Portugal [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Occupying the western part of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal's narrow strip of land is flanked by the mighty Atlantic Ocean and isolated from the rest of Europe by the rugged bulk of Spain. One of Europe's oldest countries, her earliest history is evidenced in Paleolithic and Neolithic discoveries with Iron Age cultures predominant in the north by 500 BC. The blood of these early, dark-skinned and thick-set Iberians, who were the primary racial strain in a scattered population, would, as the result of invasion and trade, become mixed with those of the Celts, Phoenicians, Moors and Jews. Portugal derives her name from Portus Cale, a pre-Roman or Roman settlement, near the mouth of the Douro River. When the Romans arrived, in the 3rd century BC, attracted by its wealth of olive oil and wine, they were met with resistance from the Lusitani, a Celtic federation led by Viriathus, a brilliant chieftain from the hills, who kept the Romans at bay until his assassination enabled Decius Junius Brutus to march through central Portugal and subdue the Gallaeci. Although the Roman role in Portugal was one of exploitation rather than development, they nevertheless left as a legacy a number of fine, straight roads, aqueducts and bridges, and among the more notable remains are the beautiful Temple of Diana at Evora and the ruins of Conimbriga, one of the richest and most civilised cities of the Luso-Roman epoch. With the collapse of the Rhine frontier came the invasion of the Barbarians, followed by those of the Goths and Visigoths, and then the Moors, who succeeded in defeating Rodrigo, the last king of the Goths, in 711. Under Moorish influence orchards of almonds, figs and apricots flourished and irrigation systems introduced that are still being used in the country today. Cities sprang up and prospered and the tolerant Moors offered protection to Christian monks and a welcome to Jews, as a Moorish-Arabian culture spread outward from Coimbra and Kelb. Throughout the Middle Ages Christian Crusades were undertaken not only to recover the Holy Land from the Moslems, but to oust the Moors from Spain and Portugal. In the 12th century Christian counts and barons from Galicia, Asturias and Léon patiently waited for an opportunity to repel the Infidel and it was during this period that the famous El Cid captured Valencia. One of his comrades-in-arms was a Count of Burgundy who had married Teresa, one of the daughters of the King of Léon, and together they ruled over Portucale, the land located between the Douro and Minho Rivers. It was their son, AEonso Henriques who was to carve out his kingdom by bravely pushing the Moors south, and finally, wath tremendous courage, succeeded in capturing seven of the Moorish strongholds, including Lisbon. Afonso's descendants brought order to their kingdom: the poet king Dom Dinis built the first Portuguese fleet and founded the University of Coimbra. The last of the Burgundián line died, leaving no male heir, and as a result the King of Castile marched on Lisbon to lay claim to the throne. Opponents of Castile chose John, master of Aviz and the illegitimate son of Pedro I, as their leader and declared him defender of the realm. Anxious to preserve their independence the Portuguese rallied to his cause and routed the Castillans at the mighty Battle of AJjubarrota, on the 14th August, 1385. In 1387 John of Aviz married PhiUppa of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt and in so doing cemented the Portuguese pact with England, the oldest continuous alliance in Europe.Of their six children, the most famous was Henry the Navigator. Under his patronage Portuguese seamen explored and colonised Madeira and the Azores, and sailed down the African coast almost to Sierra Leone. His painstaking and inspired research enabled his countrymen to chart and conquer the mysteries of the vast oceans: in 1488 Bartolomeu Diaz rounded the Cape of Storms (Cape of Good Hope) at the southern tip of Africa; in 1498 Vasco da Gama reached Calcutta and so opened up the sea route to India; in 1500 Pedro Alvarez Cabrai discovered Brazil, and the Portuguese became the first white men to reach, among others, China and Ethiopia and, in 1520, Magellan became the first to circumnavigate the globe. Portuguese supremacy held sway over the high seas and her empire spread over four continents. This control of sea trade was to become her chief source of wealth during the 15th and 16th centuries. For sixty years, between 1580 and 1640, Portugal was united to Spain. The allegiance, however, proved disastrous for Portugal, who lost many of her overseas possessions, whilst being reluctantly included in Spain's quarrels with England, France and Holland. With growing resentment a group of Portuguese patriots expelled the Spanish in 1640, and placed on the throne the powerful Duke of Braganza, who took the title of John IV. Six years after his death his widow re-strengthened the Portuguese alliance with England by giving in marriage her daughter, Catherine, to Charies II. In 1755 a terrible earthquake rocked the country and devastated a large part of Lisbon. It was largely due to the unremitting efforts of King José I's minister, Pombal, that the country was raised from its ashes. After the Peninsular War of 1808-14, Napoleon's devastation left the country vulneráble to the destructive influences of internal strife, and the situation deteriorated as successive monarchies became more and more unpopular. In 1910, the Braganza dynasty was finally banished as the new régime proclaimed Portugal a republic. During the First World War the country's military commitments to the English alliance resulted in grave social and economic loss, so neutrality became her policy during World War II.