Having trouble getting Internet access with enough time to upload pictures. So for now here is a brief introduction to Portugal.
Roger studied and taught history in university for two decades. As an undergraduate he took the normal introductory courses in European, Ancient, U.S.A. and World history, but in graduate school and in his teaching and studies he focused on Canada. With a 45 year interlude since studying Europe, we have found that brief overviews of the history and political systems of the countries we visit have helped our depth of understanding of places, people and culture.
Before we begin our posts on Portugal we’ll therefore give an overview which should be helpful to anyone following the Blog.
Political System
The modern constitution of 2 April 1976, (amended in 1982, 1989, 1992 and 1997) was created after the Revolution of 1974 which ended 50 years of military dictatorships. Portugal now has a republican system of government with a President elected every five years for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The President appoints the Prime Minister from the majority party, or the party that can command majority support of the 240-250 deputies elected every 4 years to the single chamber legislature (i.e there is no upper house or Senate as in Canada).
The two island groups, Azores and Madeira, are autonomous regions of Portugal. The President of Portugal appoints a Minister of the Republic who represents Portuguese sovereignty over these two regions, and this Minister in turn appoints the President of the Regional Government.
Mainland Portugal is divided into 10 provinces, which constitute the natural geographic regions of the country. There are 18 administrative districts within mainland Portugal; 3 in the Azores and 1 in Madeira. They oversee functions such as health, education, and public finance.
The 305 “concelhos” are Portugal’s version of urban regional government. Each has an executive council, the president of which is the mayor. Along with the municipal council each member of these bodies is elected for a 4 year term.
Mainland Portugal covers 88,944 square km. Rural migration into the cities means that of the total national population of 10,576,000 two-thirds now live in the urban areas. Portugal has more or less the same total population as the much smaller Belgium. Portugal saw two major and one smaller exodus. During its Age of “Discovery” (see below), the population was cut almost in ½, falling from 2 to 1 million inhabitants; Brazil being the principal destination. The beginning of the 20th century saw a smaller emigration to the Portuguese colonies in Africa; especially Mozambique and Angola. The 1950’s to the 1980’s witnessed a large economic emigration to industrialized Western Europe; especially France, Germany and the UK each of which was looking for cheap labour. The areas most affected during these years were the Azores, Madeira and the interior provinces of mainland Portugal. (It is said that in the 1960’s and 1970’s the people of the interior province Alentejo were starving.) In the 1960’s this was aggravated by the financially disastrous wars of liberation in the Portuguese colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea and the consequent emigration of young people avoiding the military service draft. In total from 1960 to 1972, the final years of the dictatorships, 1.5 million Portuguese left the country. Today, some 4 million Portuguese live abroad (equivalent to 40% of the Portuguese living in Portugal); Brazil being the principal destination followed by France (550,000), North America, Venezuela, and South Africa.
In terms of immigrants, with 400,000 foreign born, Portugal is a small player compared to the rest of Europe. The plan is to triple this figure over the next 20 years.
Historical Overview
The briefest overview would include the Roman Invasion (149-139 B.C.), the beginning of the Moorish invasion and control in 711 A.D., the intertwining of Spain and Portugal until 1143 when Portugal becomes an independent Monarchy and the end of the last remnants of Moorish rule in 1249 with the recapture of Faro in the Algarve. From then Portugal begins to forge a separate identity and by the beginning of the 15th century it becomes one of the most powerful countries in the world. Its maritime Expansion during the Age of Great “Discoveries” brings it significant commercial wealth through the resulting trade. From the late 1700’s this period of glory is followed by 2 centuries of economic decline and political stagnation. Change would await the 1974 Carnation Revolution (so named because of the red carnations stuck in the end of rifles and worn by women in their hair), which effectively ended 50 years of dictatorships, and the entry of Portugal in the European Union in 1986.
Antiquity
In antiquity, this region was populated by the Lusitanians, a people engaged in rudimentary agriculture and animal herding. Some Carthaginian, Phoenician and Greek merchants and traders also settled, principally along the coast.
Roman Era to Creation of Portugal
During the 3rd and 2nd centuries Before Christ (BC), the Roman Empire invaded establishing the Roman administrative province of Lusitania. In the 5th century after Christ (AD), the Visigoths swept through to southern Europe and the Iberain Peninsula (Today’s Spain and Portugal). Beginning in 711 they are replaced as rulers by the Moors of North Africa. In 718 the Christian Re-conquest begins, essentially from the north and east. In the 9th century, the area north of the Mondego River was re-conquered but it would take until 1249 for the rest of Portugal to be progressively re-conquered from the north to the south.
