In the Suebian Kingdom many internal struggles continued to take place. Eborico Eurico, — was dethroned by Andeca Audeca — , who failed to prevent the Visigothic invasion led by Leovigildo. The Visigothic invasion, completed in , turned the once rich and fertile kingdom of the Suebi into the sixth province of the Gothic kingdom. For the next years and by the year , the entire Iberian Peninsula was ruled by the Visigoths. Under the Visigoths, Gallaecia was a well-defined space governed by a doge of its own. Doges at this time were related to the monarchy acted as princes in all matters.
Both 'governors' Wamba and Wittiza Vitiza acted as doge and would end up being kings in Toledo. These two became known as the 'vitizians', who headquartered in the northwest and called on the Arab invaders from the South to be their allies in the struggle for power in King Roderic Rodrigo was killed while opposing this invasion, thus becoming the last Visigothic king of Iberia.
From the various Germanic groups who settled in Western Iberia, the Suebi left the strongest lasting cultural legacy in what is today Portugal, Galicia and Asturias. According to Dan Stanislawski, the Portuguese way of living in regions North of the Tagus is mostly inherited from the Suebi, in which small farms prevail, distinct from the large properties of Southern Portugal.
Bracara Augusta , the modern city of Braga and former capital of Gallaecia , became the capital of the Suebi. Orosius , at that time resident in Hispania, shows a rather pacific initial settlement, the newcomers working their lands [43] or serving as bodyguards of the locals.
Today's modern day continental Portugal, along with most of modern Spain, was part of al-Andalus between —, following the Umayyad Caliphate conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in This occupation lasted from some decades in the North to five centuries in the South. After defeating the Visigoths in only a few months, the Umayyad Caliphate started expanding rapidly in the peninsula. Beginning in , the land that is now Portugal became part of the vast Umayyad Caliphate's empire of Damascus , which stretched from the Indus river in the Indian sub-continent up to the South of France, until its collapse in The governors of the taifas each proclaimed themselves Emir of their provinces and established diplomatic relations with the Christian kingdoms of the north.
Most of Portugal fell into the hands of the Taifa of Badajoz of the Aftasid Dynasty , and after a short spell of an ephemeral Taifa of Lisbon in , fell under the dominion of the Taifa of Seville of the Abbadids poets. The Taifa period ended with the conquest of the Almoravids who came from Morocco in winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Sagrajas , followed a century later in , after the second period of Taifa, by the Almohads , also from Marrakesh.
Gharb Al-Andalus at its largest was constituted of ten kuras, [47] each with a distinct capital and governor. The Muslim population of the region consisted mainly of native Iberian converts to Islam the so-called Muwallad or Muladi and berbers. The Arabs were principally noblemen from Syria and Oman ; and though few in numbers, they constituted the elite of the population. The Berbers were originally from the Atlas mountains and Rif mountains of North Africa and were nomads. An Asturian Visigothic noble named Pelagius of Asturias in was elected leader [48] by many of the ousted Visigoth nobles.
Pelagius called for the remnant of the Christian Visigothic armies to rebel against the Moors and regroup in the unconquered northern Asturian highlands, better known today as the Cantabrian Mountains , in what is today the small mountain region in North-western Spain , adjacent to the Bay of Biscay.
A Gata do Dalai Lama (Portuguese Edition)
Pelagius' plan was to use the Cantabrian mountains as a place of refuge and protection from the invading Moors. He then aimed to regroup the Iberian Peninsula's Christian armies and use the Cantabrian mountains as a springboard from which to regain their lands. Finding that the region had previously had two major cities — Portus Cale in the coast and Braga in the interior, with many towns that were now deserted — he decided to repopulate and rebuild them with Portuguese and Galician refugees and other Christians.
The last great invasion, through the Minho river , ended with the defeat of Olaf II Haraldsson in against the Galician nobility who also stopped further advances into the County of Portugal. Later the Kingdom of Asturias was divided into a number of Christian Kingdoms in Northern Iberia due to dynastic divisions of inheritance among the king's offspring. Henry based his newly formed county in Bracara Augusta modern Braga , capital city of the ancient Roman province, and also previous capital of several kingdoms over the first millennia. Afonso then turned his arms against the Moors in the south.
Afonso's campaigns were successful and, on 25 July , he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique , and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers. Afonso then established the first of the Portuguese Cortes at Lamego , where he was crowned by the Archbishop of Braga, though the validity of the Cortes of Lamego has been disputed and called a myth created during the Portuguese Restoration War. Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military monastic orders , pushed southward to drive out the Moors.
At this time, Portugal covered about half of its present area. In , the Reconquista ended with the capture of the Algarve and complete expulsion of the last Moorish settlements on the southern coast, giving Portugal its present-day borders, with minor exceptions. This treaty established inter alia the border demarcation between the kingdom of Portugal and the kingdom of Leon, where the disputed town of Olivenza was included. In and Portugal, like the rest of Europe, was devastated by the Black Death.
