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<\/a>Portugal is the oldest nation state on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in Europe, its territory having been continuously settled, invaded and fought over since prehistoric times. It was inhabited by pre-Celtic<\/a> and Celtic<\/a> peoples, visited by Phoenicians<\/a>–Carthaginians<\/a>, Ancient Greeks<\/a> and ruled by the Romans<\/a>, who were followed by the invasions of the Suebi<\/a> and Visigothic<\/a> Germanic peoples<\/a>. After the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, most of its territory was part of Al-Andalus<\/a>. Portugal as a country was established during the early Christian Reconquista<\/a>. Founded in 868, the County of Portugal<\/a> gained prominence after the Battle of S\u00e3o Mamede<\/a> (1128). The Kingdom of Portugal<\/a> was later proclaimed following the Battle of Ourique<\/a> (1139), and independence from Le\u00f3n<\/a> was recognized by the Treaty of Zamora (1143).<\/p>\n In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global maritime and commercial empire<\/a>, becoming one of the world’s major economic, political and military powers. During this period, today referred to as the Age of Discovery<\/a>, Portuguese explorers pioneered maritime exploration with the discovery of what would become Brazil<\/a> (1500). During this time Portugal monopolized the spice trade<\/a>, divided the world into hemispheres of dominion with Castile<\/a>, and the empire expanded with military campaigns in Asia<\/a>. However, events such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake<\/a>, the country’s occupation during the Napoleonic Wars<\/a>, and the independence of Brazil (1822) erased to a great extent Portugal’s prior opulence.<\/p>\n After the 1910 revolution<\/a> deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic<\/a> was established, later being superseded by the Estado Novo<\/a> authoritarian regime. Democracy was restored after the Carnation Revolution<\/a> (1974), ending the Portuguese Colonial War<\/a>. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories. The handover of Macau to China (1999)<\/a> marked the end of what can be considered one of the longest-lived colonial empires in history.<\/p>\n Portugal has left a profound cultural, architectural and linguistic influence across the globe, with a legacy of around 250 million Portuguese speakers, and many Portuguese-based creoles. It is a developed country with an advanced economy and high living standards. Additionally, it is highly placed in rankings of moral freedom (2nd), peacefulness (3rd), democracy (7th), press freedom (10th), stability (14th), social progress (21st), and prosperity (27th). A member of the United Nations<\/a>, the European Union<\/a>, the Schengen Area<\/a> and the Council of Europe (CoE)<\/a>, Portugal was also one of the founding members of NATO<\/a>, the eurozone<\/a>, the OECD<\/a>, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.<\/a><\/p>\n The region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals<\/a> and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies and although they did not establish prosperous settlements, they did form organized societies. Neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing.<\/p>\n The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in Southwestern Europe. The region was settled by Pre-Celts and Celts, giving origin to peoples like the Gallaeci<\/a>, Lusitanians<\/a>, Celtici<\/a> and Cynetes<\/a> (also known as Conii), visited by Phoenicians-Carthaginians and Ancient Greeks, was incorporated in the Roman Republic dominions as Lusitania<\/a> and part of Gallaecia<\/a>, after 45 BC until 298 AD.<\/p>\n A few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements (such as Tavira<\/a>) were also founded in the Algarve<\/a> region by Phoenicians\u2013Carthaginians.<\/p>\n Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC. The Carthaginians, Rome’s adversary in the Punic Wars<\/a>, were expelled from their coastal colonies. During the last days of Julius Caesar<\/a>, almost the entire peninsula was annexed to the Roman Republic.<\/p>\n Rome installed a colonial regime. The complete Romanization of Lusitania only took place in the Visigothic era.<\/p>\n In 27 BC, Lusitania gained the status of Roman province. Later, a northern province of Lusitania was formed, known as Gallaecia, with capital in Bracara Augusta, today’s Braga<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the early 5th century, Germanic tribes, namely the Suebi and the Vandals<\/a> (Silingi<\/a> and Hasdingi<\/a>) together with their allies, the Sarmatians<\/a> and Alans<\/a> invaded the Iberian Peninsula where they would form their kingdom. The Kingdom of the Suebi<\/a> was the Germanic post-Roman kingdom, established in the former Roman provinces of Gallaecia-Lusitania.<\/p>\n For the next 300 years and by the year 700, the entire Iberian Peninsula was ruled by the Visigoths.<\/p>\n Today’s continental Portugal, along with most of modern Spain, was part of al-Andalus between 726 and 1249, following the Umayyad Caliphate<\/a> conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. This rule lasted from some decades in the North to five centuries in the South.