeira are found in Four Island Studies (1968). Pictorial representations include Aristides de Amorim Girão, Atlas de Portugal, 2nd ed. (1958); and Victoria Zalacain et al., Atlas de España y Portugal (1982).Marion Kaplan, The Portuguese: The Land and Its People, new rev. ed. (1998), is a popular general work with illuminating glimpses of Portugal's long history. Still useful but dated is John Eppstein, Portugal: The Country and Its People (1967). A classic discussion useful for students of anthropology, social history, and demography on villages in northwest Portugal is Caroline B. Brettell, Men Who Migrate, Women Who Wait: Population and History in a Portuguese Parish (1986).

Economy

William Chislett, Portugal: Investment and Growth (1997), provides an overview of major changes and Portugal's expanding economy. Rodney J. Morrison, Portugal: Revolutionary Change in an Open Economy (1981), assesses the impact of the April 25, 1974, revolution on the economy. Eric N. Baklanoff, The Economic Transformation of Spain and Portugal (1978), compares Spain's and Portugal's economic growth in response to the economic policies of Franco and Salazar. Jorge Braga de Macedo and Simon Serfaty (eds.), Portugal Since the Revolution: Economic and Political Perspectives (1981), analyzes the political economy of the early postrevolutionary period. David Corkill, The Development of the Portuguese Economy: A Case of Europeanization (1999), charts Portugal's development within mainstream Europe. Thomas C. Bruneau, Politics and Nationhood: Post-Revolutionary Portugal (1984), is an excellent treatment of the politics of the revolutionary period. Douglas Porch, The Portuguese Armed Forces and the Revolution (1977), is a helpful discussion of the role of the armed forces in the revolution of 1974. Tom Gallagher, Portugal: A Twentieth-Century Interpretation (1983); and Howard J. Wiarda, Corporatism and Development: The Portuguese Experience (1977), analyze Salazar's dictatorship.

Government and society

The contemporary governmental system and political dynamics are covered in Thomas C. Bruneau and Alex Macleod, Politics in Contemporary Portugal: Parties and the Consolidation of Democracy (1986). Lawrence S. Graham and Harry M. Makler (eds.), Contemporary Portugal: The Revolution and Its Antecedents (1979), provides chapters on the prerevolutionary corporatist system. Kenneth Maxwell (ed.), Portugal in the 1980's: Dilemmas of Democratic Consolidation (1986), covers shifting international involvements, economy, society, and state through the 1980s.Catherine Delano Smith Walter C. Opello, Jr. Marion Kaplan

History

General works

General reference works on Portugal with an emphasis on its history include Douglas L.Wheeler, Historical Dictionary of Portugal, 2nd ed. (2002); António Barreto and Maria Filomena Monica (eds.), Suplemento: dicionário de história de Portugal, 3 vol. (1999–2000); and Iêda Wiarda (ed.), The Handbook of Portuguese Studies (1999).General historical works include José Mattoso (ed.), História de Portugal, 8 vol. (1993– ). Still useful are H.V. Livermore, Portugal: A Short History, 2nd ed. (1976), and A New History of Portugal, 2nd ed. (1976); Stanley G. Payne, History of Spain and Portugal, 2 vol. (1972); and A.H. de Oliveira Marques, History of Portugal, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (1976).

Special topics

More-specialized studies include A.H. de Oliveira Marques, Daily Life in Portugal in the Late Middle Ages (1971); and Carl Hanson, Atlantic Emporium: Portugal and the Wider World, 1147–1497 (2001). General works in English on Portugal's overseas empire after 1415 are few, but the best among them include C.R. Boxer, The Portuguese Seaborne Empire, 1415–1825, 2nd ed. (1991); Bailey W. Diffie and George D. Winius, The Foundations of the Portuguese Empire (1977); A.J.R. Russell-Wood, The Portuguese Empire, 1415–1808: A World on the Move (1992, reprinted 1998); James Duffy, Portuguese Africa (1959); and Douglas L. Wheeler and René Pélissier, Angola (1971, reprinted 1978). There are also some classic studies of a more specialized nature on overseas Portugal, such as Timothy J. Coates, Convicts and Orphans: Forced and State-Sponsored Colonizers in the Portuguese Empire, 1550–1755 (2001); Glenn Joseph Ames, Vasco da Gama: Renaissance Crusader (2005); Malyn Newitt, A History of Portuguese Overseas Expansion, 1400–1668 (2005); and Peter Russell, Prince Henry “The Navigator”: A Life (2000). Combining a portrait of contemporary Portugal with insights into history is Paul Hyland, Backwards out of the Big World: A Voyage into Portugal (1996).