Over time, this went far beyond geo-political and military cooperation protecting both nations' interests in Africa, the Americas and Asia against French, Spanish and Dutch rivals and maintained strong trade and cultural ties between the two old European allies. Particularly in the Oporto region, there is visible English influence to this day. With this battle, the House of Aviz became the ruling house of Portugal. Portugal spearheaded European exploration of the world and the Age of Discovery. During this period, Portugal explored the Atlantic Ocean , discovering several Atlantic archipelagos like the Azores , Madeira , and Cape Verde , explored the African coast, colonized selected areas of Africa, discovered an eastern route to India via the Cape of Good Hope , discovered Brazil , explored the Indian Ocean , established trading routes throughout most of southern Asia, and sent the first direct European maritime trade and diplomatic missions to China and Japan.
In , Portugal acquired the first of its overseas colonies by conquering Ceuta , the first prosperous Islamic trade centre in North Africa. There followed the first discoveries in the Atlantic: Madeira and the Azores , which led to the first colonization movements. Throughout the 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for several common types of tradable commodities at the time , ranging from gold to slaves , as they looked for a route to India and its spices , which were coveted in Europe.
The Treaty of Tordesillas , intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus , was made by Pope Alexander VI , the mediator between Portugal and Spain. It was signed on 7 June , and divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two countries along a meridian leagues west of the Cape Verde islands off the west coast of Africa. In , Vasco da Gama reached India and brought economic prosperity to Portugal and its population of 1.
Philip's , Newfoundland and Labrador , long before the French and English in the 17th century, and being just one of many Portuguese Colonizations of the Americas. Portuguese sailors set out to reach Eastern Asia by sailing eastward from Europe, landing in such places as Taiwan, Japan, the island of Timor , and in the Moluccas. Although for a long period it was believed the Dutch were the first Europeans to arrive in Australia, there is also some evidence that the Portuguese may have discovered Australia in The Treaty of Zaragoza , signed on 22 April between Portugal and Spain, specified the anti-meridian to the line of demarcation specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
All these factors made Portugal one of the world's major economic, military, and political powers from the 15th century until the late 16th century. Portugal voluntarily entered a dynastic union between and Portugal did not lose its formal independence, briefly forming a union of kingdoms.
At this time Spain was a geographic territory. War led to a deterioration of the relations with Portugal's oldest ally, England , and the loss of Hormuz , a strategic trading post located between Iran and Oman. From to the Dutch-Portuguese War primarily involved the Dutch companies invading many Portuguese colonies and commercial interests in Brazil, Africa, India and the Far East, resulting in the loss of the Portuguese Indian sea trade monopoly. In , John IV spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king.
This was the beginning of the House of Braganza , which reigned in Portugal until Pedro's reign saw the consolidation of national independence, imperial expansion, and investment in domestic production. Acting as an absolute monarch, John nearly depleted his country's tax revenues on ambitious architectural works, most notably Mafra Palace , and on commissions and additions for his sizable art and literary collections. John V died the following year and his son, Joseph I of Portugal, was crowned. As the King's confidence in de Melo increased, the King entrusted him with more control of the state.
Impressed by British economic success that he had witnessed from his time as an Ambassador, he successfully implemented similar economic policies in Portugal. He abolished slavery in Portugal and in the Portuguese colonies in India; reorganized the army and the navy; restructured the University of Coimbra , and ended discrimination against different Christian sects in Portugal. He demarcated the region for production of Port to ensure the wine's quality, and this was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe.
He ruled with a strong hand by imposing strict law upon all classes of Portuguese society from the high nobility to the poorest working class, along with a widespread review of the country's tax system. These reforms gained him enemies in the upper classes, especially among the high nobility, who despised him as a social upstart. Disaster fell upon Portugal in the morning of 1 November , when Lisbon was struck by a violent earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.
The city was razed to the ground by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami and ensuing fires. We bury the dead and take care of the living. Despite the calamity and huge death toll , Lisbon suffered no epidemics and within less than one year was already being rebuilt. The new city centre of Lisbon was designed to resist subsequent earthquakes. Architectural models were built for tests, and the effects of an earthquake were simulated by marching troops around the models.
The buildings and big squares of the Pombaline City Centre still remain as one of Lisbon's tourist attractions. As his power grew, his enemies increased in number, and bitter disputes with the high nobility became frequent. In Joseph I was wounded in an attempted assassination. The Jesuits were expelled from the country and their assets confiscated by the crown. This was the final stroke that broke the power of the aristocracy. Joseph I made his loyal minister Count of Oeiras in In , Spain invaded Portuguese territory as part of the Seven Years' War , but by the status quo between Spain and Portugal before the war had been restored.
The Marquis of Pombal died on his estate at Pombal in However, historians also argue that Pombal's "enlightenment," while far-reaching, was primarily a mechanism for enhancing autocracy at the expense of individual liberty and especially an apparatus for crushing opposition, suppressing criticism, and furthering colonial economic exploitation as well as intensifying book censorship and consolidating personal control and profit.
In the autumn of , Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. From to , British-Portuguese forces would successfully fight against the French invasion of Portugal , while the royal family and the Portuguese nobility , including Maria I, relocated to the Portuguese territory of Brazil , at that time a colony of the Portuguese Empire , in South America. This episode is known as the Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil.
