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Portugal
*** Shopping-Tip: Portugal
{{Infobox_Country|
|native_name = ''República Portuguesa''
|conventional_long_name = Portuguese Republic
|common_name = Portugal
|image_flag = Flag of Portugal.svg
|image_coat = Coat of arms of Portugal.png
|image_map = LocationPortugal.png
|national_motto = none
|national_anthem =
A Portuguesa
|official_languages =
Portuguese language Portuguese1
|capital =
Lisbon (Lisboa)
|latd=38 |latm=42 |latNS=N |longd=9 |longm=11 |longEW=W |
|largest_city =
Lisbon
|government_type =
Parliamentary democracy
|leader_titles =
President of Portugal PresidentPrime Minister of Portugal Prime Minister
|leader_names =
AnÃbal Cavaco SilvaJosé Sócrates
|area_rank = 111th
|area_magnitude = 1 E6
|area= 92,391
|areami²= 35,672
|percent_water = 0.5%
|population_estimate = 10,566,212
|population_estimate_year = July 2005
|population_estimate_rank = 76th
|population_census =
|population_census_year =
|population_density = 114
|population_densitymi² =295
|population_density_rank = 66th
|GDP_PPP_year= 2005
|GDP_PPP = $194.8 billion
|GDP_PPP_rank = 43rd
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $18,400
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 57th
|sovereignty_type = Formation
|established_events = Independence
Recognized
|established_dates =
868June 24,
1128October 5,
1143
|HDI_year = 2003
|HDI = 0.904
|HDI_rank = 27th
|HDI_category =
high
|currency =
Euro (€)
2
|currency_code = EUR
|country_code = PRT
|time_zone =
Western European Time WET3
|utc_offset =
|time_zone_DST =
European Summer Time EST
|utc_offset_DST = +1
|cctld =
.pt
|calling_code = 351
|footnotes =
1Mirandese Mirandese Language is officially recognised (Law N.º 7/99 of January 29th).
2Prior to
2002:
Portuguese escudo3Azores:
UTC-1; UTC in
European Summer Time summer
}}
{{portal}}
'''Portugal''', officially the '''Portuguese Republic''' (in
Portuguese language Portuguese, ''República Portuguesa'';
Pronunciation pron. International Phonetic Alphabet IPA {{IPA|[Ê?É›'puβlika puɾtu'É£ezÉ?]}}), is located in the west and southwest parts of the
Iberian Peninsula in southwestern
Europe, and is the westernmost country in continental Europe. Portugal is bordered by
Spain to the north and east and by the
Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. In addition, Portugal includes two
archipelagos in the
Atlantic Ocean Atlantic,
Azores Islands Azores (''Açores'') and
Madeira Islands.
Portugal has witnessed a constant flow of different
civilizations during the past 3,100 years.
Iberians Iberian,
Tartessos Tartessian,
Celtic,
Phoenician and
Carthage Carthaginian,
Greeks Greek,
Roman Empire Roman,
Germanic tribes Germanic (
Suevi and
Visigoth),
Egyptian,
Semitic (
Arabic,
Sephardi Jews Jewish, etc.),
Moors Moorish and
Portuguese people other cultures have all made an imprint on the country's culture, history, language and ethnic make up. The
History of Portugal#Naming of Portugal naming of Portugal itself reveals most of the country's early history, stemming from the Roman name ''Portus Cale'', a possibly mixed
Greek language Greek and
Latin name meaning "Beautiful Port", or even mixed Celtic and Latin or mixed Phoenician and Latin. During the
15th century 15th and
16th century 16th centuries, Portugal was a major economic, political, and cultural power, its
Portuguese Empire empire stretching from
Brazil to the
Indies.
History
{{Main|History of Portugal}}
Lusitania
{{mainarticles|
Lusitanian Pre-Roman and
Lusitania Roman Lusitania}}
In the early
first millennium BC, several waves of
Celts invaded Portugal from
Central Europe and intermarried with local peoples, the
Iberians, forming the
Celt-Iberians. Early Greek explorers named the region "
Ophiussa" (Greek for "land of serpents") because the natives worshipped serpents. In
238 BC, the
Carthaginians occupied the Iberian coasts. In this period several small tribes occupied the territory, the main tribes were the
Lusitanians, who lived between the
Douro River Douro and
Tagus rivers, and the
Gallaecia Callaeci who lived north of the Douro river among some other tribes. {{Inote | ''História de Portugal - A Formação do Território'', page 9, "A Lusitânia" paragraph 1}} The
Conii, influenced by
Tartessos, were established in southern Portugal for a long time. The
Celtici, a later wave of Celts, settled in
Alentejo.
In
219 BC, the first
Ancient Rome Roman troops invaded the Iberian Peninsula, driving the
Carthaginians out in the
Punic Wars. The Roman conquest of Portugal started from the south, where they found friendly natives, the
Conii. Over decades, the Romans increased their sphere of control. But in
194 BC a rebellion began in the north, the
Lusitanians successfully held off the Romans, took back land and ransacked
Conistorgis, the Conii capital, because of their alliance with Rome.
Viriathus, the Lusitanian leader, drove the Roman forces out. Rome sent numerous legions, but success was only achieved by bribing Lusitanian officials to kill their own leader. During this period, a process of
Culture of Ancient Rome Romanization was carried out, leading
Lusitania to gain
Latin Right in
73 73 AD.{{Inote | ''História de Portugal - A Formação do Território'', page 135, "Cronologia"}}
The kingdom
{{mainarticles|
The Establishment of the Monarchy in Portugal Establishment and
The Consolidation of the Monarchy in Portugal Consolidation of the kingdom}}
Image:Pt-gmr-castelo.jpg 10th century thumb|right|240px|The [[10th century|10th-century Castle of Guimarães, a national symbol, is known as the "Cradle of Portugal". The
Battle of São Mamede took place nearby in 1128..html" title="Meaning of 10th-century.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|240px|The [[10th century|10th-century">thumb|right|240px|The [[10th century|10th-century
Castle of Guimarães, a national symbol, is known as the "Cradle of Portugal". The
Battle of São Mamede took place nearby in 1128.">10th-century.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|240px|The [[10th century|10th-century">thumb|right|240px|The [[10th century|10th-century
Castle of Guimarães, a national symbol, is known as the "Cradle of Portugal". The
Battle of São Mamede took place nearby in 1128.
In the
5th century,
Germanic tribes Germanic tribes, most notably the
Suevi and the
Visigoths, invaded the Iberian peninsula, set up kingdoms, and became assimilated in the Roman culture of the
peninsula.
An
Islamic invasion took place in
711. Many of the ousted nobles took refuge in the unconquered north
Asturia Asturian highlands. From there they aimed to reconquer their lands from the
Moors. In
868, Count
VÃmara Peres reconquered and governed the region between the
Minho (river) Minho and Douro rivers. The county became known as ''Portucale'' (i.e. Portugal), due to its most important city, Portucale (today's
Porto) and founded a villa with his name - Vimaranes (today's
Guimarães) where he chose to live.
While a dependency of the
Kingdom of León, Portugal occasionally gained de facto independence during weak Leonese reigns, but it lost its autonomy in
1071 due to one of these attempts, ending the rule of the counts of the House of VÃmara Peres. Then 20 years later, Count
Henry, Count of Portugal Henry from
Burgundy was appointed Count of Portugal as a payment for military services to León, and with the purpose of expanding the territory southwards. The Portuguese territory included only what is now northern Portugal, with its capital in
Guimarães.
