Editing Portugal (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Portugal}}

=== Prehistory ===
{{Main|Prehistoric Iberia}}
The region has been inhabited by humans since circa 400,000 years ago, when [[Homo heidelbergensis]] entered the area. The oldest human fossil found in Portugal is the 400,000-year-old ''[[Aroeira 3]]'' ''H. Heidelbergensis'' skull discovered in the [[Cave of Aroeira]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2017-03-year-old-fossil-human-cranium-oldest.html|title=400,000-year-old fossil human cranium is oldest ever found in Portugal|website=phys.org|access-date=14 April 2018|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816022236/https://phys.org/news/2017-03-year-old-fossil-human-cranium-oldest.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Later [[Neanderthal]]s roamed the northern Iberian peninsula and a tooth has been found at Nova da Columbeira cave in [[Estremadura Province (1936–76)|Estremadura]].<ref name="Birmp1">David Birmingham (2003), p.11</ref> [[Homo sapiens sapiens]] arrived in Portugal around 35,000 years ago and spread rapidly.<ref>{{harvp|Disney|2009|p=5}}</ref> Pre-Celtic tribes inhabited Portugal. The [[Cynetes]] developed a written language, leaving [[stelae]], which are mainly found in the south.
[[File:Cromeleque dos Almendres - Southeast - 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Almendres Cromlech]], the largest [[stone circle]] in the Iberian Peninsula.]]
Early in the first millennium BC, several waves of [[Celts]] arrived in Portugal from Central Europe and intermarried with the local populations to form several different ethnic groups. The [[Celts|Celtic]] presence is patent in archaeological and linguistic evidence. They dominated most of northern and central Portugal, while the south maintained its older character (believed non-Indo-European, likely related to [[Basque language|Basque]]) until the Roman conquest.<ref>{{harvp|Disney|2009|p=15}}</ref> In southern Portugal, some small, semi-permanent commercial coastal outposts were also founded by [[Phoenicia]]ns and [[Carthaginian Iberia|Carthaginians]].

=== Roman Portugal ===
{{Main|Lusitania|Gallaecia|Hispania}}
[[File:Évora - 49619137673.jpg|thumb|[[Roman Temple of Évora]], one of the best preserved landmarks of Roman presence in Portugal]]
Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC. The Carthaginians, Rome's opponent in the [[Punic Wars]], were expelled from their coastal colonies. During [[Julius Caesar]]'s rule, almost the entire peninsula was annexed to Rome. The conquest took two hundred years and many died, including those sentenced to work in slave mines or sold as slaves to other parts of the empire. Roman occupation suffered a setback in 155 BC, when a [[Lusitanian War|rebellion]] began in the north. The [[Lusitanians]] and other native tribes, under the leadership of [[Viriathus]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unrv.com/bio/viriathus.php|title=Viriathus And The Lusitanian War &#124; UNRV.com Roman History|website=unrv.com|access-date=6 July 2020|archive-date=7 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707020716/https://www.unrv.com/bio/viriathus.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IY5ABAAAQBAJ&q=viriathus+celtic+lusitania+academia&pg=PT268|title=Viriathus: And the Lusitanian Resistance to Rome, 155–139 BC|first=Luis|last=Silva|date=30 July 2013|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=978-1-4738-2689-2|via=Google Books|access-date=17 November 2020|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202203317/https://books.google.com/books?id=IY5ABAAAQBAJ&q=viriathus+celtic+lusitania+academia&pg=PT268#v=snippet&q=viriathus%20celtic%20lusitania%20academia&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> wrested control of all of western Iberia. Rome sent legions to quell the rebellion but were unsuccessful. Roman leaders bribed Viriathus's allies to kill him in 139 BC; he was replaced by [[Tautalus]].

In 27 BC, Lusitania gained the status of [[Roman province]]. Later, a northern province was separated from the province of [[Hispania Tarraconensis|Tarraconensis]], under Emperor [[Diocletian]]'s reforms, known as [[Gallaecia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Conejo |first1=Noé |title=Coins and ''villae'' in late Roman Lusitania: collapse of the Roman currency economy? |journal=Post-Classical Archaeologies |volume=10 |year=2020 |pages=219–246 |url=http://www.postclassical.it/PCA_Vol.10_files/PCA10_Conejo.pdf |access-date=17 November 2020 |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928010929/http://www.postclassical.it/PCA_Vol.10_files/PCA10_Conejo.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> There are numerous ruins of castros ([[hill forts]]) and remains of the [[Castro culture]], like the [[Castro of Monte Mozinho|Mozinho]], [[Castro of Zambujal|Zambujal]], [[Castro of Cidadelhe|Cidadelhe]], [[Conímbriga]], [[Miróbriga|Mirobriga]], [[Citânia de Briteiros|Briteiros]] archaeological sites.