With the occupation by Napoleon, Portugal began a slow but inexorable decline that lasted until the 20th century. This decline was hastened by the independence in of the country's largest colonial possession, Brazil. As a result of the change in its status and the arrival of the Portuguese royal family, Brazilian administrative, civic, economical , military, educational , and scientific apparatus were expanded and highly modernized.
However, the King of Portugal remained in Brazil until the Liberal Revolution of , which started in Porto , demanded his return to Lisbon in Thus he returned to Portugal but left his son Pedro in charge of Brazil. When the Portuguese Government attempted the following year to return the Kingdom of Brazil to subordinate status, his son Pedro, with the overwhelming support of the Brazilian elites, declared Brazil's independence from Portugal.
Cisplatina today's sovereign state of Uruguay , in the south, was one of the last additions to the territory of Brazil under Portuguese rule. Brazilian independence was recognized in , whereby Emperor Pedro I granted to his father the titular honour of Emperor of Brazil. John VI's death in caused serious questions in his succession. Though Pedro was his heir, and reigned briefly as Pedro IV, his status as a Brazilian monarch was seen as an impediment to holding the Portuguese throne by both nations.
Pedro abdicated in favour of his daughter, Maria II. However, Pedro's brother, Infante Miguel , claimed the throne in protest. In order to defend his daughter's rights to the throne, Pedro launched the Liberal Wars to reinstall his daughter and establish a constitutional monarchy in Portugal. The war ended in , with Miguel's defeat, the promulgation of a constitution, and the reinstatement of Queen Maria II.
Under his reign, roads, telegraphs, and railways were constructed and improvements in public health advanced. His popularity increased when, during the cholera outbreak of —, he visited hospitals handing out gifts and comforting the sick. At the height of European colonialism in the 19th century, Portugal had already lost its territory in South America and all but a few bases in Asia. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation-sized territories to compete with other European powers there.
With the Conference of Berlin of , Portuguese Africa territories had their borders formally established on request of Portugal in order to protect the centuries-long Portuguese interests in the continent from rivalries enticed by the Scramble for Africa. Even before the turn of the 20th century, railway tracks as the Benguela railway in Angola, and the Beira railway in Mozambique, started to be built to link coastal areas and selected inland regions. Other episodes during this period of the Portuguese presence in Africa include the British Ultimatum. This forced the Portuguese military to retreat from the land between the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola most of present-day Zimbabwe and Zambia , which had been claimed by Portugal and included in its " Pink Map ", which clashed with British aspirations to create a Cape to Cairo Railway.
Manuel II of Portugal became the new king, but was eventually overthrown by the 5 October revolution , which abolished the regime and instated republicanism in Portugal. Political instability and economic weaknesses were fertile ground for chaos and unrest during the Portuguese First Republic. Gradually, new economic development projects and relocation of mainland Portuguese citizens into the overseas provinces in Africa were initiated, with Angola and Mozambique , as the largest and richest overseas territories, being the main targets of those initiatives.
These actions were used to affirm Portugal's status as a transcontinental nation and not as a colonial empire. After India attained independence in , pro-Indian residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli , with the support of the Indian government and the help of pro-independence organisations, separated the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule in Another forcible retreat from overseas territories occurred in December when Portugal refused to relinquish the territories of Goa , Daman and Diu. As a result, the Portuguese army and navy were involved in armed conflict in its colony of Portuguese India against the Indian Armed Forces.
The operations resulted in the defeat and surrender of the limited Portuguese defensive garrison, which was forced to surrender to a much larger military force. The outcome was the loss of the remaining Portuguese territories in the Indian subcontinent. The Portuguese regime refused to recognize Indian sovereignty over the annexed territories, which continued to be represented in Portugal's National Assembly until the military coup of Also in the early s, independence movements in the Portuguese overseas provinces of Angola , Mozambique and Guinea in Africa, resulted in the Portuguese Colonial War — Throughout the colonial war period Portugal had to deal with increasing dissent, arms embargoes and other punitive sanctions imposed by most of the international community.
This period was characterized by social turmoil and power disputes between left- and right-wing political forces. The retreat from the overseas territories and the acceptance of its independence terms by Portuguese head representatives for overseas negotiations, which would create independent states in , prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories mostly from Portuguese Angola and Mozambique. Over one million Portuguese refugees fled the former Portuguese provinces as white settlers were usually not considered part of the new identities of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia.
By , all the Portuguese African territories were independent and Portugal held its first democratic elections in 50 years. In this capacity Soares tried to resume the economic growth and development record that had been achieved before the Carnation Revolution, during the last decade of the previous regime. He initiated the process of accession to the European Economic Community EEC by starting accession negotiations as early as Portugal bounced between socialism and adherence to the neoliberal model.
Land reform and nationalizations were enforced; the Portuguese Constitution approved in was rewritten in order to accommodate socialist and communist principles. Until the constitutional revisions of and , the constitution was a highly charged ideological document with numerous references to socialism, the rights of workers, and the desirability of a socialist economy. Portugal's economic situation after its transition to democracy, obliged the government to pursue International Monetary Fund IMF -monitored stabilization programs in —78 and — In , the independence of East Timor Asia was formally recognized by Portugal, after an incomplete decolonization process that was started in because of the Carnation Revolution, but interrupted by an Indonesian armed invasion and occupation.