Henry died and his son,
Afonso I of Portugal Afonso Henriques took control of the county. The city of
Braga, the
Roman Catholic Church Catholic centre of the Iberian Peninsula, faced new competition from other regions. The lords of the cities of
Coimbra and
Porto, together with the clergy of Braga, demanded the independence of the county.
Image:First portuguese flag.jpg thumb|left|160px|The first Portuguese flag, of D. Afonso Henriques
Portugal traces its emergence as a nation to
24 June 1128, with the
Battle of São Mamede by
Afonso I of Portugal Afonso I. On
5 October 1143 Portugal was formally recognized. Afonso, aided by the
Templar Knights, continued to conquer southern lands from the Moors. In
1250 the Portuguese
Reconquista ended when it reached the southern coast of
Algarve.
In an era of several wars when Portugal and
Castile tried to control one another,
Fernando I of Portugal King Ferdinand was dying with no male heirs. His only child, a single daughter, married King
John I of Castile who would therefore be the King of Portugal after Fernando's death. However, the impending loss of independence to Castile was not accepted by the majority of the Portuguese people, which led to the
1383-1385 Crisis. A loyalist faction led by John of Aviz (later
John I of Portugal John I), with the help of
Nuno Ã?lvares Pereira, finally defeated the Castilians in the most historic battle of Portugal, the
Battle of Aljubarrota. The victorious John was then acclaimed as king by the people.
In the meantime, the
Black Death reached Portugal.
The Portuguese discoveries
{{mainarticles|
Portugal in the period of discoveries The discoveries and
Portuguese Empire}}
Image:Lisbon monument.jpg Navigator.html" title="Meaning of right right|250px|thumb|"Padrão dos Descobrimentos", Sculpture on the Discoveries Age and Portuguese [[Navigators in
Lisbon, Portugal.html" title="Meaning of 250px|thumb|"Padrão dos Descobrimentos", Sculpture on the Discoveries Age and Portuguese [[Navigator">right|250px|thumb|"Padrão dos Descobrimentos", Sculpture on the Discoveries Age and Portuguese [[Navigators in
Lisbon, Portugal">250px|thumb|"Padrão dos Descobrimentos", Sculpture on the Discoveries Age and Portuguese [[Navigator">right|250px|thumb|"Padrão dos Descobrimentos", Sculpture on the Discoveries Age and Portuguese [[Navigators in
Lisbon, Portugal
In the following decades, Portugal created the conditions that would make it the pioneer in the exploration of the world, since most of the nobles had supported the King of Castile and with the victory of John I, the nobles either fled or were executed. Hence the Portuguese middle class who had supported and helped the victorious King suddenly rose up in the social ranks of Portugal, creating a new dynamic generation which allowed the discoveries to proceed. On
25 July 1415, the Portuguese Empire began when a Portuguese fleet, with King John I and his sons
Duarte of Portugal Duarte,
Pedro, Duke of Coimbra Pedro,
Henry the Navigator, and
Afonso, Duke of Braganza Afonso, along with the Portuguese supreme constable
Nuno Ã?lvares Pereira departed to besiege and conquer
Ceuta in North
Africa, a rich Islamic trade centre. On
21 August the city fell.
In
1418 two captains of Prince Henry the Navigator, were driven by a storm to an island which they called
Porto Santo island Porto Santo, or ''Holy Port'', in gratitude for their rescue from the shipwreck. Also in early 15th century, Madeira Island and the Azorean islands were discovered. Henry the Navigator's interest in exploration, together with some technological developments in navigation, made Portugal's expansion possible and led to great advances in geographic knowledge. The discoveries were financed by the wealth of the
Order of Christ, an order founded by
Denis of Portugal King Denis for the Templar knights, who found refuge in Portugal after being pursued all over Europe. The Templars had their own objective, searching for the legendary Christian Kingdom of
Prester John.
In
1434,
Gil Eanes rounded
Cape Bojador, south of
Morocco. The trip marked the beginning of the Portuguese exploration of Africa. Before this voyage very little information was known in Europe about what lay beyond it. At the end of the
1200s 13th and the beginning of the
1300s 14th centuries, those who tried to venture there became lost, giving birth to legends of
sea monsters. Fourteen years later, on a small island known as
Arguim off the coast of
Mauritania a castle was built, working as a ''feitoria'' (a trading post) for commerce with inland Africa thus, circumventing the Arab
caravans that crossed the
Sahara. Some time later, the
caravels explored the
Gulf of Guinea, leading to the discovery of several uninhabited islands and reaching the
Congo River.
A remarkable achievement was the rounding of the
Cape of Good Hope by
Bartholomew Dias in
1487. By then the spices of
India were nearby, hence the name of the cape. In the last decade of the 15th century,
Pêro de Barcelos and
João Fernandes Lavrador explored
North America {{Inote .html">Pêro da Covilhã reached
Ethiopia, searching for the mythical kingdom of Prester John, and
Vasco da Gama sailed to India. In
1500,
Pedro Ã?lvares Cabral landed on the
Brazilian.html" title="Meaning of Pêro da Covilhã.html" title="Meaning of Brazil Brazilian">Brazil|Brazilian coast. Ten years later,
Afonso de Albuquerque conquered
Goa, in India.
In
1578, the young King
Sebastião of Portugal Sebastian decided to enlarge Portuguese possessions in northern Africa and, despite having no son and heir to the throne, decided to go into battle personally, where he was slain. Because
Philip II of Spain was the son of a Portuguese princess, the Spanish ruler became Philip I of Portugal in
1581. Some men claimed to be King Sebastian between
1584 and
1598, originating the
Sebastianism Sebastian myth. Portugal formally maintained its independent law, currency, colonies, and government, under a personal union between Portugal and Spain. New empires had emerged and started to assault the Portuguese Empire. The third Spanish king,
Philip IV of Spain Philip III tried to further enforce integration, openly attacking the Portuguese nobility that was not in his favour. In
1 December 1640, the Duke of Bragança, of the Portuguese Royal Family,
John IV of Portugal John IV, was acclaimed after a revolutionary turmoil, and a Restoration War was fought for a few more years.
Bragança Dynasty
{{mainarticles|
Portugal from the Restoration to the 1755 Earthquake From the Restoration to the Earthquake,
Portugal from the Napoleonic Invasions to the Civil War From the Napoleonic Invasion to Civil War and
Portugal in the 19th Century}}
Image:Get image.jpg Palace_of Pena.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|230px|[[Palace of Pena in
Sintra, over big mountain top rocks, is a mixture of neo-gothic, neo-manueline, neo-islamic, and neo-renaissance styles. (courtesy IPPAR).html" title="Meaning of right|230px|[[Palace of Pena">thumb|right|230px|[[Palace of Pena in
Sintra, over big mountain top rocks, is a mixture of neo-gothic, neo-manueline, neo-islamic, and neo-renaissance styles. (courtesy IPPAR)">right|230px|[[Palace of Pena">thumb|right|230px|[[Palace of Pena in
Sintra, over big mountain top rocks, is a mixture of neo-gothic, neo-manueline, neo-islamic, and neo-renaissance styles. (courtesy IPPAR)
The
1755 Lisbon earthquake and
tsunami, which killed more than a third of the
Lisbon capital's (
Lisbon was at that time one of the largest and most important cities of
Europe) population and devastated the
Algarve as well, had a profound effect on domestic politics and on European philosophical thought. From
1801, the country was occupied during the
Napoleonic Wars. In
1807, the Portuguese Court fled to
Brazil. Shortly after, Brazil proclaimed its independence, under the rule of the Portuguese King
Pedro IV of Portugal Pedro IV (
Pedro I of Brazil Emperor Pedro I of Brazil), who abdicated from the Portuguese Crown and left his daughter D.