=== Germanic kingdoms ===
[[File:Reino suevo.svg|thumb|Map of the [[Kingdom of the Suebi]] in the 5th and 6th centuries]]

In 409, with the decline of the [[Roman Empire]], the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was occupied by [[Germanic tribes]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UoryGn9o4x0C&pg=PP1 |title=The History of Portugal |isbn=978-0-313-31106-2 |last1=Anderson |first1=James Maxwell |year=2000 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |access-date=24 December 2023 |archive-date=10 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010145955/https://books.google.com/books?id=UoryGn9o4x0C&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 411, with a federation contract with [[Emperor Honorius]], many of these people settled in [[Hispania]]. An important group was made up of the [[Suebi]], [[Buri tribe|Buri]],<ref>Domingos Maria da Silva, ''Os Búrios'', Terras de Bouro, Câmara Municipal de Terras de Bouro, 2006. (in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]])</ref> [[Vandals]] in [[Gallaecia]], who founded a [[Kingdom of the Suebi|Suebi Kingdom]] with its capital in [[Braga]]. They came to dominate central Portugal, including [[Aeminium]] ([[Coimbra]]) all the way to the [[River Tagus|Tagus]], while the [[Visigoths]] occupied the south.<ref name="Koller Laitenberger 1998">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aGc2GwyvuEgC&q=KOLLER%2C%20Erwin%2C%20Hugo%20Laitenberger&pg=PR1 |title=Schwaben |isbn=978-3-8233-5091-0 |last1=Koller |first1=Erwin |last2=Laitenberger |first2=Hugo |year=1998 |publisher=Gunter Narr Verlag |access-date=24 December 2023 |archive-date=2 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202203318/https://books.google.com/books?id=aGc2GwyvuEgC&q=KOLLER%2C%20Erwin%2C%20Hugo%20Laitenberger&pg=PR1#v=snippet&q=KOLLER%2C%20Erwin%2C%20Hugo%20Laitenberger&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
The [[Suebi]] and the Visigoths were the Germanic tribes who had the most lasting presence in the territories corresponding to modern Portugal. As elsewhere in Western Europe, there was a sharp decline in urban life during the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYn_f1jxNDoC&pg=PA138 |title=The Rise & Fall of World Orders |isbn=978-0-7190-4058-0 |last1=Knutsen |first1=Torbjörn L |year=1999| publisher=Manchester University Press }}</ref>

Roman institutions disappeared in the wake of the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] invasions with the exception of [[ecclesiastical]] organisations, which were fostered by the Suebi in the fifth century and adopted by the Visigoths afterwards. Although the Suebi and Visigoths were initially followers of [[Arianism]] and [[Priscillianism]], they adopted [[Catholicism]] from the local inhabitants. St. [[Martin of Braga]] was a particularly influential evangelist.<ref name="Koller Laitenberger 1998" />

In 429, the Visigoths moved south to expel the [[Alans]] and [[Vandals]] and founded a kingdom with its capital in [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]. From 470, conflict between the Suebi and Visigoths increased. In 585, the Visigothic King [[Liuvigild]] conquered Braga and annexed Gallaecia; the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was unified under a [[Visigothic Kingdom]].<ref name="Koller Laitenberger 1998" /> A new class emerged, unknown in Roman times: a [[nobility]], which played a key social and political role during the [[Middle Ages]]. It was under the Visigoths that the Church began to play an important part within the state. As the Visigoths did not learn Latin from the local people, they had to rely on bishops to continue the Roman system of governance. The laws were made by councils of bishops, and the [[clergy]] emerged as a high-ranking class.

=== Islamic period ===
Today's continental Portugal, along with most of modern Spain, was invaded from the South and became part of [[al-Andalus]] between 726 and 1249, following the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] conquest of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. This rule lasted decades in the North, up to five centuries in the South.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Al-Andalus |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Al-Andalus |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=19 March 2021 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303184305/https://www.britannica.com/place/Al-Andalus |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Castelo de Aljezur - 16.10.2019.jpg|thumb|right|Ruins of [[Aljezur]] castle, in the  [[Algarve]] built by the [[Moors]] in the 10th century.]]
After defeating the [[Visigoths]] in a few months, the Umayyad Caliphate started expanding rapidly in the peninsula. Beginning in 726, the land that is now Portugal became part of the vast Umayyad Caliphate's empire of [[Damascus]], until its collapse in 750. That year the west of the empire gained its independence under [[Abd-ar-Rahman I]] with the establishment of the [[Emirate of Córdoba]]. The Emirate became the [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] in 929, until its dissolution in 1031, into 23 small kingdoms, called [[Taifa]] kingdoms.<ref name="Britannica" />