Bourgogne Dynasty 1128-1383
A key player in the retaking of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors was the King of Castile, Alphonse VI. In this he was aided by French nobles, among them Henri de Bourgogne (a descendant of the French king Hugues Capet) and his cousin Raymond de Bourgogne. After a series of victories, Alphonse VI gave his two daughters in marriage to these two princes be Bourgogne. Henri’s wife, Teresa, brought the “portucalense” county as part of her marriage dowry, thus making Henri Count of Portugal. Their son, Alphonse Henriques, took power in 1128 and in 1139 renounced his vassal-ship to the King of Castile and proclaimed himself King of Portugal as Alphonse I; Castile acquiesced to this bold move in 1143. Alphonse recaptures Ourique (1139), and Lisbon (1147) from the Moors. The recapture of Faro in the extreme south of Portugal in 1249 is the definitive end of the Moorish rule in Portugal.
The Bourgogne Dynasty continued for over 250 years, ending in 1383. During this time, Denis I declared the dialect of Porto the official language, giving rise to the eventual spread of “Portuguese” throughout the kingdom.
The Avis Dynasty 1385-1578
Increasing conflicts with Spain were solved by the marriage of the daughter of King Ferdinand I to the King of Castile, Jean I. On the death of his father-in-law, he renounced any claim on the Portuguese throne. The deceased king’s bastard brother, João d’Avis became king in 1385 launching the Avis Dynasty that would last until 1578, through the period of Portuguese expansion.
João I ensured England’s support in an alliance by marrying Philippa of Lancaster. This support would remain constant throughout Portugal’s history. Of their 4 sons, Henry the Navigator, would be the best remembered. At the end of the middle ages the real wealth was in the hands of whoever controlled the trade in spices, perfumes and silks from the Orient. The control of the overland routes and the Persian Gulf lying in the hands of the Moors, it was Henry’s dream to create an alternate route. He established at Sagres a “school” that welcomed cartographers, astronomers, mariners, and navigators. Their goal: to find a direct maritime link with the Orient.
Believing that it is probable that the Orient can be reached by rounding the African continent, Henry encouraged experienced mariners to push further south on each trip. In 1419 the island of Madeira was reached, followed by the Azores in 1427. Over 400 km of the African coast was explored (as far as Sierra Leone). The Sagres school perfected the caravelle as the ship to use, and improved navigation methods and equipment. Captains were encouraged to be traders and merchants. By 1441 black slaves were principal riches sought on the African coast.
Under the reign of Henry’s great nephew João II, the mouth of the Congo is reached in 1482; in 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Storms which is quickly renamed the Cape of Good Hope.
A few years earlier Columbus had appealed to João II for support to sail west to reach the Orient. But being focused on the route around Africa, Portugal lost this opportunity and Columbus’ work would result in the plunder of Mexico, Central and South America flowing instead to Spain. On 8 July 1497, Vasco da Gama left Lisbon with four ships and the intent to round Cape of Good Hope and go on to India. In March 1498 he landed at Mozambique and on 20 May at Calcutta. The route to India and the Orient was now open.
In 1500 Cabral discovered Brazil. Fortunately Brazil lies to the east of the line agreed to by the Portuguese, Spanish and the Pope by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas that divided the non-European world into two spheres of influence, one to be controlled by Spain the other by Portugal.
In 1501 Gaspar Corte Reál reached Newfoundland. Portugal did not exploit this as their interest was focused on the Orient. (Portugal would eventually engage heavily and successfully in the Grand Banks cod fishery. When Roger went around Newfoundland as a 15 year old with the Canadian navy, the Portuguese sail-powered (big wooden 3 mast vessels) cod fishery was very much in evidence on the Banks and in St. Johns harbour.)
In 1510 the Portuguese conquered Goa, which became their power center in Asia. In 1554 they began trade with Canton and in 1557 they obtained the small island, Macao, which would be their door on China for the next 450 years. They arrived in Japan in 1543 and began supplying fire-arms. The Catholic Society of Jesus (Jesuit) missionaries accompanied the traders and explorers and by 1581 there were 150,000 Christians in Japan.
But the principal objective of exploration was wealth through the exploitation of the territories they discovered and in some cases conquered. From the beginning of the 16th century the Orient trade previously controlled by the Moors on the overland route was now controlled by the Portuguese on their maritime route. Much of the trade of the Mediterranean and the Baltic now moved through Lisbon. Northern Europeans come to trade arms, cereals, silver and copper for the gold and ivory of Africa; pepper, cinnamon, ginger and cloves from India; silks and porcelain from China; carpets from Persia; and precious metals from Sumatra. This wealth would fund many public and religious buildings, the arts and culture.