Maria II of Portugal Maria II as Queen in a liberal regime.
Portuguese
19th Century is marked by the
Liberalism. The divisions between king Pedro IV - liberal - and his brother, King
Miguel of Portugal Miguel, a conservative who overthrew Queen Maria II, led to the civil war between
1832 and
1834 and the signing of the new constitution in
1836. The political and social evolution in the late 19th century was marked by instability.
The republics
{{mainarticles|
Portuguese First Republic The First Republic,
Estado Novo (Portugal) New State and
History of Portugal#The Third Republic The Third Republic}}
In
1910 a republican revolution deposed the
Portuguese monarchs Portuguese monarchy starting the ''First Republic''. Political chaos, strikes, harsh relations with the Catholic Church, and considerable economic problems aggravated by a disastrous
Portugal in the Great War military intervention in the First World War led to a military
coup d'état (
28th May 1926 coup d'état), that installed the ''Second Republic'' that would become the
Estado Novo (Portugal) ''New State'' in
1933, led by
António de Oliveira Salazar, an authoritarian right-wing dictatorship, which later evolved into a type of single party corporate regime. Later, Portugal became a founding member of
NATO and
EFTA, as well as
OECD. India invaded
Portuguese India in
1961. Independence movements also became active in
Angola,
Mozambique and
Portuguese Guinea, and a series of
colonial wars started.
The burden of the many colonial overseas wars and the lack of political and civil freedoms led to the end of the regime {{Inote | ''Programa do Movimento das Forças Armadas'', 1974}} after the ''
Carnation Revolution'' in April 25 of 1974, an effectively bloodless left-wing military coup, that promised to install a new democratic regime.
General Spinola, placed in power by the April 25th coup, was cast in the press as a knight in shining armour. Yet in reality as Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese forces in
Guinea-Bissau he earned the nickname "butcher." In addition, prior to the coup he was a director of two of Portugal's leading private
monopolies. In
1975, Portugal had its first free multi-party elections since 1926 and granted independence to its colonies in Africa. In March 1975 it was Spinola himself who led a comic opera of a coup, with a few old Second World War planes and a handful of paratroopers, who were rapidly won over to the side of the workers.
The workers themselves responded to the coup attempt with massive demonstrations. Bankworkers occupied the banks, demanding their nationalisation. Previously the CP and SP leaders had opposed this, postponing the question to the indefinite future, but the bankworkers weren't to be bought with vague promises.
In the end the banks were nationalised, with no compensation for the private owners, in just one week. Because of their key position in the Portuguese economy this meant the AFM and the Provisional government, between whom a kind of dual power had developed, were forced to nationalise 50% of the economy. Eventually as a result of the actions of the workers, three-quarters of the Portuguese economy was nationalised.
In 1976
Indonesia invaded and annexed the Portuguese province of
Portuguese Timor Timor in
Asia before legal recognition of its independence by Portugal. In
1999, the Asian dependency of
Macau, was returned to
People's Republic of China Chinese sovereignty, a process considered a success by
China and Portugal. After a UN sponsored referendum endorsed by Indonesia and Portugal, in 1999,
East Timor voted for independence, which materialised in
2002.
In 1986, Portugal entered the EEC (and left
EFTA), which was later transformed into the
European Union.
Government and politics
{{main|Politics of Portugal}}
{{Politics of Portugal}}
The four main organs of Portuguese politics are the
List of Presidents of Portugal President of the Republic, the
Assembly of the Republic, the
Government, and the Courts. The Constitution grants the complete separation between these powers.
The President of the Republic, elected to a 5-year term by
universal suffrage is also commander in chief of the armed forces. Presidential powers include appointing the
List of Prime Ministers of Portugal Prime Minister, as advised by the Parliament which elects the Prime Minister, and the Council of Ministers, named by the Prime Minister. Some other major powers include dismissing the Government, dissolving the Parliament, and declaring war or peace. These have several constitutional restrictions, namely the need to consult the presidential advisory body. This is the Council of State, composed of six senior civilian officers, all former presidents elected since
1976, and ten citizens, five chosen by the President and the other five by the Parliament. The most commonly used power is that of approving or
veto vetoing any legislation.
The Parliament, or ''Assembly of the Republic'' (''Assembleia da República'' in
Portuguese language Portuguese) is a
unicameral body composed of 230 deputies. It is elected by universal suffrage, and the seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method in 22 constituencies that elect a number of deputies proportional to the respective population, 18 for each
Districts of Portugal District, 1 for Madeira, 1 for Azores and 2 for the
diaspora, on Europe and outside Europe. Deputies serve terms of office of 4 years.
The Assembly of the Republic, along with the government, holds the legislative power and the government support lies upon it. The General Budget and the Program of the Government must be approved by a majority of the deputies, otherwise the government falls. The Assembly may also let the government fall by approving a
motion of no confidence. The President of Parliament substitutes for the President of the Republic in the event of his absence.
The Government is headed by the Prime Minister, who names the Council of Ministers.
The
Courts have several categories, including judicial, administrative and fiscal. The national
Portuguese Supreme Court Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. A nine-member
Portuguese Constitutional Court Constitutional Court reviews the constitutionality of legislation.
The national and regional governments are dominated by two political parties, the
Socialist Party (Portugal) PS, a
Social Democracy Social Democratic party, that resembles the British
Labour Party (UK) Labour or the German
SPD, and the
Social Democratic Party (Portugal) PSD, a conservative party, member of the
European People's Party, both with similar base politics: pro-European, and focusing on market economy. Other parties with seats in the parliament are the
Portuguese Communist Party, the
People's Party (Portugal) People's Party, the
Leftwing Bloc and the
The Greens (Portugal) Green Party. The Communists and the Greens are in coalition as the
Unitarian Democratic Coalition.
As of 2005,
José Sócrates is the prime minister for the Socialists, and the party also has an absolute majority in the parliament with 121 MPs, the Social Democratic Party holds 75 MPs, the Communist Party 12 MPs, the People's Party 12 MPs, the Leftwing Bloc 8 MPs and the Green party 2 MPs.
Portuguese public opinion and media tend to be
Europhile. In the EuroBarometer's 2004 Spring survey, 60% of the Portuguese said they trusted the European Union.
Abortion law is restrictive, allowing for legal abortion under some circumstances, such as rape or a life-threatening situation for the mother or the fetus. In a
Portuguese referendum on Abortion, 1998 referendum held in 1998 proposing almost free abortion until 12 weeks of gestation, the results were 51% against, 49% in favour. However, the turnout of this election was a scant 31% of the population. A new referendum is promised to be held soon.
Possessing small doses of drugs for personal use is not a crime in Portugal, but it can be seen as a cause for civil disorder. Handing out or producing drugs is considered a crime.
Gay rights are also upcoming as the sexual orientation is now protected by the Portuguese Constitution following EU's directives, and gay couples can form civil unions.