The governors of the taifas proclaimed themselves [[Emir]] of their provinces and established diplomatic relations with the Christian kingdoms of the north. Most of present-day Portugal fell into the hands of the [[Taifa of Badajoz]] of the [[Aftasid Dynasty]], and in 1022 the [[Taifa of Seville]] of the [[Abbadids]] poets. The Taifa period ended with the conquest of the [[Almoravids]] in 1086, then by the [[Almohads]] in 1147.<ref>Portugal musalman (Le) – VIIIe-XIIIe siècles par Christophe Picard – Maisonneuve et Larose – Collection Occident Musulman – 2001, 500 p. {{ISBN|2-7068-1398-9}}</ref>
Al-Andaluz was divided into districts called ''Kura''. [[Gharb Al-Andalus]] at its largest consisted of ten kuras,<ref name="A. R. Disney, p.55">A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, Vol. 1: From Beginnings to 1807: Portugal (Volume 1) p. 55</ref> each with a distinct capital and governor. The main cities were in the southern half of the country: [[Beja (Portugal)|Beja]], [[Silves Municipality, Portugal|Silves]], [[Alcácer do Sal]], [[Santarém, Portugal|Santarém]] and [[Lisbon]]. The Muslim population consisted mainly of native Iberian converts to Islam and [[Berbers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://journals.eco-vector.com/2410-0145/article/view/35149%7Cauthor=Stepanova%7C |title=Written Monuments of the Orient |access-date=19 January 2024 |archive-date=2 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202203427/https://journals.eco-vector.com/2410-0145/index |url-status=live }}</ref> The Arabs (mainly noblemen from [[Syria]]) although a minority, constituted the elite. The Berbers who joined them, were nomads from the [[Rif Mountains]] of North Africa.<ref name="Britannica" />
[[File:Siglaspoveirasbase.png|thumb|right|"Marcas" share similarities with [[bomärken]], in Scandinavia]]
Invasions from the North also occurred in this period, with [[Viking]] incursions raiding the coast between the 9th and 11th centuries, including Lisbon.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Viking raids on the Spanish peninsula |first=Rolf |last=Scheen |journal=Militaria. Revista de Cultura Militar |issue=8 |year=1996 |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/MILT/article/download/MILT9696110067A/3416/0 |pages=67–73 |access-date=13 April 2022 |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413040655/https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/MILT/article/download/MILT9696110067A/3416/0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Ann Christys, ''Vikings in the South'' (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), p. 97.</ref> This resulted in the establishment of small [[Norsemen|Norse]] settlements in the coastline between [[Douro]] and [[Minho Province|Minho]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vikings- Warriors from the sea |url=https://portugal.um.dk/en/culture/culture-events/eventdisplaypage/?eventid=1bd54bcf-6989-430b-ab7d-2ddd5640d986 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924073048/https://portugal.um.dk/en/culture/culture-events/eventdisplaypage/?eventid=1bd54bcf-6989-430b-ab7d-2ddd5640d986 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |access-date=24 April 2020 |publisher=Portugal.um.dk}}</ref>

One likely Viking cultural heritage is found in the ancient ''Marcas Poveiras'' or [[Siglas Poveiras]]. It is generally accepted that the ''siglas'', also known as ''marcas'', are of [[Scandinavian people|Scandinavian]] origin. Based on numerous similarities initially found at the [[National Museum of Denmark|Nationalmuseet]] in [[Copenhagen]], several objects marked with "[[home-marks]]" were also identified in [[Funen]] (also known as [[Fyn]]), [[Denmark]]. Further studies revealed that the complex hereditary marking system of Póvoa de Varzim was also present in Fyn. Given the geographical distance, historical Viking incursions along the Portuguese coast, and pagan rituals practiced by people from this particular fishing region, it is believed that there is a partial Norse ancestry and cultural legacy.<ref>Ann Christys, ''Vikings in the South'' (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), pp. 15-17.</ref>