Unfortunately for Portugal the wealth proved to be illusory in many ways. As mentioned, the population of Portugal was halved as 1 million Portuguese emigrated to these new territories. With insufficient farm labourers it became necessary to import grains and cereals. Craftsmen and artisans were reduced in numbers and in skills. Life became more and more expensive with inflation. Gold was used to buy the produce and other products of Holland and France. Thus the wealth, instead of being used internally to grow the Portuguese economy, fed and nourished the economies of other European countries. The death knoll to this period was struck on 4 August 1578 when King Sebastian I was killed in a battle in Morocco. Portugal passed under the control of the Spanish monarchy.
The Braganza Dynasty 1640-1853
In 1640, under the dukes of Braganza, the Portuguese began the War of Restoration, resulting in the crowning of João, Duke of Braganza as João IV of Portugal and in 1688 Spain recognized the independence of Portugal. The Braganza Dynasty reigned until 1853.
The 18th century is noted for the renewing of the alliance with England and the export of Port to England. The wealth of Brazil (gold and diamonds) was now the mainstay of the Portuguese economy. Following a devastating earthquake that destroyed Lisbon in 1755, the Prime Minister took the reigns of power, and under an “enlightened despotism”, rebuilt Lisbon. He was responsible for the 1759 expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal.
Napoleonic Era
The Anglo-Portuguese alliance dragged Portugal into the Napoleonic Wars by joining in 1793 the first coalition against revolutionary France. In 1796 Spain withdrew from this coalition and allied itself with France. To assure his blockade, Napoleon sent 3 military expeditions to attack Portugal between 1807 and 1810. The Anglo-Portuguese alliance resulted in Britain dispatching troops under Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, to protect Portugal. Later Wellesley will defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (see blog for June 2007).
The End of the Monarchy
The 19th century saw Portugal engaged in internal conflicts including a civil war over the power and role of the monarchy. In this era the role of monarchs varied significantly throughout the western world, from the absolute power of the Czar of Russia to the parliamentary controlled monarchy of Britain. Portugal wrestled unsatisfactorily with this question from 1820 to 1910.
In 1822 Brazil proclaimed its independence and took as its emperor the eldest son of João IV, the Portuguese king. Pedro I of Brazil, on the death of his father, retained the throne of Brazil and installed his daughter Maria II as Queen of Portugal, with his brother Miguelo as Regent until she reached adulthood. At the same time he instituted a new Portuguese constitution making the monarchy subservient to parliamentary power. But Miguelo saw his opportunity, declared himself King in 1828 and threw out the constitution, reinstituting the absolute power of the monarchy.
A veritable civil war broke out between the “absolutists” and the “liberals”. The latter, with the help of England, were the winners and in 1834 reinstalled Maria as Queen, subservient to parliamentary power. In 1834 Portugal abolished slavery and Maria was married to Ferdinand de Saxe-Couborg-Gotha. One sees the hand of England in this.
From 1851 the ongoing debate about parliamentary authority continues unabated. Despite this unrest Portugal is able to create a third overseas empire in its exploitation of Mozambique and Angola.
With the ongoing political strife, the government and legislature are dissolved in 1906 and Portugal has a dictator in 1907-08. On 1 February, 1908 King Charles I and his son were assassinated in Lisbon. The Queen ensured the crowning of her younger son, but he abdicated on 5 October 1910 and the Republic of Portugal became the 3rd European state with a republican form of government.
The republic was unable to restore order and the country stumbled along. By 1926 the republic had gone through 8 presidents and a military coup overthrew the republic. By 1928 the economy was in shambles and the military rulers called on a professor of the University of Coimbra, António de Oliveira Salazar, to serve as finance minister. Salazar created monetary and political stability. In 1932 he was named President and in 1933 promulgated the constitution of the Estado Novo (the new state) and instituted a dictatorship with a secret police, censorship and other trappings of the dictatorships arising in Europe. Portugal remained neutral throughout World War II.
The Republic Takes Root
The 1960’s saw the financially ruinous wars of independence in Portugal’s African colonies and the annexation of Goa by India in 1961. With Salazar’s death the country moved toward liberalization and the Carnation Revolution was launched during the night of 24 April 1974. The following year Mozambique, Angola, St. Thomas, Portuguese Guinea, and Cap Vert gained independence.
A socialist constitution was proclaimed in 1976 and Macao and the Islands of Madeira and the Azores gained autonomy. The first free elections in half a century took place on 25 April 1975, with a 92% voter turnout giving the majority of seats to the Socialist party. But political stability is not instantaneous. The Socialists were divided between those who favoured European style socialism and those who favoured the socialism of eastern Europe. The country would experience 13 governments in 12 years.
As the constitution went through 4 new iterations between 1982 and 1997, each one was less “revolutionary” and less socialist in its philosophical underpinnings.
In 1999 Macao was ceded to China and the Age of Empire officially ended. The future will bring new developments, many of them unforeseen as Portugal creates its place in the EU (which it joined over 30 years ago).
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