Modern Portugal

Discussions of the modern era of Portuguese history include Kenneth Maxwell, Pombal, Paradox of the Enlightenment (1995); José Cutileiro, A Portuguese Rural Society (1971); Maria Filomena Mónica, Eça de Queiroz, trans. by Alison Aiken (2005); Douglas L. Wheeler, Republican Portugal: A Political History, 1910–1926 (1978); Richard A.H. Robinson, Portugal: A Contemporary History (1979); Hugh Kay, Salazar and Modern Portugal (1970); and John Sykes, Portugal and Africa: The People and the War (1971).The origins, course, and aftermath of the 1974 revolution are explored in Lawrence S. Graham and Harry M. Makler (eds.), Contemporary Portugal: The Revolution and Its Antecedents (1979); Lawrence S. Graham and Douglas L. Wheeler (eds.), In Search of Modern Portugal: The Revolution and Its Consequences (1983); Kenneth Maxwell, The Making of Portuguese Democracy (1995); Norrie MacQueen, The Decolonization of Portuguese Africa: Metropolitan Revolution and the Dissolution of Empire (1997); Mário Soares, Portugal's Struggle for Liberty (1975); Nancy Gina Bermeo, The Revolution Within the Revolution: Workers' Control in Rural Portugal (1986); Phil Mailer, Portugal, the Impossible Revolution? (1977); and António Costa Pinto (ed.), Modern Portugal (1998), and Contemporary Portugal: Politics, Society, and Culture (2003).Douglas Lanphier Wheeler

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PORTUGAL — Malgré l’absence de frontières naturelles nettement dessinées, le Portugal constitue une région dont la personnalité n’a cessé de s’affirmer au cours de l’histoire. Les limites politiques séparant le domaine linguistique du galégo portugais de… … Encyclopédie Universelle
Portugal — • A country on the west side of the Iberian Peninsula Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Portugal Portugal † … Catholic encyclopedia
PORTUGAL — PORTUGAL, southwesternmost country of continental Europe, in the Iberian Peninsula. Jewish settlement in the area began prior to Portugal s emergence as a nation. The existence of a significant Jewish settlement on the peninsula by 300 C.E. is… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Portugal — es un país de la Europa sur occidental que forma parte de la Unión Europea (UE). El territorio del país se extiende sobre la fachada atlántica de la Península Ibérica, donde limita al norte y al este con España. * * * Portugal, Condestable don… … Enciclopedia Universal
Portugal — Portugal, dieser Paradiesgarten von Europa, in welchem einst Camoens seine göttliche Lusiade sang, in welchem die treue Liebe und das tragische Ende der reizenden Ines da Castro am Quell der Thränen noch heute beweint wird, wo König Sebastian s… … Damen Conversations Lexikon
Portūgal — Portūgal, europäisches Königreich (s. Karte »Spanien und Portugal«), der südwestlichste Teil der Pyrenäischen Halbinsel und des europäischen Festlandes, erstreckt sich zwischen 36°59 –42°8 nördl. Br. und 6°10 –9°31 westl. L. und bildet ein… … Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon
Portugal — C est dans le Morbihan que le nom a toujours été le plus répandu (il y est présent au moins depuis le début du XVIIe siècle à Sauzon, puis à Bangor, sous la forme Le Portugal). On le rencontre aussi en Savoie et dans les Pyrénées Atlantiques. Il… … Noms de famille
Portugal [3] — Portugal (Geneal.). In P. sitzt seit 1640 das Haus Bragança (seit 1853 Bragança Coburg) auf dem Throne, welchen Johann IV. im genannten Jahre bestieg (s. Portugal, Gesch. S. 384). Als Johanns IV. Urenkel, König Joseph I. am 24. Febr. 1777 starb,… … Pierer's Universal-Lexikon
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Portugal [2] — Portugal (Gesch.). Das Land, im Alterthum zu Spanien gerechnet, wurde von verschiedenen celtischen Völkerschaften bewohnt, namentlich bis an den Tajo von den kühnen Lusitaniern, jenseit des Tajo von den Celtikern u. im Süden von den Cyneten.… … Pierer's Universal-Lexikon
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