=== Reconquista ===
{{Main|Portugal in the Reconquista}}
[[File:Porto April 2019-18.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.7|A statue of Count [[Vímara Peres]], first [[County of Portugal|Count of Portugal]] (868–873)]]
The [[Reconquista]] was a period when Christians reconquered the Iberian Peninsula from [[Moors|Moorish]] domination. An Asturian Visigothic noble named [[Pelagius of Asturias]] was elected leader in 718<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pelayo-king-of-Asturias|title=Pelayo – king of Asturias|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=25 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125140910/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pelayo-king-of-Asturias|url-status=live}}</ref> by many of the ousted [[Visigoth]] nobles. Pelagius called for the remnants of the Christian Visigothic armies to rebel against the Moors and regroup in the unconquered northern Asturian highlands, known today as the [[Cantabrian Mountains]], in north-west Spain.<ref name="V. Livermore, 1969 pp. 32-33">{{harvp|Livermore|1969|pp=32–33}}</ref> After defeating the Moors in the [[Battle of Covadonga]] in 722, Pelagius was proclaimed king, thus founding the Christian [[Kingdom of Asturias]] and starting the war of Christian reconquest.<ref name="V. Livermore, 1969 pp. 32-33"/>

At the end of the 9th century, the region of Portugal between the rivers Minho and Douro was reconquered from the Moors by nobleman and knight [[Vímara Peres]] on the orders of King [[Alfonso III of Asturias]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/23317651|title=O Conde Vímara Peres por A. de Almeida Fernandes|first=A. de Almeida|last=Fernandes|via=academia.edu|access-date=6 July 2020|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200942/https://www.academia.edu/23317651|url-status=live}}</ref> Finding many towns deserted, he decided to repopulate and rebuild them.<ref name="QuidNovi">{{Cite book |last1=Ribeiro |first1=Ângelo |last2=Hermano |first2=José |title=História de Portugal I&nbsp;– A Formação do Território |trans-title=History of Portugal: The Formation of the Territory |publisher=QuidNovi |year=2004 |isbn=989-554-106-6 |language=pt}}</ref>

Vímara Peres elevated the region to the status of [[County]], naming it the [[County of Portugal]] after its major port city – ''Portus Cale'' or modern [[Porto]]. One of the first cities he founded is Vimaranes, known today as [[Guimarães]] – "birthplace of the Portuguese nation" or the "cradle city".<ref name="QuidNovi"/>

After annexing the County of Portugal into one of the counties that made up the [[Kingdom of Asturias]], King [[Alfonso III of Asturias]] knighted Vímara Peres, in 868, as the First Count of Portus Cale (Portugal). The region became known as ''Portucale'', ''Portugale'', and simultaneously ''Portugália''.<ref name="QuidNovi"/> With the forced abdication of Alfonso III in 910, the Kingdom of Asturias split into three separate kingdoms; they were reunited in 924 under the crown of [[Kingdom of León|León]].

In 1093 [[Alfonso VI of León]] bestowed the county to Henry of Burgundy and married him to his daughter, [[Theresa, Countess of Portugal|Teresa of León]]. Henry thus became [[Henry, Count of Portugal]] and based his newly formed county from Bracara Augusta (modern [[Braga]]).

=== Independence ===
{{Main|Portugal in the Middle Ages}}
[[File:Museu Arqueológico do Carmo - Lisbon (52750994466).jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Oldest representation of Afonso I, {{Circa|13th century}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fernandes |first=Carla Varela |via=NOVA Research Portal|title=Com a Espada e a Cruz: A imagem de D. Afonso Henriques na Escultura Medieval Portuguesa|publisher=CITCEM – Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar «Cultura, Espaço e Memória»|isbn=978-989-8351-75-3|editor-last=Barroca|editor-first=Mário Jorge|publication-place=Porto|publication-date=August 2017|series=No tempo de D. Afonso Henriques. Reflexões sobre o primeiro século português.|pages=77–90|url=https://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/17405.pdf|language = pt-PT|trans-title=With the sword and the cross the image of Afonso Henriques in the Portuguese medieval sculpting|access-date=7 April 2025}}</ref>]]
At the [[Battle of São Mamede]], in the outskirts of [[Guimarães]], in 1128, [[Afonso I of Portugal|Afonso Henriques]], Count of Portugal, defeated his mother [[Teresa, Countess of Portugal|Countess Teresa]] and her lover [[Fernão Peres de Trava]], establishing himself as sole leader of the [[County of Portugal|county]]. Afonso continued his father Henry of Burgundy's Reconquista wars. His campaigns were successful and in 1139, he obtained a victory in the [[Battle of Ourique]], so was proclaimed [[King of Portugal]] by his soldiers. This is traditionally taken as the occasion when the County of Portugal became the independent [[Kingdom of Portugal]] and, in 1129, the capital city was transferred from Guimarães to Coimbra. Afonso was recognized as the first king of Portugal in 1143 by King [[Alfonso VII of León]], and in 1179 by [[Pope Alexander III]] as Afonso I of Portugal, with the [[Papal bull|papal bull]] ''[[Manifestis Probatum]]''.

Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military [[Christian monasticism|monastic orders]], continued pushing southwards against the Moors. In 1217, during the reign of King [[Afonso II of Portugal|Afonso II]], Portuguese troops, supported by [[Crusades|crusaders]] and others, retook [[Siege of Alcácer do Sal|Alcácer do Sal]], with further land conquests from the Moors during the reign of [[Sancho II of Portugal|Sancho II]], mainly the start of the [[Portuguese conquest of the Algarve|conquest of the Algarve]] in 1238. After internal tensions, Sancho II was deposed from the throne and his brother, [[Afonso III of Portugal|Afonso III]], became king in 1248.<ref>{{cite web |title=O turbulento reinado de D. Sancho II |publisher=RTP Ensina |access-date=8 April 2025 |url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/artigo/o-turbulento-reinado-de-d-sancho-ii/ |date=2003 }}</ref> A year later, in 1249, the Reconquista ended with the capture of the [[Algarve]], in the aftermath of the [[Siege of Faro (1249)|Siege of Faro]], and the last Moorish settlements were expelled. With minor readjustments, Portugal's territorial borders have remained the same, making it one of the oldest established nations in Europe.
[[File:Treaty of alliance between king Edward III of England and Ferdinand I of Portugal, 16th June 1373.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Copy of the [[Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373]].]]
After a conflict with the [[kingdom of Castile]], [[Denis of Portugal]] signed the [[Treaty of Alcañices]] in 1297 with Ferdinand IV of Castile. This treaty established the border between the kingdoms of Portugal and Leon. During the reign of Denis, the first university in Portugal opened in Lisbon, on March 1st 1290, being then transferred to Coimbra in 1308.<ref>{{cite web |title=5 das Universidades mais antigas no mundo, uma é em Portugal |publisher=Nat Geo Portugal |access-date=5 April 2025 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.pt/historia/5-das-universidades-mais-antigas-no-mundo-uma-e-em-portugal_1629 |date=9 January 2022 }}</ref> Denis died in 1325 and was succeeded by his son, [[Afonso IV of Portugal|Afonso IV]], who had a strained relationship with his father that nearly [[Battle of Alvalade|ended in war]]. In 1355, in the aftermath of the assassination of [[Inês de Castro]], [[Peter I of Portugal|Peter's I]] lover, a civil war broke between the King, Afonso IV, and his son, and heir, Peter, with peace only being achieved in 1357.<ref>{{cite journal |title=D. Afonso IV, testemunha da peste negra |journal=A Guerra Civil de 1355 |publisher=RTP Ensina |access-date=13 April 2025 |url=https://novaresearch.unl.pt/en/publications/a-guerra-civil-de-1355 |date=1998 |volume=1 |pages=393–407 |editor1=De, Estudos Medievais SP }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Guerra Civil de 1355 - Lisboa |publisher=[[NOVA University Lisbon]] |access-date=13 April 2025 |url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/artigo/d-afonso-iv-testemunha-da-peste-negra/ |date=1 January 2008 }}</ref> The reigns of Denis, Afonso IV, and Peter I mostly saw peace with the other kingdoms of Iberia. 

In 1348-49 Portugal, as with the rest of Europe, was devastated by the [[Black Death]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/09/13/2031252.htm|title=Black death|first=Karl S.|last=Kruszelnicki|date=13 September 2007|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406162144/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/09/13/2031252.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1373, Portugal, during the reign of [[Ferdinand I of Portugal|Ferdinand I]], made an [[Anglo-Portuguese Alliance|alliance with England]], the oldest standing alliance in the world. This alliance was signed during the [[Fernandine Wars]], a series of conflicts between Portugal and Castile over the right to the throne of Castile. This alliance would be reinforced with the signing of the [[Treaty of Windsor (1386)|Treaty of Windsor]] in 1386.