<\/p>\n After defeating the Visigoths in only a few months, the Umayyad Caliphate started expanding rapidly in the peninsula. Beginning in 726, the land that is now Portugal became part of the vast Umayyad Caliphate’s empire of Damascus<\/a>, which stretched from the Indus<\/a> river in the Indian sub-continent up to the South of France, until its collapse in 750. That year the west of the empire gained its independence under Abd-ar-Rahman I<\/a> with the establishment of the Emirate of C\u00f3rdoba<\/a>. After almost two centuries, the Emirate became the Caliphate of C\u00f3rdoba<\/a> in 929, until its dissolution a century later in 1031 into no less than 23 small kingdoms, called Taifa kingdoms.<\/p>\n An Asturian Visigothic noble named Pelagius of Asturias<\/a> in 718 was elected leader 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<\/a>, in what is today the small mountain region in North-western Spain, adjacent to the Bay of Biscay<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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. In the process, after defeating the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga<\/a> in 722, Pelagius was proclaimed king, thus founding the Christian Kingdom of Asturias and starting the war of Christian reconquest known in Portuguese as the Reconquista Crist\u00e3.<\/p>\n Count V\u00edmara Peres organized the region he had reconquered, and elevated it to the status of County, naming it the County of Portugal after the region’s major port city \u2013 Portus Cale or modern Porto.<\/p>\n After annexing the County of Portugal into one of the several counties that made up the Kingdom of Asturias<\/a>, King Alfonso III of Asturias<\/a> knighted V\u00edmara Peres, in 868, as the First Count of Portus Cale (Portugal). The region became known as Portucale, Portugale, and simultaneously Portug\u00e1lia \u2013 the County of Portugal.<\/p>\n On 24 June 1128, the Battle of S\u00e3o Mamede occurred near Guimar\u00e3es<\/a>. Afonso Henriques<\/a>, Count of Portugal, defeated his mother Countess Teresa<\/a> and her lover Fern\u00e3o Peres de Trava<\/a>, thereby establishing himself as sole leader. Afonso then turned his arms against the Moors<\/a> in the south.<\/p>\n Afonso’s campaigns were successful and, on 25 July 1139, he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique, and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers. This is traditionally taken as the occasion when the County of Portugal, as a fief of the Kingdom of Le\u00f3n, was transformed into the independent Kingdom of Portugal.<\/p>\n Afonso then established the first of the Portuguese Cortes<\/a> at Lamego<\/a>, where he was crowned by the Archbishop of Braga. Afonso was recognized in 1143 by King Alfonso VII of Le\u00f3n<\/a>, and in 1179 by Pope Alexander III<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the Reconquista period, Christians reconquered the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish domination. 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 1249, 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.<\/p>\n In 1348 and 1349 Portugal, like the rest of Europe, was devastated by the Black Death.<\/a><\/p>\n In 1373, Portugal made an alliance<\/a> with England, which is the longest-standing alliance in the world.<\/p>\n In 1383, John I of Castile<\/a>, husband of Beatrice of Portugal<\/a> and son-in-law of Ferdinand I of Portugal<\/a>, claimed the throne of Portugal. A faction of petty noblemen and commoners, led by John of Aviz<\/a> (later King John I of Portugal) and commanded by General Nuno \u00c1lvares Pereira<\/a> defeated the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota<\/a>. With this battle, the House of Aviz<\/a> became the ruling house of Portugal.<\/p>\n During this period, Portugal explored the Atlantic Ocean, discovering the Atlantic archipelagos the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde<\/a>; explored the African coast; colonized selected areas of Africa; discovered an eastern route to India<\/a> via the Cape of Good Hope<\/a>; 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<\/a> and Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1415, Portugal acquired the first of its overseas colonies by conquering Ceuta<\/a>, the first prosperous Islamic trade center in North Africa. There followed the first discoveries in the Atlantic: Madeira and the Azores, which led to the first colonization movements.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Treaty of Tordesillas<\/a>, intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus<\/a>, was made by Pope Alexander VI<\/a>, the mediator between Portugal and Spain. It was signed on 7 June 1494, and divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two countries along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands (off the west coast of Africa).<\/p>\n In 1498, Vasco da Gama<\/a> accomplished what Columbus set out for and became the first European to reach India by sea, bringing economic prosperity to Portugal and its population of 1.7 million residents, and helping to start the Portuguese Renaissance<\/a>. In 1500, the Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real<\/a> reached what is now Canada<\/a> and founded the town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s<\/a>, Newfoundland and Labrador<\/a>, long before the French and English in the 17th century, and being just one of many Portuguese colonizations of the Americas.