|
|
PORTUGAL
If you think that PORTUGAL is some kind of desease or a spanish province, this is the right place for you !!!!!
Portugal (History)
Portugal (History)The area that is now Portugal was conquered (A.D.
c.5) by the Romans, overrun (from the 5th cent.) by Germanic tribes, and taken (711) by
the Moors . Portugal became an independent kingdom in 1139 under Alfonso I, and with the
conquest of Algarve in 1249 by Alfonso
III the Moors were driven out and the kingdom consolidated. The reign of John I
(r.1385-1433), founder of the Aviz dynasty, introduced Portugal's glorious period of
colonial and maritime expansion; by the 15th cent. the Portuguese empire extended to Asia,
Africa, and America. But decline was rapid. In 1580 Philip II of Spain seized Portugal,
which remained under Spanish rule until a revolt in 1640 established the Braganzas,
Portugal's last royal line. In the Napoleonic Wars, French forces occupied (1807-11)
Portugal and the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil. In 1822
Brazil became independent. John VI was forced to accept a liberal constitution in the same
year, but opposition to the monarchy remained strong. In 1910 a revolution overthrew
Manuel II and established a Portuguese republic. A period of great instability ensued. In
1926 a military coup overthrew the government, and in 1932 Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
became prime minister and virtual dictator of a right-wing corporative state, a position
he held until ill health forced his replacement by Marcello Caetano in 1968. In 1974, a
bloodless coup brought a moderate form of democracy. Almost all Portuguese overseas
territories subsequently gained independence, GUINEA-BISSAU in 1974, and ANGOLA, CAPE
VERDE, MOZAMBIQUE, and SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE in 1975. In the years since, Portugal has
seen increasing stability. Aníbal Cavaço Silva, of the center-right Social Democratic
party, has been premier since 1985.
If you want to learn more, please visit http://www.manorhouses.com/portinfo.htm