=== Age of Discoveries ===
{{main||Portuguese Empire}}
[[File:Caravela Vera Cruz.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Vera Cruz Caravel replica sailing on the Tagus River, near Lisbon]]
In 1383 [[John I of Castile]] and [[Beatrice of Portugal]], the only surviving legitimate child of [[Ferdinand I of Portugal]], claimed the throne of Portugal. John of Aviz, later [[John I of Portugal]], led a revolt against this claim and defeated the Castilians in the [[Battle of Aljubarrota]], with the [[House of Aviz]] becoming the ruling house. The new ruling dynasty led Portugal to the limelight of European politics and culture. They created and sponsored literature, such as a history of Portugal, by [[Fernão Lopes]].<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Duarte |first=King of Portugal |title=The book of horsemanship |date=2016 |author=Jeffrey L. Forgeng |isbn=9781782046288 |oclc=961824873 }}</ref><ref name="Carvalho 2014">{{Cite journal |publisher=Carvalho |first=Mário Santiago de |date=12 September 2014 |title=Uma modernidade perdida: da melancolia à alegria racional na antropologia do homem superior| author=Segundo D. Duarte |url=https://www.uc.pt/fluc/dfci/public_/publicacoes/uma_modernidade_perdida |journal=Revista Filosófica de Coimbra |volume=22 |issue=43 |page=190 |doi=10.14195/0872-0851_43_7 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |issn=0872-0851 |access-date=22 January 2024 |archive-date=2 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202203324/https://www.uc.pt/fluc/dfci/public_/publicacoes/uma_modernidade_perdida |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Duarte |title=King of Portugal Leal conselheiro |date=1999 |author=Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda |isbn=9722709402 |oclc=43397222 }}</ref>

Portugal spearheaded European exploration of the world and the [[Age of Discovery]] under the sponsorship of [[Prince Henry the Navigator]]. Portugal explored the Atlantic, encountering the [[Azores]], [[Madeira]], and [[Portuguese Cape Verde]], which led to the first [[colonialism|colonisation]] movements. The Portuguese explored the [[Indian Ocean]], established trade routes in most of southern Asia, and sent the first direct European maritime trade and diplomatic missions to China ([[Jorge Álvares]]) and Japan ([[Nanban trade]]). In 1415, Portugal acquired its first colonies by conquering [[Ceuta]], in North Africa. Throughout the 15th century, [[European exploration of Africa#Portuguese|Portuguese explorers]] sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts [[Economic history of Portugal#Expansion of the Portuguese empire (15th and 16th centuries)|for commodities]], ranging from [[gold]] to [[slavery]]. Portugal sailed the [[Portuguese India Armadas]] to Goa via the [[Cape of Good Hope]].

The [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] of 1494 was intended to resolve a dispute created following the return of [[Christopher Columbus]] and divided the newly located lands outside Europe between Portugal and Spain along a line west of the [[Cape Verde]] islands, off the west coast of Africa. In 1498 [[Vasco da Gama]] became the first European to reach India by sea, bringing [[Economic history of Portugal|economic prosperity to Portugal]] and helping to start the [[Portuguese Renaissance]]. In 1500, the Portuguese explorer [[Gaspar Corte-Real]] reached what is now [[Canada]] and founded the town of [[Portugal Cove-St. Philip's]], one of many [[Portuguese colonization of the Americas|Portuguese colonies of the Americas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/portuguese.html |title=The Portuguese Explorers: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage |publisher=Heritage.nf.ca |access-date=31 January 2014 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805030420/http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/portuguese.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite DCB |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/corte_real_miguel_1E.html |title=Corte-Real, Miguel |first=L.-A. |last=Vigneras |volume=I |access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pcsp.ca/?Content=Visiting/About_Our_Town/History|title=Town of Portugal Cove – St.Philip's : History|website=Pcsp.ca|access-date=14 September 2015|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016022411/http://pcsp.ca/?Content=Visiting/About_Our_Town/History|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:PortugueseColonialEmpire02.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Areas that were, at some point, part of the [[Portuguese Empire]]]]
In 1500, [[Discovery of Brazil|Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on Brazil]] and claimed it for Portugal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/fodors/top/features/travel/destinations/centralandsouthamerica/brazil/riodejaneiro/fdrs_feat_129_9.html?pagewanted=1|title=A Brief History of Brazil - New York Times|website=The New York Times|access-date=25 December 2023|archive-date=14 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214234730/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/fodors/top/features/travel/destinations/centralandsouthamerica/brazil/riodejaneiro/fdrs_feat_129_9.html?pagewanted=1|url-status=live}}</ref> Ten years later, [[Afonso de Albuquerque]] conquered [[Goa]] in India, [[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]] and [[Ormuz]] in the [[Persian Strait]], and [[Malacca]], now in Malaysia. Thus, the Portuguese empire held dominion over commerce in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic. Portuguese sailors set out to reach Eastern Asia, landing in [[Taiwan]], Japan, [[Timor]], [[Flores]], and the [[Moluccas]]. Although it was believed the [[Dutch people|Dutch]] were the first Europeans to arrive in Australia, there is evidence the [[Theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia|Portuguese may have discovered it]] in 1521.<ref>{{cite news |first=Giles |last=Tremlett |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/22/uk.australia |title=Another nail in Cook's coffin as map suggests he was pipped by Portugal |newspaper=The Guardian |date=22 March 2007 |access-date=31 January 2014 |archive-date=17 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117003919/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/22/uk.australia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10575227/Kangaroo-in-400-year-old-manuscript-could-change-Australian-history.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10575227/Kangaroo-in-400-year-old-manuscript-could-change-Australian-history.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Kangaroo in 400-year-old manuscript could change Australian history |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=31 January 2014 |location=London |first=Bernd |last=Debusmann |date=15 January 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Perry |first=Michael |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-map-idUSSYD3449720070321 |title=Map proves Portuguese discovered Australia: new book |publisher=Reuters |date=21 March 2007 |access-date=31 January 2014 |archive-date=2 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102003059/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/03/21/us-australia-map-idUSSYD3449720070321 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Between 1519 and 1522 [[Ferdinand Magellan]] organised a Spanish expedition to the [[East Indies]] which resulted in the first [[circumnavigation]] of the globe. The [[Treaty of Zaragoza]], signed in 1529 between Portugal and Spain, divided the Pacific Ocean between Spain and Portugal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/5-2-crossing-the-atlantic|title=5.2 Crossing the Atlantic - World History Volume 2, from 1400 &#124; OpenStax|first1=Ann|last1=Kordas|first2=Ryan J.|last2=Lynch|first3=Brooke|last3=Nelson|first4=Julie|last4=Tatlock|date=14 December 2022|website=openstax.org|access-date=4 January 2024|archive-date=4 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104173037/https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/5-2-crossing-the-atlantic|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Iberian Union and Restoration ===
{{Main|Iberian Union}}