<\/p>\n In 1500, Pedro \u00c1lvares Cabral<\/a> discovered Brazil and claimed it for Portugal. Ten years later, Afonso de Albuquerque<\/a> conquered Goa<\/a> in India, Muscat<\/a> and Ormuz<\/a> in the Persian Strait<\/a>, and Malacca<\/a>, now a state in Malaysia. Thus, the Portuguese empire held dominion over commerce in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic. Portuguese sailors set out to reach Eastern Asia by sailing eastward from Europe, landing in such places as Taiwan, Japan, the island of Timor<\/a>, and in the Moluccas<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in 1521. From 1519 to 1522, Ferdinand Magellan<\/a> (Fern\u00e3o de Magalh\u00e3es) organized a Spanish expedition to the East Indies which resulted in the first circumnavigation of the globe. Magellan never made it back to Europe as he was killed by natives in the Philippines<\/a> in 1521.<\/p>\n The Treaty of Zaragoza<\/a>, signed on 22 April 1529 between Portugal and Spain, specified the anti-meridian to the line of demarcation specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Portugal voluntarily entered a dynastic union between 1580 and 1640. This occurred because the last two kings of the House of Aviz \u2013 King Sebastian,<\/a> who died in the battle of Alc\u00e1cer Quibir<\/a> in Morocco<\/a>, and his great-uncle and successor, King-Cardinal Henry of Portugal<\/a> \u2013 both died without heirs, resulting in the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580<\/a>.<\/p>\n Subsequently, Philip II<\/a> of Spain claimed the throne and was accepted as Philip I of Portugal. Portugal did not lose its formal independence, briefly forming a union of kingdoms. The joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of an independent foreign policy and led to its involvement in the Eighty Years’ War<\/a> between Spain and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n 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 1595 to 1663 the Dutch-Portuguese War<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n In 1640, John IV of Portugal<\/a> spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. The Portuguese Restoration War<\/a> ended the sixty-year period of the Iberian Union<\/a> under the House of Habsburg<\/a>. This was the beginning of the House of Braganza<\/a>, which reigned in Portugal until 1910.<\/p>\n In the autumn of 1807, Napoleon<\/a> moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. From 1807 to 1811, British-Portuguese forces would successfully fight against the French invasion of Portugal in the Peninsular War<\/a>, during which 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1807, as Napoleon’s army closed in on Lisbon, Jo\u00e3o VI of Portugal<\/a>, the Prince Regent, transferred his court to Brazil and established Rio de Janeiro<\/a> as the capital of the Portuguese Empire. In 1815, Brazil was declared a Kingdom and the Kingdom of Portugal was united with it, forming a pluricontinental state, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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. Portuguese and their allied British troops fought against the French Invasion of Portugal<\/a> and by 1815 the situation in Europe had cooled down sufficiently that Jo\u00e3o VI would have been able to return safely to Lisbon. However, the King of Portugal remained in Brazil until the Liberal Revolution of 1820<\/a>, which started in Porto, demanded his return to Lisbon in 1821.<\/p>\n Thus he returned to Portugal but left his son Pedro<\/a> 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<\/a> from Portugal. Cisplatina<\/a> (today’s sovereign state of Uruguay), in the south, was one of the last additions to the territory of Brazil under Portuguese rule.<\/p>\n Brazilian independence was recognized in 1825, whereby Emperor Pedro I granted to his father the titular honor of Emperor of Brazil. John VI’s death in 1826 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 favor of his daughter, Maria II<\/a> (Mary II).<\/p>\n However, Pedro’s brother, Infante Miguel<\/a>, claimed the throne in protest. After a proposal for Miguel and Maria to marry failed, Miguel seized power as King Miguel I, in 1828.<\/p>\n In order to defend his daughter’s rights to the throne, Pedro launched the Liberal Wars<\/a> to reinstall his daughter and establish a constitutional monarchy in Portugal. The war ended in 1834, with Miguel’s defeat, the promulgation of a constitution, and the reinstatement of Queen Maria II.<\/p>\n Queen Maria II (Mary II) and King Ferdinand II’s<\/a> son, King Pedro V<\/a> (Peter V) modernized the country during his short reign (1853\u20131861). Under his reign, roads, telegraphs, and railways were constructed and improvements in public health advanced.<\/p>\n 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. Luanda<\/a>, Benguela<\/a>, Bissau<\/a>, Louren\u00e7o Marques<\/a>, Porto Amboim<\/a> and the Island of Mozambique<\/a> were among the oldest Portuguese-founded port cities in its African territories. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation-sized territories to compete with other European powers there.