On 26 March , Portugal started to implement Schengen Area rules, eliminating border controls with other Schengen members while simultaneously strengthening border controls with non-member states. Expo '98 took place in Portugal and in it was one of the founding countries of the euro and the eurozone.
The Republic of Ireland was the only EU state to hold a democratic referendum on the Lisbon Treaty; it was initially rejected by voters in The territory of Portugal includes an area in the Iberian Peninsula referred to as the continent by most Portuguese and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus , that flows from Spain and disgorges in Tagus Estuary, in Lisbon, before escaping into the Atlantic. The northern landscape is mountainous towards the interior with several plateaus indented by river valleys, whereas the south, including the Algarve and the Alentejo regions, is characterized by rolling plains.
Portugal's highest peak is the similarly named Mount Pico on the island of Pico in the Azores. The archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores are scattered within the Atlantic Ocean: Geologically, these islands were formed by volcanic and seismic events. The last terrestrial volcanic eruption occurred in —58 Capelinhos and minor earthquakes occur sporadically, usually of low intensity. This is the 3rd largest exclusive economic zone of the European Union and the 11th largest in the world. There are however, variations from the highlands to the lowlands: Rivas Martinez, presents several different bioclimatic zones for Portugal.
Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere.
Le chat du dalaï-lama, Tome 3 : Le chat du dalaï-lama et le pouvoir du miaou
The record high of In these places snow can fall any time from October to May. In the South of the country snowfalls are rare but still occur in the highest elevations. Both the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira have a subtropical climate, although variations between islands exist, making weather predictions very difficult owing to rough topography. Some islands in Azores do have drier months in the summer. Porto Santo island in Madeira has a semi-arid steppe climate BSh.
The Serra da Estrela , the highest mountain range on continental Portugal. Beach in Vila Nova de Milfontes , on the Alentejo region. The cultivated hillsides of the Douro river valley of Northern Portugal. Monsaraz and the Alqueva Reservoir on the background, on the Alentejo. Cabo da Roca , the westernmost point of mainland Europe. Despite the fact that humans have occupied the territory of Portugal for thousands of years, something still remains of the original vegetation.
Due to the human population decrease and rural exodus, Pyrenean oak and other local native trees are colonizing many abandoned areas. Boar , Iberian red deer, roe deer, and the Iberian wild goat, are reported to have expanded greatly during recent decades. Boars were found recently roaming at night inside large urban areas, like in Setubal. Protected areas of Portugal include one national park Portuguese: Parque Nacional , 12 natural parks Portuguese: Parque Natural , nine natural reserves Portuguese: Reserva Natural , five natural monuments Portuguese: Monumento Natural , and seven protected landscapes Portuguese: These natural environments are shaped by diverse flora, and include widespread species of pine especially the Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea species , the English oak Quercus robur , the Pyrenean oak Quercus pyrenaica the chestnut Castanea sativa , the cork-oak Quercus suber , the holm oak Quercus ilex or the Portuguese oak Quercus faginea.
Due to their economic value, some species of the genus Eucalyptus were introduced and are now common, despite their environmental impact. Laurisilva is a unique type of subtropical rainforest, which nowadays, in Europe, is only restricted to the Iberian Peninsula: Portugal is an important stopover for migratory birds, in places such as Cape St.
Vincent or the Monchique mountains, where thousands of birds cross from Europe to Africa during the autumn or in the spring return migration. Most of the avian species congregate along the Iberian Peninsula since it is the closest stopover between Northern Europe and Africa. Six hundred bird species occur in Portugal either for nesting or during the course of migration , and annually there are new registries of nesting species.
The archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are transient stopover for American, European, and African birds, while continental Portugal mostly encounters European and African bird species. There are more than freshwater fish species, varying from the giant European catfish in the Tagus International Natural Park to some small and endemic species that live only in small lakes along the western portion of country, for example.
Some of these rare and specific species are highly endangered because of habitat loss, pollution and drought. Up-welling along the west coast of Portugal makes the sea extremely rich in nutrients and diverse species of marine fish; the Portuguese marine waters are one of the richest in the world. Marine fish species are more common, and include thousands of species, such as the sardine Sardina pilchardus , tuna and Atlantic mackerel. Bioluminescent species are also well represented including species in different colour spectrum and forms , like the glowing plankton that are possible to observe in some beaches.
There are many endemic insect species, most only found in certain parts of Portugal, while other species are more widespread like the stag beetle Lucanus cervus and the cicada. The Macaronesian islands Azores and Madeira have many endemic species like birds, reptiles, bats, insects, snails and slugs that evolved independently from other regions of Portugal.
In Madeira, for example, it is possible to observe more than species of land gastropods. Portugal has been a semi-presidential representative democratic republic since the ratification of the Constitution of , with Lisbon , the nation's largest city, as its capital. The Constitution grants the division or separation of powers among four bodies referred as "organs of Sovereignty": The President, who is elected to a five-year term, has an executive role: The Assembly of the Republic is a single chamber parliament composed of deputies elected for a four-year term.