Foreign relations and military
{{mainarticles|
Foreign relations of Portugal and
Military of Portugal}}
Foreign relations are essential to Portugal. The
Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, an alliance dating from 1294, has been retained throughout its history, making it the oldest alliance still in force in the world. This English–Portuguese alliance was renewed in
1386 with the
Treaty of Windsor 1386 Treaty of Windsor. The treaty established a pact of mutual support between the countries. This alliance was used in the successive expulsion of the Spanish kings and broke England's isolation from continental Europe during Napoleon's era. The alliance is kept through
NATO, a military organization in which both countries are founders along with 10 other countries including the
USA United States of America. Beyond the EU, the country has established a community with its former colonies, the
CPLP, and today has very close and prosperous relations with all of them, including close relations with Cape Verde and East Timor. It has a friendship alliance and a dual citizenship treaty with Brazil. The new government has also prioritized relations with neighbouring Spain. It also has very good relations with China, due to Macau, a meeting-point of both nations, and century-old diplomatic ties with Morocco.
Portugal considers
Olivença (''Olivenza'' in
Spanish language Spanish, administrated by Spain) Portuguese territory ''
de jure'', based on agreements of both nations in the
Congress of Vienna Vienna Treaty of
1815 {{Inote | '' Final Minutes of the Congress of Vienna'', article 105}}, but there are not strong diplomatic actions to take it back. Yet, this issue has been discussed at the Portuguese Parliament as recently as
2004.
The Portuguese Armed Forces are divided into three branches:
Portuguese Army Army,
Portuguese Navy Navy, and
Portuguese Air Force Air Force. In the 20th century, Portugal engaged in two major military interventions, namely the
Portugal in the Great War 1st World War and the colonial wars between 1961 and 1974. Portugal has participated in several peacekeeping missions abroad, namely in East Timor, Bosnia, and Kosovo. During the
Durão Barroso government the Armed Forces were fully professionalized and obligatory military service was abolished in 2003.
Subdivisions
{{main|Political divisions of Portugal}}
Image:Portugal NUTS II.svg mainland Portugal.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|200px|right|Map showing [[mainland Portugal and the two
autonomous regions (NUTS I) and the seven regions of
Portugal (NUTS II).html" title="Meaning of 200px|right|Map showing [[mainland Portugal">thumb|200px|right|Map showing [[mainland Portugal and the two
autonomous regions (NUTS I) and the seven regions of
Portugal (NUTS II)">200px|right|Map showing [[mainland Portugal">thumb|200px|right|Map showing [[mainland Portugal and the two
autonomous regions (NUTS I) and the seven regions of
Portugal (NUTS II)
Image:EC map Azores and Madeira.gif list of islands of Portugal thumb|280px|right|Map of the [[list of islands of Portugal|Portuguese islands.html" title="Meaning of Portuguese islands.html" title="Meaning of thumb|280px|right|Map of the [[list of islands of Portugal|Portuguese islands">thumb|280px|right|Map of the [[list of islands of Portugal|Portuguese islands">Portuguese islands.html" title="Meaning of thumb|280px|right|Map of the [[list of islands of Portugal|Portuguese islands">thumb|280px|right|Map of the [[list of islands of Portugal|Portuguese islands
Portugal has an administrative structure based on
municipalities of Portugal 308 municipalities (''concelho'' - singular, ''concelhos'' - plural), which are subdivided into more than 4,000 parishes (''freguesias'', singular - ''freguesia''). Municipalities are grouped for administrative purposes into superior units, the most significant being the classification since 1976, into either mainland (''Portugal continental'') or insular (''Portugal insular'') territory. The later enjoy a specific administrative and fiscal framework as Autonomous Regions (''regiões autónomas'', singular - ''região autónoma''), the Azores and Madeira Islands.
There are five regions (''regiões'', singular - ''região'') in
mainland Portugal, and 28 subregions (''subregiões'', singular - ''subregião''). This are the modern official territorial units in accordance with the
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), in use today by the
Instituto Nacional de EstatÃstica and
Eurostat, and officially recognised by the
European Union. The regions are:
*
Alentejo
*
Algarve
*
Centro, Portugal Centro
*
Lisboa, Region
*
Norte, Portugal Norte
The
districts of Portugal districts (''distritos'', singular - ''distrito''), are obsolescent administrative subdivisions that however remain in use for very many purposes, from electoral circles to public education and health care, welfare and even league sports.
A referendum held in 1997 to institute higher-level regional administrative units but failed to achieve the needed majority. Notwithstanding, larger territorial units have been created by the initiative of groups of municipalities to answer the need for supra-municipal coordination especially in heavily urbanised areas.
There are three types of Urban areas:
* ''Grandes Ã?reas Metropolitanas'' -
Grande Ã?rea Metropolitana Greater Metropolitan Areas (more than 350,000 inhabitants)
**
Lisbon - 2,547,665
**
Porto - 1,509,958
**
Braga Braga, Minho - 754,830
**
Aveiro - 460,157
**
Coimbra - 430,845
**
Faro, Portugal Faro, Algarve - 391,819
**
Viseu - 354,162
* ''Comunidades Urbanas'' - Urban Communities (more than 150,000 inhabitants)
**
Oeste,
Vale do Sousa,
Leiria,
LezÃria do Tejo,
Baixo Alentejo,
Trás-os-Montes,
Centro Alentejo,
Baixo Tâmega,
Douro,
Médio Tejo,
Beiras,
Beira Interior Sul, and
Alto Alentejo;
* ''Comunidades Intermunicipais'' - Intermunicipal Communities (less than 150,000 inhabitants)
**
Pinhal and
Vale do Minho.
Ad hoc geographic amalgamations also exist to answer the needs of specific economic sectors (e.g. tourist regions) or branches of the state (e.g. judicial areas), while historical or cultural subdivisions continue to be informally referenced such as the provinces (''provÃncias'', singular - ''provÃncia''):
Alentejo,
Algarve,
Beira,
Douro Litoral,
Estremadura,
Minho (province) Minho,
Ribatejo, and
Trás-os-Montes.
Geography and climate
{{main|Geography of Portugal}}
Continental Portugal is split in two by its main river, the Tagus (''Tejo''). To the north the landscape is mountainous in the interior areas with plateaus, cut by four breaking lines that allow the development of relevant agricultural areas. The south between the Tejo and the Algarve (the Alentejo) features mostly rolling plains with a climate somewhat warmer and drier than the cooler and rainier north. The Algarve, separated from the Alentejo by mountains, enjoys a Mediterranean climate comparable with Morrocco or Southern Spain, and is the southwesternmost tip of Europe (
Sagres). Other major rivers include the Douro, the Minho and the
Guadiana, similar to the Tagus in that all originate in Spain. Another important river, the
Mondego, originates in the
Serra da Estrela (the highest mountains in mainland Portugal - 1,991 m / 6,532
foot (unit of length) ft).
Image:pico.jpg right|thumb|230px|Mount Pico in Pico Island as viewed from Faial Island
The islands of the Azores and Madeira are located in the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, some of the islands have had recent volcanic activity. Originally two islands,
São Miguel Island was joined by a volcanic eruption in
1563. The last volcano to erupt was the ''Vulcão dos Capelinhos'' (Capelinhos Volcano) in
1957, in the western part of
Faial Island, increasing the size of that island.
Dom João de Castro Bank is a large submarine volcano that lies midway between the islands of
Terceira Island Terceira and São Miguel and rises to 14 metres (46 ft) bellow the sea surface. It last erupted in 1720 and formed an island, and it remained above the water for several years. A new island may be formed in a not so distant future. Portugal's highest point is
Mount Pico in
Pico Island, an ancient volcano, at 2,351 metres (7,713 ft).
