The western Iberian Peninsula has been continuously inhabited since prehistoric times, with the earliest signs of settlement dating to 5500 BC. Celtic and Iberian peoples arrived in the first millennium BC. The region came under Roman control in the second century BC. A succession of Germanic peoples and the Alans ruled from the fifth to eighth centuries AD. Muslims invaded mainland Portugal in the eighth century, but were gradually expelled by the Christian Reconquista, culminating with the capture of the Algarve between 1238 and 1249. Modern Portugal began taking shape during this period, initially as a county of the Christian Kingdom of León in 868, and formally as a sovereign kingdom with the Manifestis Probatum in 1179.
As one of the earliest participants in the Age of Discovery, Portugal made several seminal advancements in nautical science. The Portuguese subsequently were among the first Europeans to explore and discover new territories and sea routes, establishing a maritime empire of settlements, colonies, and trading posts that extended mostly along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts. A dynastic crisis in the early 1580s resulted in the Iberian Union (1580–1640), which unified Portugal under Spanish rule, marking its gradual decline as a global power. Portuguese sovereignty was regained in 1640 and was followed by a costly and protracted war lasting until 1688, while the 1755 Lisbon earthquake destroyed the city and further damaged the empire's economy. (Full article...)
The quarter façade of the tower on the bank of the Tagus river
Belém Tower (Portuguese: Torre de Belém, pronounced[ˈtoʁɨðɨβɨˈlɐ̃j]; literally: Bethlehem Tower), officially the Tower of Saint Vincent (Portuguese: Torre de São Vicente) is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. This tower symbolizes Portugal's maritime and colonial power in early modern Europe. It was built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance, and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates other architectural styles, such as the minarets, which are inspired by Moorish architecture. The structure was built from liozlimestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre (100 ft), four-storey tower.
Since 1983, the tower has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Jerónimos Monastery. It is often portrayed as a symbol of Europe's Age of Discoveries and as a metonym for Portugal or Lisbon, given its landmark status. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus river near the Lisbon shore. (Full article...)
DonaMaria Amélia (1 December 1831 – 4 February 1853) was a princess of the Empire of Brazil and a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. Her parents were Emperor DomPedro I, the first ruler of Brazil, and Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The only child of her father's second marriage, Maria Amélia was born in France after Pedro I abdicated the Brazilian throne in favor of his son Dom Pedro II. Before Maria Amélia was a month old, Pedro I went to Portugal to restore the crown of the eldest daughter of his first marriage, Dona Maria II. He fought a successful war against his brother Miguel I, who had usurped Maria II's throne.
Only a few months after his victory, Pedro I died from tuberculosis. Maria Amélia's mother took her to Portugal, where she remained for most of her life without ever visiting Brazil. The Brazilian government refused to recognize Maria Amélia as a member of Brazil's Imperial House because she was foreign-born, but when her elder half-brother Pedro II was declared of age in 1840, he successfully intervened on her behalf. (Full article...)
The following are images from various Portugal-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1The arrival of the Portuguese in Japan, the first Europeans to reach it, initiating the Nanban ("southern barbarian") period of active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. (from History of Portugal)
Image 2The frontispiece of the 1826 Portuguese Constitution featuring King-Emperor Pedro IV and his daughter Queen Maria II (from History of Portugal)
Image 3This 1755 copper engraving shows the ruins of Lisbon in flames and a tsunami overwhelming the ships in the harbor. (from History of Portugal)
Image 21Map of Spain and Portugal showing the conquest of Hispania from 220 B.C. to 19 B.C. and provincial borders. It is based on other maps; the territorial advances and provincial borders are illustrative. (from History of Portugal)
This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
Lopes (right) speaking with a Spaniard (engraving by Esaias van Hulsen)
Roderigo Lopes (c. 1517 – 7 June 1594) was a Portuguese physician who served as a physician-in-chief to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 1581 until his death by execution, having been found guilty of plotting to poison her. A Portuguese converso or New Christian of Jewish ancestry, he is the only royal doctor in English history to have been executed, and may have inspired the character of Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which was written within four years of his death.
...that the reign of John III of Portugal was characterized by both the height of the Portuguese Empire political and mercantile power followed by the beginning of its decline?
...that the Democratic Party was a Portuguese political party closely associated with the history of the Portuguese First Republic, being the main political force in power from 1910 to 1926.
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