The Courts are organized into several levels, among the judicial, administrative and fiscal branches. A thirteen-member Constitutional Court oversees the constitutionality of the laws. The Head of State of Portugal is the President of the Republic , elected to a five-year term by direct, universal suffrage.
He or she has also supervision and reserve powers. Presidential powers include the appointment of the Prime Minister and the other members of the Government where the President takes into account the results of legislative elections ; dismissing the Prime Minister; dissolving the Assembly of the Republic to call early elections ; vetoing legislation which may be overridden by the Assembly ; and declaring a state of war or siege.
The President is advised on issues of importance by the Council of State , which is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former Presidents elected under the Constitution, five-members chosen by the Assembly, and five selected by the president. The Government is both the organ of sovereignty that conducts the general politics of the country and the superior body of the public administration. It has essentially Executive powers, but has also limited Legislative powers. The Government can legislate about its own organization, about areas covered by legislative authorizations conceded by the Assembly of the Republic and about the specific regulation of generalist laws issued by the Assembly.
The Council of Ministers — under the presidency of the Prime Minister or the President of Portugal at the latter's request and the Ministers may also include one or more Deputy Prime Ministers — acts as the cabinet. Each government is required to define the broad outline of its policies in a programme, and present it to the Assembly for a mandatory period of debate.
The failure of the Assembly to reject the government programme by an absolute majority of deputies confirms the cabinet in office. The Assembly of the Republic , in Lisbon is the national parliament of Portugal. It is the main Legislative body, although the Government also has limited legislative powers. The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral body composed of up to deputies. Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of closed party-list proportional representation , deputies serve four-year terms of office, unless the President dissolves the Assembly and calls for new elections.
The Portuguese legal system is part of the civil law legal system, also called the continental family legal system. The main laws include the Constitution , as amended , the Portuguese Civil Code , as amended and the Penal Code of Portugal , as amended. Other relevant laws are the Commercial Code , as amended and the Civil Procedure Code , as amended. The Public Ministry , headed by the Attorney General of the Republic, constitutes the independent body of public prosecutors.
Portuguese law applied in the former colonies and territories and continues to be the major influence for those countries. Portugal was the first country in the world to abolish life imprisonment in and was one of the first countries to abolish the death penalty. Maximum jail sentences are limited to 25 years. Portugal is also known for having decriminalized the usage of all common drugs in , the first country in the world to do so. Portugal decriminalized possession of effectively all drugs that are still illegal in other developed nations including cannabis , cocaine , heroin , and LSD.
While possession is legal, trafficking and possession of more than "10 days worth of personal use" are still punishable by jail time and fines. People caught with small amounts of any drug are given the choice to go to a rehab facility, and may refuse treatment without consequences.
Despite criticism from other European nations, who stated Portugal's drug consumption would tremendously increase, overall drug use has declined along with the number of HIV infection cases, which had dropped 50 percent by Drug use among to year-olds also declined, however the use of marijuana rose only slightly among that age group. On 31 May , Portugal became the sixth country in Europe and the eighth country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage on the national level.
The law came into force on 5 June Administratively, Portugal is divided into municipalities Portuguese: Operationally, the municipality and civil parish, along with the national government, are the only legally identifiable local administrative units identified by the government of Portugal for example, cities, towns or villages have no standing in law, although may be used as catchment for the defining services.
For statistical purposes the Portuguese government also identifies NUTS , inter-municipal communities and informally, the district system, used until European integration and being phased-out by the national government. Portugal Continental and the autonomous regions of Portugal Azores and Madeira. The 18 districts of mainland Portugal are: In it co-founded the Community of Portuguese Language Countries CPLP , which seeks to foster closer economic and cultural ties between the world's Lusophone nations.
It has a friendship alliance and dual citizenship treaty with its former colony, Brazil. Portugal and England subsequently, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland share the world's oldest active military accord through their Anglo-Portuguese Alliance Treaty of Windsor , which was signed in The armed forces have three branches: Navy , Army and Air Force. They serve primarily as a self-defense force whose mission is to protect the territorial integrity of the country and provide humanitarian assistance and security at home and abroad.
As of [update] , the three branches numbered 39, active personnel including 7, women. Portuguese military expenditure in was billion, representing 2. Military conscription was abolished in The minimum age for voluntary recruitment is 18 years. The Army 21, personnel comprises three brigades and other small units.
The Navy 10, personnel, of which 1, are marines , the world's oldest surviving naval force, has five frigates, seven corvettes, two submarines, and 28 patrol and auxiliary vessels. In addition to the three branches of the armed forces, there is the National Republican Guard , a security force subject to military law and organization gendarmerie comprising 25, personnel.
This force is under the authority of both the Defense and the Interior Ministry. It has provided detachments for participation in international operations in Iraq and East Timor. In the 20th century, Portugal engaged in two major conflicts: The Portuguese government is heavily indebted, and received a 78 billion euro bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in May After the bailout was announced, the Portuguese government headed by Pedro Passos Coelho managed to implement measures with the intention of improving the state's financial situation, including tax hikes, a freeze of civil service-related lower-wages and cuts of higher-wages by The Portuguese government also agreed to eliminate its golden share in Portugal Telecom which gave it veto power over vital decisions.