<\/p>\n With the Conference of Berlin of 1884<\/a>, Portuguese territories in Africa 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<\/a>. Portuguese towns and cities in Africa like Nova Lisboa<\/a>, S\u00e1 da Bandeira<\/a>, Silva Porto<\/a>, Malanje<\/a>, Tete<\/a>, Vila Junqueiro<\/a>, Vila Pery<\/a> and Vila Cabral<\/a> were founded or redeveloped inland during this period and beyond. New coastal towns like Beira<\/a>, Mo\u00e7\u00e2medes<\/a>, Lobito<\/a>, Jo\u00e3o Belo<\/a>, Nacala<\/a> and Porto Am\u00e9lia<\/a> were also founded. Even before the turn of the 20th century, railway tracks as the Benguela railway<\/a> in Angola, and the Beira railway<\/a> in Mozambique, started to be built to link coastal areas and selected inland regions.<\/p>\n Other episodes during this period of the Portuguese presence in Africa include the 1890 British Ultimatum<\/a>. This forced the Portuguese military to retreat from the land between the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique<\/a> and Angola<\/a> (most of present-day Zimbabwe and Zambia), which had been claimed by Portugal and included in its “Pink Map<\/a>“, which clashed with British aspirations to create a Cape to Cairo Railway<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Portuguese territories in Africa were Cape Verde, S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe<\/a>, Portuguese Guinea<\/a>, Angola, and Mozambique. The tiny fortress of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o Baptista de Ajud\u00e1<\/a> on the coast of Dahomey<\/a>, was also under Portuguese rule. In addition, Portugal still ruled the Asian territories of Portuguese India<\/a>, Portuguese Timo<\/a>r and Portuguese Macau<\/a>.<\/p>\n On February 1, 1908, King Dom Carlos I<\/a> of Portugal and his heir apparent and his eldest son, Prince Royal Dom Lu\u00eds Filipe, Duke of Braganza<\/a>, were assassinated<\/a> in Lisbon in the Terreiro do Pa\u00e7o<\/a> by two Portuguese republican activist revolutionaries, Alfredo Lu\u00eds da Costa<\/a> and Manuel Bu\u00ed\u00e7a<\/a>. His second and youngest son, Manuel II of Portugal<\/a>, became the new king, but was eventually overthrown by the 5 October 1910 Portuguese republican revolution, which abolished the monarchy and installed a republican government in Portugal, causing him and his royal family to flee into exile in London, England.<\/p>\n The new republic had many problems. Portugal had 45 different governments in just 15 years. During World War 1<\/a> (1914\u20131918), Portugal helped the Allies<\/a> fight the Central Powers<\/a>. But the war hurt its weak economy. Political instability and economic weaknesses were fertile ground for chaos and unrest during the First Portuguese Republic. These conditions would lead to the failed Monarchy of the North<\/a>, 28 May 1926 coup d’\u00e9tat<\/a>, and the creation of the National Dictatorship (Ditadura Nacional)<\/a>. This in turn led to the establishment of the right-wing dictatorship of the Estado Novo under Ant\u00f3nio de Oliveira Salazar in 1933.<\/p>\n In the early 1960s, independence movements in the Portuguese overseas provinces of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea in Africa, resulted in the Portuguese Colonial War (1961\u20131974).<\/p>\n 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. However, the authoritarian and conservative Estado Novo regime, first installed and governed by Ant\u00f3nio de Oliveira Salazar and from 1968 onwards led by Marcelo Caetano<\/a>, tried to preserve a vast centuries-long intercontinental empire.<\/p>\n The Portuguese government and army resisted the decolonization of its overseas territories until April 1974, when a bloodless left-wing military coup in Lisbon, known as the Carnation Revolution, led the way for the independence of the overseas territories in Africa and Asia, as well as for the restoration of democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (Processo Revolucion\u00e1rio Em Curso<\/a>). 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 1975, prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal’s African territories (mostly from Portuguese Angola and Mozambique).<\/p>\n Portugal continued to be governed by a Junta de Salva\u00e7\u00e3o Nacional<\/a> until the Portuguese legislative election of 1976. It was won by the Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) and M\u00e1rio Soares<\/a>, its leader, became Prime Minister of the 1st Constitutional Government on 23 July. M\u00e1rio Soares would be Prime Minister from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1985.<\/p>\n In 1986, Portugal, along with Spain, joined the European Economic Community (EEC) that later became the European Union (EU). In the following years Portugal’s economy progressed considerably as a result of EEC\/EU structural and cohesion funds<\/a> and Portuguese companies’ easier access to foreign markets.