Image:Madeira santana.jpg left|thumb|230px|Santana in the northern coast of Madeira Island
The Portuguese coast is extensive, it has 943 kilometres (586
mile mi) for continental Portugal, 667 kilometres (414 mi) for the Azores, 250 kilometres (155 mi) for Madeira and the Savage Islands {{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10,530, "Portugal", paragraph 5}}. The coast has fine beaches, the Algarve ones being world famous. In Porto Santo Island, a dune formation appeals to many tourists. An important feature on its coast is the Ria de Aveiro (near
Aveiro), a delta 45 kilometres (28 mi) in length and a maximum of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) in width, rich in fish and sea birds. There are four main channels, between them several islands and islets, and it is where four rivers meet the ocean. A sort of narrow headlands formed a lagoon, seen as one of the most remarkable hydrographic features of the Portuguese coast. Portugal possesses one of the largest
exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in Europe, covering 1,727,408
square kilometres (666,956
square mile sq mi).
Portugal is one of the warmest European countries. In mainland Portugal, yearly temperature averages are about 15º
Celsius C (55°
fahrenheit F) in the north and 18ºC (64°F) in the south. Madeira and Azores have a narrower temperature range as expected given their insularity, with the former having low precipitation in most of the archipelago and the latter being wet and rainy. Spring and Summer months are usually sunny and temperature maxima are very high during July and August, with maxima averaging between 35°C and 40°C (86°F - 95°F) in the interior of the country, 30ºC and 35ºC in the north, and occasionally reaching 45°C (113°F) in the south. Autumn and Winter are typically rainy and windy, yet sunny days are not rare either. Temperatures rarely fall below 5°C (41°F) nearer to the sea, averaging 10°C (50°F), but can reach several degrees below 0°C (32°F) further inland. Snow is common in the mountainous areas of the north, especially in Serra da Estrela. Portugal's climate can be classified as
Mediterranean climate Mediterranean (particularly the Algarve and Alentejo, though technically on Atlantic shore).
Flora and fauna
{{main|Conservation areas of Portugal}}
Image:Typical landscape in Alentejo.jpg right|thumb|260px|Typical landscape of Alentejo
Human activity, diversity of climate, and geographical diversity have shaped the Portuguese flora. There are almost 2,800 autochthonous species. {{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10536, "Portugal", paragraph 3 }} For economic reasons, pine trees (especially the ''Pinus pinaster'' and ''Pinus pinea'' species), the chestnut tree and the eucalyptus are very widespread.
The
Peneda-Gerês National Park (mostly known as ''Gerês'') is located in the extreme north-west of Portugal. The park has a wide variety of
oaken and mixed forests,
groves,
peat bogs, and diverse
bushes, including autochthonous and rare species. It is one of the last Iberian harbours of
Wolf wolves,
garranos,
golden eagles and
honey buzzards amongst many others. The Natural parks of Serra da Estrela, with its broad valleys and
turf soils and the
Arrábida with its Mediterranean character and the sand varieties of its beaches unveil the ecological variety of Portugal.
The
Tapada Nacional de Mafra is conspicuous, due to its rich flora and fauna. The Tapada was created in the reign of
John V of Portugal King John V for royal delight, in an area of 8 square kilometres with
deer,
wild boars,
foxes, birds of prey and several other species. Today, the Tapada is classified as an area of national hunting (''Zona de Caça Nacional'').
A large part of Portugal is covered by forest. In the last years, during the hot and dry Summer months, large areas of forest are destroyed by fires, many of which (an estimated 40% in 2004) caused by arson. In 2005 this problem was aggravated by a severe drought affecting Mainland Portugal. In the year to September 2005, three quarters of Mainland Portugal saw less than half the normal rainfall, and the remaining quarter less than 60%.
Economy
{{main|Economy of Portugal}}
Portugal is a
market economy with its per capita output now standing at 69% of the European Union average.
Portuguese GDP grew by 1% in real terms in 2004. It was expected to grow 1.8% by the (
International Monetary Fund IMF) in 2005. Overall, the country's recovery is gradual, although the financial sector has remained strong.
In the second quarter of 2005, the
unemployment rate dropped to 7.2%, still lower than the EU average but converging (this was the first decrease since 2001). A new Labour Law published in December 2003 increased the flexibility of working arrangements, although it has yet to prove its role in decreasing unemployment, especially among the youngest and the oldest of working-age population. The current administration is committed to expand market liberalisation, privatisation, and deregulation of the economy and simplifying the admistrative burden on companies. It is also committed to promote investment in research and information technologies to improve productivity and competitiveness.
Industrialisation boomed in the 1950s with
Salazar's regime, leading to an average of 6% annual growth of the GDP between 1959 and 1963, 7% between 1965 and 1967, after dropping to 5.2% in 1964. Due to international crisis, the growth largely stopped. Since 1985, the country started its modernization in a very stable environment (1985 - to the present day) and it joined the European Economic Community in 1986. {{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10539, "Portugal", paragraph 4}} Successive governments have implemented various reforms and privatised many state-controlled firms and liberalised key areas of the economy, including the financial and
telecommunications sectors. Portugal developed an increasingly service-based economy and it was one of the eleven founding countries of the Euro in
1999, with very restrictive criteria, and began circulating the new currency on
January 1, 2002 along with eleven other EU members.
A considerable part of continental Portugal is dedicated to agriculture, although it does not represent most of the economy. {{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10540, "Portugal", paragraph 4 }} The south has developed an extensive monoculture of cereals and
olive trees and the Douro Valley in
vineyards. Olive trees (4,000 km²; 1,545 sq mi), vineyards (3,750 km²; 1,450 sq mi),
wheat (3,000 km²; 1,160 sq mi) and
maize (2,680 km²; 1,035 sq mi) are produced in vast areas. Portuguese wine and olive oil are especially praised by nationals for their quality, thus external competition (even at much lower prices) has had little effect on consumer demand, a situation that does not occur with other products. Portugal is a traditional wine grower, and has exported its wines since the dawn of western civilization; Port Wine and Vinho Verde (Green Wine) are the leading exporters. Portugal is also a quality producer of fruits, namely the Algarve
orange (fruit) oranges and Oeste region's Pera Rocha (a type of
pear). Other exports are horticulture, floriculture, beet sugar, sunflower oil, and tobacco.
Natural resources such as copses cover about 34% of the country, namely pine trees (13,500 km²; 5,200 sq mi), cork oak (6,800 km²; 2,625 sq mi), holm oak (5,340 km²; 2,060 sq mi), and eucalyptus (2,430 km²; 940 sq mi). The large-scale growing of eucalyptus for the paper and woodchip industries has been controversial, as eucalyptus trees have very deep roots, and lead to a lowering of the water table. This has been a contributory factor in the high rate of arson, as failing farmers vent their frustrations. Cork is a major export, Portugal produces half of the world's cork.{{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10541, "Portugal", paragraph 3}} Significant mining resources are tungsten, tin, and uranium. {{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10542, "Portugal", paragraph 3}}
The major industries are the textile, footwear, leather, furniture, ceramics (highlighting the international popularity of
Vista Alegre (company) Vista Alegre), and cork. Modern industries have developed significantly, including: oil refineries, petrochemistry, cement production, automotive and ship industries, electrical and electronics industries, machinery and paper industries. {{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10543, "Portugal", paragraph 4}} Portugal has an ambitious and well-planned complex of petrochemical industries in
Sines, Portugal Sines where the biggest oil refinery of the Iberian peninsula will be built. Automotive and other mechanical industries are located in Setúbal, Porto, Aveiro, Braga, Santarém, and Azambuja.