Portugal voluntarily entered a dynastic union (1580&ndash;1640) because the last two kings of the [[House of Aviz]] ([[Sebastian, King of Portugal]], followed by his grand-uncle [[Henry, King of Portugal]]) died without heirs, resulting in the [[Portuguese succession crisis of 1580]]. [[Philip II of Spain]] claimed the throne, under the pretext that his mother was a Portuguese princess, [[Isabella of Portugal]], the second child and first daughter of King [[Manuel I of Portugal]]. Philip II of Spain was accepted as Philip I of Portugal. Yet, Portugal did not lose its formal independence. Instead, a [[Iberian Union|union]] of kingdoms was formed. But the joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of an independent foreign policy, and led to its involvement in the [[Eighty Years' War]] between Spain and the Netherlands.

[[File:Europa - Portugal - Lisboa - Mafra - Palacio.jpg|thumb|[[Palace of Mafra]] built by John V, now a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]]]
War led to a deterioration of relations with [[Anglo-Portuguese Alliance|Portugal's oldest ally, England]], and the loss of [[Ormus|Hormuz]], a strategic trading post located between [[Iran]] and [[Oman]]. From 1595 to 1663 the [[Dutch-Portuguese War|Dutch Portuguese War]] primarily involved Dutch companies invading Portuguese [[colonies]] and commercial interests in Brazil, Africa, India and the Far East, resulting in the loss of Portugal's Indian sea trade monopoly.

In 1640 [[John IV of Portugal]] spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. The [[Portuguese Restoration War]] ended the 60-year period of the Iberian Union under the [[House of Habsburg]]. This was the beginning of the [[House of Braganza]], which reigned until 1910. [[John V of Portugal|John V]] saw a reign characterized by the influx of gold into the royal treasury, supplied largely by the [[royal fifth]] (tax on precious metals) from the [[Portuguese empire|Portuguese colonies]] of [[State of Brazil|Brazil]] and [[State of Maranhão (colonial)|Maranhão]]. Most estimates place the number of Portuguese migrants to [[Colonial Brazil]] during the gold rush of the 18th century at 600,000.<ref name="ibge">{{cite web|url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/portugueses.html |title=IBGE teen |publisher=Ibge.gov.br |access-date=11 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125045233/http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/portugueses.html |archive-date=25 January 2012 }}</ref> This represented one of the largest movements of European populations to their colonies, during colonial times.

