HISTORY OF PORTUGAL (III)

The History of Portugal
From the first inhabitants, to the Celtic tribes, the Roman and Moorish invasions, the Age of Discovery, to modern times

The First Inhabitants
Homo Sapiens appeared in what is now Portugal during the Old Stone Age. It is believed they got there from what is now Southern France prior to 10,000 B.C., by entering through the low passageway between the shore and the west end of the Pyrenees. They settled in the north, and later in 2000 B.C. , another group (who came to be known as "Iberians") settled in the south. The origin of these Iberians is unknown, but it is likely to be North Africa.

Celtic Portugal
The Celts arrived thousands of years later, and brought a small group of Germans with them. They settled mostly in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, especially in what is now the north of Portugal and the Spanish province of Galicia.

Celtic languages spread from Southern France throughout most of the north of Iberia, and extended southward to include central Portugal. These Celts were both agriculturists and pastoralists, and introduced the type of Central European wagon that is still used in Galicia and northern Portugal. In the northern forests of Iberia they found everything necessary for their animals, and evidence of the importance of herding to them is found in the large number of granite sculptures of certain animals, especially pigs, present in the area. These pigs are said to have been associated with fertility, authority and power. The veneration of animals was not unique to the Iberian Celts, since Irish Celts also kept sacred cattle, and "royal" oxen, swine and sheep. They lived in villages of round stone houses which can still be seen in northern Portugal, and eventually they established contact with their kinfolk in Brittany and the British Isles for tin trade.
These Celts, which came to be known as "Lusitanians," had a similar culture to the groups already in Iberia, which allowed them to settle in amity and cooperation. In certain areas, these Celts mixed with the other population, and created groups that were named "Celtiberians." At about the same time, the Phoenicians founded little fishing and salting settlements throughout the south of Portugal, and were followed by the Greeks and Carthaginians.

Roman Portugal The Romans overran Gaul (today's France) in seven years, but it took them almost two centuries to completely take over Iberia. The leader of the Lusitanians, Viriathus, led his people in a triumphant campaign against the Romans, which led to his death at the hands of hired assassins. After Viriathus' death, the Romans were able to take over, and the Lusitanians withdrew to hilltop villages of the rural northwest and maintained resistance for several generations, with occasional raids on the settled territory. The Romans settled everywhere, but their numbers in the north was comparatively small. The south was more to their liking, which was better for growing wheat, olives, and grapes. They eventually imposed their language upon the entire peninsula, and their code of law was applied, which was also ultimately the basis of the Portuguese legal code. Forums, temples and lawcourts were built in the cities, large-scale agriculture was conducted, and the plow was introduced. Roads and bridges (still in evidence throughout Portugal) were created, as well as a system of large farming estates called Latifundios still seen in the area of Alentejo. Under Decimus Junius Brutus and Julius Caesar, a capital was established at Olisipo (Lisbon), and around 25 BC, Augustus divided the peninsula into several provinces, naming much of the area that eventually became Portugal "Lusitania."

Germanic Portugal
The weakening of the Roman Empire enabled various Teutonic peoples to invade Gaul. They eventually crossed the Pyrenees and entered Iberia. The Suevi (or Swabians), who mostly stayed in the northwest, made Bracara Augusta (now the Portuguese city of Braga) their capital. These new German rulers did not altogether sweep away Roman civilization, which they had learned to admire, and styles of dress remained different. The Germanic groups wore their hair long, while the Romans clipped theirs. However, they blended easily with the Romans, as well as with the Celts, whose culture was not too different from theirs. The great contribution of the Swabians was in the use of land, and the introduction of the quadrangular plow. They preferred to settle in the north and northwest of Iberia, which are areas that had a climate more suitable to their crops. Other Germanic groups such as the Vandals and Alans also crossed the Pyrennes, and spread to the western edge of the peninsula. The Alans, at the time the strongest of the tribes, took a large area in the center and south, approximately the area of Roman Lusitania. The Luso-Romans offered no effective opposition to their settlement.

Moorish Portugal
The Prophet Mohammed preached his new religion, Islam, in Arabia, and when he died in 632, his successors undertook a program of world conquest in the name of Allah and Islam. By 700, their forces swept across North Africa and subdued Morocco. They crossed into what is now Spain in 711, and over the years subjugated almost the entire peninsula with incredible speed. However, as opposed to the previous invaders of Iberia, these Muslims (who were named "Moors" by the Christians), chose to settle mostly in the south. In the area of present Portugal, their presence was stronger mostly in today's Alentejo and Algarve provinces. The Moors from Egypt settled mostly in today's Beja and Faro, while the Syrians settled between Faro and the Spanish city of Seville. The Moors fortified several cities, works of irrigation from Roman days were restored and perfected, and the use of linen paper made the multiplication of books much easier than in the days of parchment rolls. As a result, literacy was widespread.