Portugal's balance of trade is negative. It buys mostly in the European Union from: Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. It also sells most of its products within the union to: Germany, Spain, and France mostly.
Portugal is trying to develop a cultural and rustic tourism, rather than only beach tourism, in order to attract more affluent tourists often concerned in getting to know the real Portugal. The interior of the nation has a decreasing population, but exceptional touristic potential. The Algarve, with its different beaches has been the primary attraction for decades, but it has suffered from mass tourism, and the authorities have been working to recover the 1960's Algarve, namely recovering the coast and demolishing illegal urbanizations. Mass tourism has caused some ecological damage in the Algarve, for example water shortages. The Lisbon area has recently become a very popular destination, mostly due to the city of Lisbon urban historical attractions, but also due to Sintra's fabled palaces and castles located in very romantic and exotic scenery. The island territories of Madeira and the Azores also have a growing potential.
Transportation and communications
{{mainarticles|
Transportation in Portugal and
Communications in Portugal}}
image:Vgama.jpg Vasco da Gama Bridge.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|280px|The [[Vasco da Gama Bridge, near Lisbon, is 17.2 kilometres (10.7 mi) long — one of the longest bridges in the World..html" title="Meaning of right|280px|The [[Vasco da Gama Bridge">thumb|right|280px|The [[Vasco da Gama Bridge, near Lisbon, is 17.2 kilometres (10.7 mi) long — one of the longest bridges in the World.">right|280px|The [[Vasco da Gama Bridge">thumb|right|280px|The [[Vasco da Gama Bridge, near Lisbon, is 17.2 kilometres (10.7 mi) long — one of the longest bridges in the World.
Transportation was seen as a priority in the 1990s, pushed by the growing use of automobiles and industrialization. The country has a 68,732 kilometres (42,708 mi) network of
highways. Almost 2,000 kilometres (1,240 mi) is the total length of 44
freeways that connect most of the country. {{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10544, "Portugal", paragraph 2}}
Seaports are important due to Portugal's large coastline, and its strategic position in Europe and in the Atlantic ocean. The main seaports are Lisbon in the centre, Leixões (Porto) in the North, Setúbal and
Sines in the south,
Funchal and
Ponta Delgada in the Atlantic. The most important airports are those of Lisbon, Faro and Porto, these last two had extensive development recently. There are also important airports in the islands, such as the intercontinental airport of
Madeira (Funchal, Madeira Island),
Porto Santo (Porto Santo Island), and Ponta Delgada (Azores).{{Inote | ''Grande Enciclopédia Universal'', page 10544, "Portugal", paragraph 3}}
The two principal metropolitan areas have subway systems:
Lisbon Metro and
Porto Metro, both with more than 35 kilometres (22 mi) of commercial lines. Both systems are linked by sharing stations with High-speed
Pendolino trains, known as Alfa Pendular, that link both cities. The
South Tagus Metro system is in construction and will connect the urban areas south of Lisbon. Another metro system for Coimbra is intended.
The Pendolino lines (''Alfa pendular'') of
Comboios de Portugal (CP) links
Braga,
Porto,
Coimbra,
Lisbon and
Faro, linking the country in a vertical way. Intercity and regional trains link these cities with many other cities throughout the country. Construction of a high-speed TGV line connecting Porto and Lisbon, and Lisbon with Madrid will begin in 2008. The line between Porto and Lisbon will have five station (Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Ota New Airport and Lisbon), but the trains in rarely stop in the intermediary stations. The New Airport for Lisbon will be built at the same time in
Ota, Portugal Ota.
In the technology area, Portugal has one of the highest mobile phone possession rates in the world. There have been more mobile phone subscribers than main line subscribers for several years now. Nowadays, there are more than 11 million mobile subscribers. Third generation mobile phones,
UMTS, have been largely commercialized by operators since early 2004. The main telecom company is
Portugal Telecom (PT), a telecommunications multinational, it dominates some markets, among them the national one. In the mobile section, the market is split between three operators:
Telecomunicações Móveis Nacionais, SA TMN (PT group),
Vodafone, and
Optimus (
Sonae SONAE group), but competition is growing with the appearance of two promising national upstarts:
Rede 4 and
Uzo.
Strangely, while having such a high mobile phone rate, Portugal has one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the EU. More than 8% (4th quarter, 2004) of the population use high-speed internet services, almost twice as much as the previous year. 41% of households in Portugal had a computer in the first quarter of 2004, only 26% of the population had Internet; an additional 4% also used it. 78% of companies with more than 10 employees had Internet access. Competition between the major broadband Internet providers of the PT and Clix groups has recently caused large increases in the available bandwidth provided to home users (from 512 kbit/s and 1 Mbit/s to 2 and 4 Mbit/s), speeds go up to 16 Mbit/s in Clix (
Sonae SONAE group) lines and 8 Mbit/s in other companies, most notably PT Group cable and ADSL companies, where a 20Mbit/s service is expected to be launched in late 2005, to compete with the much lower-priced services of Clix, although PT group is the leader of the market. Main television broadcasters are the state-run RTP1 and "a 2:" (meaning "the 2:" in port) and the privately owned SIC and TVI. Most Portuguese see television through cable (by June 2004: 73.6% of households), where the major broadcasters have thematic channels. The main cable company
TV Cabo (PT group) is trying to shift all of its customer's services to digital after an unsuccessful experience with Interactive TV.
Demographics
{{main|Demographics of Portugal}}
{|border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 style="text-align:right; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 50px;"
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9 colspan="6" align=center | Population of Portugal
(INE, Lisbon)
|-
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9| Year !! Total !! Change
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9| Year !! Total !! Change
|+ align=bottom |
|-
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1864
| 4,188,419
| -
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1950
| 8,510,240
| 10.2%
|-
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1890
| 5,049,729
| 20.5%
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1960
| 8,851,240
| 4.0%
|-
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1911
| 5,969,056
| 18,2%
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1970
| 8,648,369
| -2.3%
|-
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1920
| 6,032,991
| 1,1%
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1981
| 9,833,041
| 13.7%
|-
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1930
| 6,825,883
| 13.1%
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1991
| 9,862,540
| 0.3%
|-
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
1940
| 7,722,152
| 13.1%
!bgcolor=#f9f9f9|
2001
| 10,356,117
| 5.0%
|-
|}
image:Mapa de Portugal tribos principais.png thumb|right|200px|Pre-Roman tribes in Portugal and their main migrations: Turduli in red, Celtic in brown and Lusitanian in blue. Names are in Latin.
Portugal is a fairly homogeneous country linguistically and religiously. Ethnically, the
Portuguese people are a combination of several ethnicities: pre-Roman
Iberians Iberian and
Celts Celtic tribes with
Ancient Rome Romans and
Germanic tribes.
Moors became a reduced influence, as essentialy they were expelled during the
Reconquista. Jews comprised 10% of the population in the 16th Century until they were forced to move abroad or convert to Catholicism.
Portugal's biggest metropolitan cities are Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Aveiro, and Coimbra.