<\/p>\n Portugal’s last overseas and Asian colonial territory, Macau<\/a>, was peacefully handed over to the People’s Republic of China (PRC)<\/a> on December 20, 1999, under the 1987 joint declaration that set the terms for Macau’s handover from Portugal to the PRC. In 2002, the independence of East Timor<\/a> (Asia) was formally recognized by Portugal, after an incomplete decolonization process that was started in 1975 because of the Carnation Revolution, but interrupted by an Indonesian armed invasion and occupation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Economic disruption and an unsustainable growth in government debt during the financial crisis of 2007\u20132008<\/a> led the country to negotiate in 2011 with the IMF and the European Union, through the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM)<\/a> and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF)<\/a>, a loan to help the country stabilize its finances.<\/p>\n The territory of Portugal includes an area on the Iberian Peninsula (referred to as the continent by most Portuguese) and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: the archipelagos of Madeira<\/a> and the Azores<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus<\/a>, that flows from Spain and disgorges in the Tagus Estuary<\/a>, 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<\/a> and the Alentejo<\/a> regions, is characterized by rolling plains.<\/p>\n Portugal’s highest peak is the similarly named Mount Pico<\/a> on the island of Pico<\/a> in the Azores. This ancient volcano, which measures 2,351 m (7,713 ft) is an iconic symbol of the Azores, while the Serra da Estrela<\/a> on the mainland (the summit being 1,991 m (6,532 ft) above sea level) is an important seasonal attraction for skiers and winter sports enthusiasts.<\/p>\n The archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores are scattered within the Atlantic Ocean: the Azores straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on a tectonic triple junction, and Madeira along a range formed by in-plate hotspot geology. Geologically, these islands were formed by volcanic and seismic events. The last terrestrial volcanic eruption occurred in 1957\u201358 (Capelinhos) and minor earthquakes occur sporadically, usually of low intensity.<\/p>\n Portugal is a developed and a high-income country. The national currency of Portugal is the euro (\u20ac), which replaced the Portuguese Escudo, and the country was one of the original member states of the eurozone. Portugal’s central bank is the Banco de Portugal, an integral part of the European System of Central Banks. Most industries, businesses and financial institutions are concentrated in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas \u2013 the Set\u00fabal<\/a>, Aveiro<\/a>, Braga<\/a>, Coimbra<\/a>, Leiria<\/a> and Faro<\/a> districts are the biggest economic centers outside these two main areas.<\/p>\n Since the Carnation Revolution of 1974, which culminated in the end of one of Portugal’s most notable phases of economic expansion (that started in the 1960s), a significant change has occurred in the nation’s annual economic growth. After the turmoil of the 1974 revolution and the PREC period, Portugal tried to adapt to a changing modern global economy, a process that continues in 2013. Since the 1990s, 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.<\/p>\n In the second decade of the 21st century, the Portuguese economy suffered its most severe recession since the 1970s, resulting in the country having to be bailed out by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The bailout, agreed to in 2011, required Portugal to enter into a range of austerity measures in exchange for funding support of \u20ac78,000,000,000. In May 2014, the country exited the bailout but reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining its reformist momentum.<\/p>\n By the early-1970s, Portugal’s fast economic growth with increasing consumption and purchase of new automobiles set the priority for improvements in transportation. Again in the 1990s, after joining the European Economic Community, the country built many new motorways. Today, the country has a 68,732 km (42,708 mi) road network, of which almost 3,000 km (1,864 mi) are part of system of 44 motorways.<\/p>\n Continental Portugal’s 89,015 km2 (34,369 sq mi) territory is serviced by four international airports located near the principal cities of Lisbon<\/a>, Porto<\/a>, Faro <\/a>and Beja<\/a>. 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<\/a>, although many other domestic airlines provide services within and without the country. Currently, the most important airports are in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Funchal (Madeira)<\/a>, and Ponta Delgada (Azores)<\/a>, managed by the national airport authority group ANA \u2013 Aeroportos de Portugal<\/a>. One other important airport is the Aeroporto Internacional das Lajes<\/a> on the island of Terceira<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n A national railway system that extends throughout the country and into Spain, is supported and administered by Comboios de Portugal (CP)<\/a>. Rail transport of passengers and goods is derived using the 2,791 km (1,734 mi) of railway lines currently in service, of which 1,430 km (889 mi) are electrified and about 900 km (559 mi) allow train speeds greater than 120 km\/h (75 mph).<\/p>\n The major seaports are located in Sines<\/a>, Lisbon, Leix\u00f5es<\/a>, Set\u00fabal<\/a>, Aveiro<\/a>, Figueira da Foz<\/a>, and Faro.