This allowed considerable slippage in state-managed public works and inflated top management and head officer bonuses and wages. Persistent and lasting recruitment policies boosted the number of redundant public servants. Risky credit , public debt creation, and European structural and cohesion funds were mismanaged across almost four decades. The case of BPN was particularly serious because of its size, market share, and the political implications — Portugal's then President, Cavaco Silva and some of his political allies, maintained personal and business relationships with the bank and its CEO, who was eventually charged and arrested for fraud and other crimes.
Since the Carnation Revolution of , which culminated in the end of one of Portugal's most notable phases of economic expansion that started in the s , [] a significant change has occurred in the nation's annual economic growth. Since the s, Portugal's public consumption -based economic development model has been slowly changing to a system that is focused on exports, private investment and the development of the high-tech sector. Consequently, business services have overtaken more traditional industries such as textiles, clothing, footwear and cork Portugal is the world's leading cork producer , [] wood products and beverages.
In the second decade of the 21st century, the Portuguese economy suffered its most severe recession since the s, resulting in the country having to be bailed out by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund IMF. In May , the country exited the bailout but reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining its reformist momentum. At the time of exiting the bailout, the economy had contracted by 0. The Global Competitiveness Report for —, published by the World Economic Forum , placed Portugal on the 36th position on the economic index.
The Economist Intelligence Unit 's quality of life index placed Portugal as the country with the 19th-best quality of life in the world for , ahead of other economically and technologically advanced countries like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea, but 9 places behind its sole neighbor, Spain. Major state-owned companies include: The PSI is Portugal's most selective and widely known stock index. The International Monetary Fund issued an update report on the economy of Portugal in late-June with a strong near-term outlook and an increase in investments and exports over previous years.
Because of a surplus in , the country was no longer bound by the Excessive Deficit Procedure which had been implemented during an earlier financial crisis. The banking system was more stable, although there were still non-performing loans and corporate debt. The IMF recommended working on solving these problems for Portugal to be able to attract more private investment. Agriculture in Portugal is based on small to medium-sized family-owned dispersed units. The country produces a wide variety of crops and livestock products, including: Traditionally a sea-power, Portugal has had a strong tradition in the Portuguese fishing sector and is one of the countries with the highest fish consumption per capita.
Portuguese-processed fish products are exported through several companies, under a number of different brands and registered trademarks, such as Ramirez , the world's oldest active canned fish producer. Portugal is a significant European minerals producer and is ranked among Europe's leading copper producers. The nation is also a notable producer of tin , tungsten and uranium. However, the country lacks the potential to conduct hydrocarbon exploration and aluminium , a limitation that has hindered the development of Portugal's mining and metallurgy sectors.
Although the country has vast iron and coal reserves — mainly in the north — after the revolution and the consequent economic globalization , low competitiveness forced a decrease in the extraction activity for these minerals. The Panasqueira and Neves-Corvo mines are among the most recognised Portuguese mines that are still in operation. The largest lithium mine in Europe is operated by Grupo Mota, Felmica, in the Guarda region, which is estimated to have reserves for 30 years of production. It has 5 more deposits in its possession.
The company said the estimated mineral resources at the mine now stood at 14 million tonnes. Lithium prices have risen in expectation of growing demand for the mineral, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles and for storing electricity from the power grid. Europe consumes more than 20 per cent of the global supply of battery-grade lithium but currently has to import all its supplies of the mineral.
The so-called reverse circulation drilling program included 15 holes with around 2, metres of total drilling. The objective is to extend resources by integrating the data from drilling results with the expansion expected with the ongoing campaign. Wine has been one of the most noted Portuguese exports. The country is the seventh largest exporter of the product worldwide, by value. Industry is diversified, ranging from automotive Volkswagen Autoeuropa and Peugeot Citroen , aerospace Embraer and OGMA , electronics and textiles , to food , chemicals , cement and wood pulp.
Volkswagen Group's AutoEuropa motor vehicle assembly plant in Palmela is among the largest foreign direct investment projects in Portugal.
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Modern non-traditional technology-based industries, such as aerospace , biotechnology and information technology , have been developed in several locations across the country. Following the turn of the 21st century, many major biotechnology and information technology industries have been founded, and are concentrated in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon , Porto , Braga , Coimbra and Aveiro. The banking and insurance sectors performed well until the lates financial crisis , and this partly reflected a rapid deepening of the market in Portugal.
While sensitive to various types of market and underwriting risks , it has been estimated that overall both the life and non-life sectors will be able to withstand a number of severe shocks, even though the impact on individual insurers varies widely. Travel and tourism continue to be extremely important for Portugal.
It has been necessary for the country to focus upon its niche attractions, such as health, nature and rural tourism, to stay ahead of its competitors. Portugal is among the top 20 most-visited countries in the world, receiving an average of 20,, foreign tourists each year. Tourist hotspots in Portugal are: Lisbon attracts the sixteenth-most tourists among European cities [] with seven million tourists occupying the city's hotels in Also, between 5—6 million religious pilgrims visit Fatima each year, where apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children reportedly took place in The Portuguese government continues to promote and develop new tourist destinations, such as the Douro Valley , the island of Porto Santo , and Alentejo.