Christian Reconquest and the Emergence of Portugal
Christians continuously tried to get rid of the Moors, and the first attempt is said to have been as early as ten years after their invasion. This was when a man named Pelagio won the first Christian victory against the hated invaders in the north of Iberia. Though the military significance was small at the time, it lifted Christian morale. Over the years, the Christians reconquered several areas from north to south of the peninsula (the north was reconquered earlier, with the Portuguese cities of Oporto back in Christian hands by 868 and Coimbra by 1064).
Several Christian Kingdoms were formed. In 1095, Alfonso VI, the ruler of the kingdom of Leon and Castile established the County of Portucale between the rivers Douro and Mondego. In 1139, the ruler of this county, Afonso Henriques won a battle over the Moors, and declared Portucale a separate kingdom, with himself as king. Four years later, Alfonso VII of Leon-Castile recognized Portucale as a separate, independent kingdom, as did Pope Alexander III in 1179. Afonso Henriques continued to capture land from the Moors, and by 1147 he reconquered Lisbon with the help of English, Flemish, German, and French crusaders. Evora was retaken in 1166, and the Algarve in 1249. At this point, Portugal's conquest was complete, and Portugal became Europe's first state to reach the limits of its territorial expansion, which remain unchanged to this day.

The Age of Discovery
After Portugal was able to expel the Moors, neighboring Castile (Spain) tried to do the same, achieving that goal in 1492. But over those years it also tried to take over Portugal. There were several invasion attempts, ending with a Portuguese victory in the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, during King João's rein. His rein then saw the beginning of Portugal's colonial expansion in Africa and the voyages of discovery which made Portugal rise as the leading maritime and colonial power in western Europe, and Lisbon develop into a major commercial city. In 1415 the trading post of Ceuta in Morocco was captured. Years later, João's son, Prince Henry the Navigator promoted voyages of discovery, and his "school of navigation" in Sagres was founded. At this point, the "Portuguese caravel" was created. This ship was rounder and better suited for the Atlantic, moved entirely by lateen or square sails, and requiring a smaller crew than the previous ships. As a result, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to open the way into the Atlantic (discovering the islands of Madeira, Azores, and Cape Verde), to sail down western Africa (reaching the mouth of the Congo in 1482), to cross the Equator, to round and name the Cape of Good Hope (Bartolomeu Dias), to reach India by sea from the west (Vasco da Gama), to set a foot in South America (with the discovery of Brazil by Pedro Alvares Cabral), and were the first westerners in Ceylon, Sumatra, Malacca, Timor and the spice islands of the Moluccas, the first Europeans to trade with China and Japan (establishing a trading post in Macao, which was the first European settlement in China and part of Portugal until 1999), and to see Australia two hundred years before Captain Cook. The Corte-Real brothers also reached Newfoundland in 1500, and sailing for Spain, Portuguese explorer Magellan (Magalhães in Portuguese) was the first to circumnavigate the globe, and Cabrilho was the first to explore the coast of California. Thanks to worldwide trade, Portugal enjoyed an upsurge of prosperity, making it the wealthiest country in Europe. During this period, King Manuel I marked the exuberance of the age with the lavish Manueline style of architecture (still seen today throughout Portugal, especially in Lisbon's Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery).

60 Years of Spanish Domination
In the late 16th century, King Sebastião was determined to take Christianity to Morocco. He rallied a force of 18,000 but was killed in the battle along with 8000 others. His successor, Cardinal Henrique took over the throne. In 1580, when Henrique died, Sebastião's uncle, Phillip II of Spain, claimed the Portuguese throne. Phillip promised a purely personal union that would leave his new kingdom as independent as before, guaranteed the separation of the two governments, and promissed that the Portuguese language and laws should be used in the governance of the country. Phillip's rein lived up to his promise, but under his son and grandson, Spain let the English and the Dutch strip Portugal of valuable foreign possessions, and Lisbon declined as a commercial center with competition from the harbors in England and Holland. This marked the end of Portugal's golden age. In 1640, leading persons staged a well-planned rising in Lisbon and easily overpowered the sentinels guarding public buildings. In the absence of any force capable of suppressing the rising, a new ruler was acclaimed and Portugal was once again a separate, independent nation. Later, a treaty of friendship and commercial cooperation with Britain ensured Portugal's restored independence, but also guaranteed British predominance in Portugal. Two years after the treaty, Portugal's Catherine of Braganza (Bragança), married England's Charles II.

The French Invasion
In 1755 a devastating earthquake shattered Lisbon, killing thousands of people and destroying most buildings. The prime minister at the time, the Marquis of Pombal, directed the rebuilding of the city. By the turn of the century, the country went through better times. Much of Lisbon had been rebuilt, the peasant class was stable, the middle class was prospering, all presided over by the relatively considerate government of Queen Maria I. At about this time however, events in other European countries threatened Portugal. In France, Napoleon declared a blockade of English trade, and the English responded with a continental blockade. The French insisted that the Portuguese close their ports to the English, open them to Spanish and French ships and arrest all Englishmen in the country and confiscate their property. Not to meet these demands would result in invasion. Portugal had always had a friendly relationship with England, so the government procrastinated. France and Spain then signed the Treaty of Fountainebleau, which gave Napoleon the right to invade Portugal through Spain. They agreed that after the invasion, Portugal would be divided between France and Spain. The French occupied the country in 1807, and the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil. About 50,000 French and Spanish troops roved the countryside arresting, killing, plundering and raping as they pleased. In 1808 Portugal got help from the British, their oldest allies. With their help (headed by General Sir Arthur Wellesley), defensive lines were built around Lisbon. When Napoleon reached the fortifications, he retreated. After the war a new constitution was proclaimed and Brazil was given independence. The years that followed were marked by political confusion.