<\/p>\n The two largest metropolitan areas have subway systems: Lisbon Metro<\/a> and Metro Sul do Tejo in the Lisbon metropolitan area and Porto Metro<\/a> in the Porto Metropolitan Area, each with more than 35 km (22 mi) of lines.<\/p>\n In Portugal, Lisbon tram services have been supplied by the Companhia de Carris de Ferro de Lisboa (Carris), for over a century. All major cities and towns have their own local urban transport network, as well as taxi services.<\/p>\n The flag of Portugal is a rectangular bicolor with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The lesser version of the national coat of arms<\/a> (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) is centered over the color boundary at equal distance from the upper and lower edges. On 30 June 1911, less than a year after the downfall of the constitutional monarchy, this design was officially adopted for the new national flag of the First Portuguese Republic, after selection by a special commission whose members included Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro<\/a>, Jo\u00e3o Chagas<\/a> and Abel Botelho<\/a>.<\/p>\n The conjugation of the new field colors, especially the use of green, was not traditional in the Portuguese national flag’s composition and represented a radical republican-inspired change that broke the bond with the former monarchical flag. Since a failed republican insurrection on 31 January 1891, red and green had been established as the colors of the Portuguese Republican Party<\/a> and its associated movements, whose political prominence kept growing until it reached a culmination period following the Republican revolution of 5 October 1910<\/a>. In the ensuing decades, these colors were popularly propagandized as representing the hope of the nation (green) and the blood of those who died defending it (red), as a means to endow them with a more patriotic and dignified, therefore less political, sentiment.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Portugal-City-Map-137x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Prehistory:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Prehistoric-Rock-Art-Sites-in-the-Coa-Valley.-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Celtic-Buildings-in-Northern-Portugal-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Roman-Temple-of-Evora-300x223.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Germanic kingdoms: Suebi and Visigoths:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Kingdom-of-the-Suebi-300x257.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Islamic Period and the Reconquista:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/The-Caliphate-of-Cordoba-in-the-Early-10th-Century-300x223.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>County of Portugal:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Count-Vimara-Peres-187x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Afonsine Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/The-Battle-of-Ourique-1139-300x177.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/King-Afonso-I-of-Portugal-187x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Joanine Era and Age of Discoveries:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/King-John-I-of-Portugal-231x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Vasco-da-Gama-221x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Pedro-Alvares-Cabral-203x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Iberian Union, Restoration and Early Brigantine Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/King-Sebastian-of-Portugal-235x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/King-John-IV-of-Portugal-195x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Napoleonic Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/King-John-VI-224x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/King-Emperor-Pedro-IV-and-his-Daughter-Queen-Maria-II-238x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Maria-II-209x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Miguel-I-146x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Constitutional Monarchy:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Pedro-V-206x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Manuel-II-206x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>First Republic and Estado Novo:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Antonio-de-Oliveira-Salazar-224x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Marcello-Caetano-234x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Carnation Revolution and European Integration:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Mario-Soares-300x197.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Topographic-Map-of-Portugal-170x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Portugal-Export-Treemap-300x235.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Road-Map-of-Portugal-191x300.gif\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/TAP-Portugal-300x194.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Rail-Map-of-Portugal-275x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Lisbon-Metro-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Portugal:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Flag-of-Portugal-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>