The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. The Rooster of Barcelos is bought by many tourists as a souvenir.
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A number of both national and multinational high-tech and industrial companies, are also responsible for research and development projects. One of the oldest learned societies of Portugal is the Sciences Academy of Lisbon , founded in Iberian bilateral state-supported research efforts include the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory and the Ibercivis distributed computing platform, which are joint research programmes of both Portugal and Spain. Portugal is a member of several pan-European scientific organizations. With the emergence and growth of several science parks throughout the world that helped create many thousands of scientific, technological and knowledge-based businesses, Portugal started to develop several [] science parks across the country.
Companies locate in the Portuguese science parks to take advantage of a variety of services ranging from financial and legal advice through to marketing and technological support. The European Innovation Scoreboard , placed Portugal-based innovation in the 15th position, with an impressive increase in innovation expenditure and output.
By the earlys, Portugal's fast economic growth with increasing consumption and purchase of new automobiles set the priority for improvements in transportation. Again in the s, after joining the European Economic Community , the country built many new motorways. Opened in , the first motorway which linked Lisbon to the National Stadium was an innovative project that made Portugal among one of the first countries in the world to establish a motorway this roadway eventually became the Lisbon-Cascais highway, or A5.
Although a few other tracts were created around and , it was only after the beginning of the s that large-scale motorway construction was implemented. In , Brisa , the highway concessionaire, was founded to handle the management of many of the region's motorways. On many highways, a toll needs to be paid, see Via Verde. Vasco da Gama bridge is the longest bridge in Europe.
Lisbon's geographical position makes it a stopover for many foreign airlines at several airports within the country. The primary flag-carrier is TAP Air Portugal , although many other domestic airlines provide services within and without the country. The government decided to build a new airport outside Lisbon, in Alcochete , to replace Lisbon Portela Airport , though this plan has been suspended due to austerity measures. One other important airport is the Aeroporto Internacional das Lajes on the island of Terceira in the Azores. This airport serves as one of two international airports serving countries outside the European Union for all nine islands of the Azores.
It also serves as a military air base for the United States Air Force. The base remains in use to the present day. A national railway system that extends throughout the country and into Spain, is supported and administered by Comboios de Portugal. The two largest metropolitan areas have subway systems: In Porto , a tram network , of which only a tourist line on the shores of the Douro remains, began construction on 12 September a first for the Iberian Peninsula.
All major cities and towns have their own local urban transport network, as well as taxi services. Portugal has considerable resources of wind and river power, the two most cost-effective renewable energy sources. Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a trend towards the development of a renewable resource industry and reduction of both consumption and use of fossil fuels. New programmes combine wind and water: Portugal's distribution system is also now a two-way street.
Instead of just delivering electricity, it draws electricity from even the smallest generators, like rooftop solar panels. The government aggressively encouraged such contributions by setting a premium price for those who buy rooftop-generated solar electricity. The Statistics Portugal Portuguese: In and according to more up-to-date figures, the population decreased to 10,, A small number of the former Jews may have continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret over many generations, in the case of the secret Jews of Belmonte , a small town in the interior; where now people observe the Jewish faith openly.
After the distinction between Old and New Christians was abolished by decree. Another interesting demographic feature relates to the Scandinavian expansion towards the West and strong activity in Northern Portugal where it is believed some coastline communities kept Scandinavian ancestry in Aveiro , Porto and Braga regions. The most important demographic influence in the modern Portuguese seems to be the oldest one; current interpretation of Y-chromosome and mtDNA data suggests that the Portuguese have their origin in Paleolithic peoples that began arriving to the European continent around 45, years ago.
All subsequent migrations did leave an impact, genetically and culturally, but the main population source of the Portuguese is still Paleolithic. Genetic studies show Portuguese populations not to be significantly different from other European populations. With a low confidence range there are Scandinavian and East European genetical markers. Native Portuguese are an Iberian ethnic group, whose ancestry is very similar to Spaniards and have strong ties with fellow Atlantic Arc countries like Ireland, British Isles, France and Belgium due to maritime trade dated as far back as the Bronze Age.
These maritime contacts and the prevalence of R1b haplogroup as the main genetical marker of these countries suggest a common ancestry and cultural proximity. Other maritime contacts with the Mediterranean specially with Greeks and Phoenicians add particular cultural phenotypes in Southern Portugal and Southern Spain Tartessos culture making both Portugal and Spain a bridge between North Western Europe and the Mediterranean but maintaining the Atlantic character.
The total fertility rate TFR as of [update] was estimated at 1. The structure of Portuguese society is characterized by an increasing inequality which at present places the country in the lowest third of the Social Justice Index for the European Union. Portugal's parliament in approved a budget plan for that includes tax breaks for returning emigrants in a bid to lure back those who left during the global financial crisis that hit the country.