The first census in Portugal dates from 1864. But, in the 16th century,
John III of Portugal John III called for a population count in continental Portugal and between 1527 and 1532 there was a population of 1 to 1.4 million. In 1801, there were 2,913,000 inhabitants.
Between 1960 and 1970, more than one million Portuguese emigrated, mostly to other European countries, resulting in a negative population growth. Previously, Brazil has been the destination of many, especially since the 18th century. Since mid 1970s major changes started to influence the country's demographics as life expectancy went up; the infant mortality rate and the fertility rate broadly declined; and, with the decolonisation, many Portuguese returned from Africa.
In the 2001 Census, Portugal had 10,356,117 inhabitants (51,7% female). Currently, there are almost 10.6 million inhabitants. By the end of 2003, legal immigrants represented 4.2% of the population, and the largest communities were:
Ukraine Ukrainians (15%),
Brazilians (14.8%),
Cape Verde Cape Verdeans (14.4%), and
Angolans (7.9%). There are also a significant number of
illegal immigrants. Portugal still has 5 million emigrants abroad (mainly France and South Africa with one million each, and the rest spread among Venezuela, the Unites States, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg and other countries).
The great majority of the Portuguese population is a member of the
Catholic Church in Portugal Roman Catholic Church. Religious minorities include a little over 300,000
Protestantism Protestants. There are also about 50,000
Muslims and 10,000
Hindus (most of whom came from
Goa, a former
Portuguese Empire Portuguese colony on the west coast of
India). There are also about 1,000
Jews.
Atheism Atheists and
agnosticism agnostics are increasing in number.
Esoterism is also practised by small minorities as well the oriental philosophies as a modern
trend.
The country is characterized by municipal cultural differentiation and there is small or no regional differentiation, unlike what happens in other European countries, resulting from the Roman municipalism, but mainly from the ''concelho de vizinhos'' created possibly during the Moorish rule as the lands were freed from the Visigothic nobles, leading the people of a land to organize itself in
concelhos. Portuguese is spoken throughout the country, some of
Terra de Miranda's
Mirandese language Mirandese speaking villages being the only linguistic minority.
Education
{{main|Education in Portugal}}
Image:Coimbra University Tower 2.jpg University of Coimbra.html" title="Meaning of right right|300px|thumb|The tower of the [[University of Coimbra.html" title="Meaning of 300px|thumb|The tower of the [[University of Coimbra">right|300px|thumb|The tower of the [[University of Coimbra">300px|thumb|The tower of the [[University of Coimbra">right|300px|thumb|The tower of the [[University of Coimbra
Portugal's education system is divided into ''Pré-Escolar'' (children less than 6 years old), ''Ensino Básico'' (three phases in a total of 9 years), ''Ensino Secundário'' (three years, several areas) and ''Ensino Superior'' (Universities and Colleges grouped into Polytechnic Institutes). Education is free and compulsory for 9 years of study. A newly undertaken scheme will make education compulsory until the student becomes an adult (18 years old). The country still has a 6.7% illiteracy rate, almost exclusively among the elderly.
The first Portuguese university – The ''Estudo Geral'' (General studies, Today's
University of Coimbra) - was created on
March 1st,
1290 in Lisbon with the document ''Scientiae thesaurus mirabilis'' by
Denis of Portugal King Denis. The university was transferred to Coimbra in
1308, though the university moved several times between the two cities until
1537. In
1559, the University of Évora was founded in Portugal by
Henry of Portugal Cardinal Henry, future
king of Portugal and
Pope Paul IV and it was delivered to the
Society of Jesus. In the 18th century,
Sebastião de Melo, Marquis of Pombal closed the University of Évora, because he wanted to exterminate the Jesuit power in Portugal and in its empire. He also reformed the University of Coimbra, as it was divorced from the true exact sciences. The 19th century - the industrialization era - created the need for new education institutions in the country, the "industrial studies". In
1837, the ''Escola Politécnica'' (Polytechnic School) in Lisbon and the ''Academia Politécnica'' opens. The rhetorical behaviour of these new institutions led the Prime-Minister of the Kingdom
Fontes Pereira de Melo in
1852 to create the ''
Instituto Industrial de Lisboa'' (Institute of Industry, today's
Instituto Superior Técnico IST and
Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa ISEL) in Lisbon and the ''Escola Industral'' (School of Industry, today's
Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto ISEP) in Porto. In 1825, the Lisbon Royal School of Surgery and Porto Royal School of Surgery had also opened.
With the advent of the republic, the polytechnic and surgery schools were incorporated as faculties into the newly created
University of Lisbon and the
University of Porto. The Lisbon Institute of Industry led to the creation of IST (the Institute of Technology) which was grouped with other colleges in the
Technical University of Lisbon in the 1930s. In the
1960s the first non-governmental institution opened, the
Universidade Católica Portuguesa Portuguese Catholic University.
The
1970s marked a new era in Portugal's higher education with many universities and polytechnics opening in many cities, such as the
University of Aveiro and the
University of Minho in the universitary subsector, and the
Lisbon Polytechnic and
Porto Polytechnic in the polytechnic subsector. Subsequently, several private universities opened.
Culture
{{main|Culture of Portugal}}
{| align=right
|
Image:Mariza.jpg center|thumb|180px|Mariza, the new Fado Diva. She performed a duet with Sting for the Athens 2004 Olympic games.
|-
|'''''Samples of Portuguese music:'''''
image:Video.svgz.png 15px [http://www.worldconnection.nl/movies/test3wm9download.wmv Fado: Mariza]
image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.cristinabranco.com/cgi-bin/get/download.cgi?file=cristina_branco__corpo_Iluminado.mp3 Fado: Cristina Branco]
image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.arlivre.com/audio/aclr8.mp3 Portuguese Guitar: ChaÃnho]
|}
image:Church with Azulejos.jpg thumb|right|A typical aspect of Portugal is its architecture, influenced by several early civilizations.
Portugal is an ancient
nation and for more than 1000 years it has maintained its specific culture through a self-governing venture while being influenced by the various civilizations that crossed the Mediterranean world. Thus, it has always absorbed habits and traditions from such early civilizations and from the regions that it discovered and conquered throughout the world during the Portuguese empire, establishing a specific legacy.
An explicit instance of this absorption and adaptation of previous culture is seen in the countless festivals to pagan local and Roman deities which were transformed into festivals to Christian saints; only some pagan festivals have changed little over 2,000 years, due the religious passion of the Middle Ages and the inquisition.
Portuguese music is represented by a wide variety of forms. The most renowned
Music of Portugal Portuguese music is
Fado, a form of melancholic music. The music is usually linked to the
Portuguese guitar and the Portuguese word ''
saudade''. Although without an accurate equivalent in English, saudade is describable as a common human feeling; it occurs when one is in love with someone or something yet apart from him, her, or it. The style conveys a distinct mixture of sadness, pain, nostalgia, happiness and love. Fado origins are probably from a mixture of African slave rhythms with traditional music of Portuguese sailors, with Arabic influence. There are two varieties of Fado; that of Lisbon and that of Coimbra. Lisbon Fado was primarily of popular origins, often performed by women, while Coimbra's had a more literate vein and was often performed by men; both are nowadays seen as ethnic music appreciated abroad. Some of its most internationally notable performers are
Amália Rodrigues,
Mariza,
Ana Moura,
MÃsia,
Dulce Pontes,
Madredeus, and
Cristina Branco.