The expansionary budget, backed by a left-wing majority in parliament, also aims to boost the purchasing power of households while cutting the already low deficit even further. Returning emigrants will be allowed to declare only half their taxable income for five years if they return, provided they lived abroad for at least three years. Around , residents left Portugal between and in the wake of the global financial crisis. Although some , have since returned, Lisbon wants to tempt the rest to come home - in a similar scheme to the Irish one [] - as well as Portugal struggles with the low birth rate and an ageing population.
According to projections by the national statistics office, Portugal's population will fall to 7. In , Portugal had 10,, inhabitants of whom about , were legal immigrants. Portugal's colonial history has long since been a cornerstone of its national identity, as has its geographic position at the south-western corner of Europe, looking out into the Atlantic Ocean. It was one of the last western colonial European powers to give up its overseas territories among them Angola and Mozambique in , turning over the administration of Macau to the People's Republic of China at the end of Consequently, it has both influenced and been influenced by cultures from former colonies or dependencies, resulting in immigration from these former territories for both economic and personal reasons.
Portugal, long a country of emigration the vast majority of Brazilians have Portuguese ancestry , [] has now become a country of net immigration, [] and not just from the last Indian Portuguese until , African Portuguese until , and Far East Asian Portuguese until overseas territories. An estimated , Portuguese returned to Portugal as the country's African possessions gained independence in Since the s, along with a boom in construction , several new waves of Ukrainian , Brazilian , Lusophone Africans and other Africans have settled in the country.
Romanian , Moldovans , Kosovar and Chinese have also migrated to the country. Portugal's Romani population is estimated to be at about 40, In the world, you will find tens of thousands of beautiful buildings created by man. Machu Picchu is undoubtedly the most iconic place of Peru and perhaps all of South America. Not only famous for his legacy of the lost city of Incas, but also for his amazing location between the jungle-covered hills.
The most significant monument of Southeast Asia is undoubtedly the extensive complex of Angkor Wat. He even got on the Cambodian flag. Few people who visited Cambodia were not here. Potala Palace is the unmistakable symbol of Tibet in the capital of Lhasa. It is also a monastery and the former palace of the Dalai Lama.
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This huge building has 13 floors and includes monumental tombstones of the Dalai Lamas. The largest pyramid in America is just a short distance from capital of Mexico - Mexico City. The most important buildings of the complex are the pyramids of the Moon and the Sun. The Taj Mahal is the most famous building of India. It is a monumental tomb located in Agra. The Taj Mahal among to the so-called new wonders of the world.
Like a dragon's back the mythical Great Wall of China towers across the landscape of northern China. This largest defensive structure of the world was built against wild Mongolian tribes and was to protect the vast Chinese Empire. The original point of this beautiful rock town was to build burial ground hidden in the mountains - there are so many rock royal tombs. In addition, you can also find here Roman sights. The most famous place in Petra is the tomb - Treasury. The city defines the fairy-tale atmosphere of narrow aisles, small clay houses, river ramparts, and a view over the city.
Palcho Gompa is a beautiful monastery located on the outskirts of Gyantse. The Kumbum is the largest stupa in Tibet. In addition, it is set in a beautiful location over the scenic valley of the Nyang Chu River. Amer sometimes written as Amber is not only a city, but also a monumental palace and above it a rising fortress. It is one of Rajasthan's most significant monuments in India. Although the most famous and most visited mayan monument is Chitzen Itza in the Yucatan, but the most beautiful is town overgrown with jungle - Palenque.
You will find many preserved buildings picturesquely set in lush countryside. The most famous Prague sight is undoubtedly the monumental complex of the Prague Castle, lying over the Vltava River. The Cathedral of St. Vitus, but you will find many other important buildings and probably the most famous street in Prague - the Golden Lane. Borobudur is the most significant monument of Indonesia and the largest Buddhist temple in the world. It's actually a huge multi-storied stupa. Because it is just a short distance from the capital city of Prague, a great number of tourists come here every year.
The most interesting part of the castle is beautifully decorated Chapel of the Holy Cross. The castle is really impressive. One of the greatest jewels of the Mughal era is the Badshahi mosque, which you can visit in Lahore's old part in Punjab, Pakistan. In addition to being so beautiful, is one the world's largest mosques over years even the largest in the world. St Peter's Basilica in Vatican is one of the largest churches in the world, and one of Rome's greatest landmarks.
Carcassonne is actually more than a castle, it's all heavily fortified city in the former disputed border between France and Spain. It is to this day best preserved such a massively fortified city in Europe. At the time of its greatest glory, Gerasa was one of the most important cities in the Middle East. Although the earthquake has strongly affected it, yet you still can still admire the remnants of beautiful ancient buildings. Cave temples in Dambulle are among the largest of its kind in Sri Lanka.
You will find thousands of different Buddhas, beautifully painted walls of caves. An amazing experience with an interesting atmosphere. At the very eastern end of Turkey, just a few kilometers from Iran, the well-preserved Ottoman Palace Ishak Pasha lies in the foothills of the volcanic mountains.
Its surroundings are a favorite picnic area for local people. Directly on the Turkish-Armenian border lies the ruins of the former mighty capital of the Armenian kingdom Bagratuni. At the time of its greatest fame, it competed with its significance with the largest cities of the Middle East. The river canyons were protected town from three sides and mighty walls the fourth.