Currently, mainstream music in Portugal is in a rural and urban duality where the Portuguese
pop-rock and
hip hop tuga (a mixture of hip-hop, African music and
Reggae, primarily performed by African-Portuguese) are popular with the younger and urban population, while
pimba (a simple and cheery variety of folk music) and folklore are more popular in the rural areas.
Portuguese literature is one of the earliest western literatures, and it developed as the 13th century arrived, through texts and songs. And until 1350, the
Portuguese-Galician troubadours spread their literary influence to most of the Iberian Peninsula{{Inote | ''Poesia e Prosa Medievais'', page 9, paragraph 4}}.
The adventurer and poet
LuÃs de Camões (c.
1524 - 1580) wrote the epic ''
The Lusiads'', a work that he developed in his journeys in Africa and Asia. However, he was shipwrecked in
Cambodia, and he saved himself and his work by floating on a board. Modern Portuguese poetry, since the
19th century, is essentially rooted in a handful of relevant poets, ranging from neo-classicism to contemporary styles. One such famous poet is
Fernando Pessoa (
1888 –
1935), who wrote poetry in the voice, style and manner of many fictional poets under a large number of
heteronyms. Modern literature also became internationally known, mostly through the works of
Almeida Garrett,
Alexandre Herculano,
Camilo Castelo Branco,
Eça de Queirós,
Ferreira de Castro,
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen,
Herberto Helder,
António Lobo Antunes and the
1998 Nobel Prize for literature winner,
José Saramago.
Portuguese traditional architecture is distinct precisely due to the variety of influences it features, with several examples throughout the world, some of which are classified as world heritage sites. Modern Portugal has one of the best architecture schools in the world, known as "Escola do Porto" or School of Porto, renowned by the names of
Eduardo Souto de Moura Souto Moura and
Alvaro Siza.
Cuisine
{{mainarticles|
Portuguese cuisine and
Portuguese wines}}
Portuguese cuisine is particularly diverse; various recipes of rice, potatoes, bread, meat, sea-food, and fish are the staple foods in the country. The Portuguese have a reputation for loving
cod dishes (''
bacalhau'' in Portuguese), for which it is said that there are 1001 ways of cooking it:
Pastéis de Bacalhau,
Bacalhau à Brás and
Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá are some of the most popular ones. The art of
pastry, having its origins in old and rich conventual pastry recipes, is very popular across the entire country.
Desserts and
cakes, such as Lisbon's
Pastéis de Nata (best eaten with a strong
coffee), Aveiro's
Ovos-Moles, and many other, are very appreciated. Portugal has its own adaptation of fast-food; one of the most popular is Porto's
Francesinha. Other recipes include the
Feijoada, made with pieces of meat, sausages and beans served with white and dry rice and the
Cozido à Portuguesa, made with various kinds of meat, rice, potatoes and other vegetables, all boiled.
Portuguese wines have been exported since Roman times. The Romans associated Portugal with
Bacchus, their god of Winery and Feast. Today the country is known by wine lovers, and its wines had won several international prizes. Many famous Portuguese wines are known as some of the world's best:
Vinho Verde,
Vinho Alvarinho,
Vinho do Douro,
Vinho do Alentejo,
Vinho do Dão,
Vinho da Bairrada and the sweet:
Port Wine,
Madeira wine and the
Moscatels of
Setúbal and
Favaios (Douro). Porto Wine is widely exported, followed by Vinho Verde. Exports of Vinho Verde are increasing rapidly, in response to the growing international demand.
Sports and games
Football (soccer) Football is the most popular and practised sport in Portugal. As of March 2006, the country was ranked 10th out of 205 countries by
FIFA. The legendary
Eusébio is still a symbol of Portuguese football.
LuÃs Figo was voted 2001 Player of the Year by FIFA, after finishing 2nd in 2000.
Manuel Rui Costa Rui Costa and
Cristiano Ronaldo are also noteworthy and
VÃtor BaÃa is the player in history with most titles won, including all European club cups. The main domestic
Football (soccer) football competition is the
Superliga where the dominating teams are
SL Benfica,
FC Porto and
Sporting CP. Many other professional and well organized sport competitions take place every season in Portugal, including
rink hockey,
basketball,
futsal,
handball,
volleyball, and
Rugby union rugby championships.
Cycling and
athletics competitions are also popular. Portugal is also very well represented in other sports, such as
rink hockey, being the country with most world titles.
Golf is also worth mentioning, since its greatest players play in the sunny region of the
Algarve during the "Algarve Open". The
Autódromo do Estoril Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva in the
Estoril, near Lisbon, is the main Portuguese race track where many motorsport competitions are held, including the
MotoGP World Motorcycling Championship and
A1 Grand Prix.
Rallying (with the Rally of Portugal and Rally Madeira) and
off-road (with the Baja Portugal 1000) events also have international recognition.
The country has an ancient
martial art known as "
Jogo do Pau" (Portuguese Stick Fencing), used for self-protection and for duels between young men in disputes over young women. Having its origin in the
Middle Ages, Jogo do Pau uses wooden staves as a combat weapon. Other sports are the "Jogos Populares", a wide variety of traditional sports played for fun.
Festivals and holidays
image:Lisboa-rua.jpg thumb|left|220px|A street in Lisbon's old quarters.
Festivals play a major role in Portugal's summers. Even though they have religious connotations, most of these celebrations are, in fact, anything but religious. Every city and town has its own festivals. The June Festivities are very popular. These festivities are dedicated to three saints known as ''Santos Populares'' (popular saints) and take place all over Portugal. Why the populace associated the saints with these pagan festivities is not known. The practice is possibly related to Roman or local deities before Christianity spread into the region. The three saints are
Anthony of Padua Saint Anthony,
John the Baptist Saint John and
Saint Peter. A common denominator in these festivities are the wine and ''água-pé'' (a watered kind of wine), traditional bread along with
sardines, marriages, traditional street dances, fire, fireworks and celebration.
Saint Anthony is celebrated on the
June 13 13th, mainly in Lisbon and Saint John on the
June 24 24th, especially in
Porto and
Braga, where the sardines, ''Caldo Verde'' (traditional soup) and plastic hammers to hammer on other peoples' heads for luck are indispensable. The final saint is Saint Peter, celebrated on the nights of
June 28 28th and
June 29 29th, especially in
Póvoa de Varzim and
Barcelos, festivities are similar to the others, but mostly dedicated to the sea and extensive use of fire (''fogueiras''). In Póvoa de Varzim, there is the ''Rusgas'' in the night, another sort of street carnival. Each festivity is a municipal holiday in the cities and towns where it occurs.
Carnival is also widely celebrated in Portugal, some traditional carnivals date back several centuries. Loulé, Alcobaça, Mealhada and above all Ovar hold several days of festivities, with parades where social and political criticism abound, music, dancing in an environment of euphorya. On
January 6,
Epiphany (feast) Epiphany is celebrated by some families, especially in the North, where the family gathers to eat "Bolo-Rei" (literally, King Cake, a cake made with crystalized fruits); this is also the time for the traditional street songs - "As Janeiras" (The January ones).
Martin of Tours Saint Martin Day, is celebrated on
November 11. This day is the peak of three days, often with very good weather, it is known as ''Verão de São Martinho'' ("Saint Martin summer"), the Portuguese celebrate it with ''jerupiga'' (a sweet liqueur wine) and roasted Portuguese
chestnuts (''castanhas assadas''), and it is called ''Magusto''.
;National Holidays
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! Date !! Name !! Remarks
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January 1 || Ano Novo ||