=== Pombaline era and Enlightenment ===
{{Main|History of Portugal (1640–1777)}}
[[File:Marquês de Pombal, por Claude Joseph Vernet e Louis-Michel van Loo, 1766 (Câmara Municipal de Oeiras).png|thumb|The [[Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal|Marquis of Pombal]] effectively ruled Portugal during the reign of [[Joseph I of Portugal]] (1750–1777).]]
In 1738 [[Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal|Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo]], later ennobled as 1st [[Marquis of Pombal (title)|Marquis of Pombal]], began a career as the Portuguese Ambassador in London, later in Vienna. King [[Joseph I of Portugal|Joseph I]] was crowned in 1750 and made him his [[political minister|Minister]] of Foreign Affairs. As the King's confidence in Carvalho e Melo increased, he entrusted him with more control of the state. By 1755, Carvalho e Melo was made prime minister. Impressed by British economic success witnessed as Ambassador, he successfully implemented similar [[Economic system|economic]] policies in Portugal.

In 1761, during the reign of King José I, he banned the import of black slaves into mainland Portugal and India, not for humanitarian reasons, but because they were a necessary work force in Brazil. At the same time, he encouraged the trade of black slaves ("the pieces", in the terms of that time) to that colony, and with the support and direct involvement of the Marquis of Pombal, two companies were founded - the ''Companhia do Grão-Pará e Maranhão'' and the ''Companhia Geral de Pernambuco e Paraíba'' - whose main activity was the trafficking of slaves, mostly Africans, to Brazilian lands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Caldeira |first=Arlindo Manuel |title=Escravos e Traficantes no Império Português: O comércio negreiro português no Atlântico durante os séculos XV a XIX |publisher=A Esfera dos Livros |year=2013 |pages=219–224 |language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boxer |first=Charles |title=O Império colonial português (1415-1825) |publisher=Ediçoes 70 |year=1969 |pages=191}}</ref>

He reorganised the army and navy and ended legal discrimination against different [[Christianity|Christian]] sects.<ref>{{cite web |title=A extinção da Inquisição em Portugal |publisher=RTP Ensina |access-date=14 March 2025 |url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/artigo/a-extincao-da-inquisicao-em-portugal/ |date=2017 }}</ref> He created companies and guilds to regulate commercial activity and one of the first [[appellation|appellation systems]] by demarcating the region for production of [[port wine|Port]] to ensure the wine's quality. This was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. He imposed strict law upon all classes of Portuguese society, along with a widespread review of the tax system. These reforms gained him enemies in the upper classes.

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 260
| image1            = Ruinas da Praça da Patriarcal após o Terramoto de 1755 - Jacques Philippe Le Bas, 1757.png
| width1            = 1012
| height1           = 716
| image3            = Ruinas da Igreja de S. Paulo após o Terramoto de 1755 - Jacques Philippe Le Bas, 1757.png
| width2            = 1012
| height2           = 716
| image2            = Ruinas da Igreja de S. Nicolau após o Terramoto de 1755 - Jacques Philippe Le Bas, 1757.png
| width3            = 1012
| height3           = 716
| image4            = Ruinas da Sé de Lisboa após o Terramoto de 1755 - Jacques Philippe Le Bas, 1757.png
| width4            = 1012
| height4           = 716
| footer            = The [[1755 Lisbon earthquake]] devastated Portugal.
}}

Lisbon was struck by a major [[1755 Lisbon earthquake|earthquake on 1 November 1755]], magnitude estimated to have been between 7.7 and 9.0, with casualties ranging from 12,000 to 50,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nisee.berkeley.edu/lisbon/index.html |title=Historical Depictions of the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake |publisher=Nisee.berkeley.edu |date=12 November 1998 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311082423/http://nisee.berkeley.edu/lisbon/index.html |archive-date=11 March 2011 }}</ref> Following the earthquake, Joseph I gave his prime minister more power, and Carvalho de Melo became an [[Enlightened absolutism|enlightened despot]]. In 1758 Joseph I was wounded in an attempted assassination. The [[Marquis of Távora]], several members of his family and even servants were tortured and executed in public with extreme brutality (even by the standards of the time), as alleged part of the [[Távora affair]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saraiva |first=José Hermano |title=História concisa de Portugal |publisher=Publicações Europa-América |year=1986 |pages=250–251|edition=10th }}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Disney|2009|pages=294-297}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Oliveira Santos |first=Guilherme de (and two others) |title=O processo dos Távoras : A Revisão - Instauração, depoimentos e sentenças |publisher=Caleidoscopio |publication-date=2017 |pages=11, 34–36, 55, 58}}</ref>

The following year, the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] were [[Suppression of the Society of Jesus|suppressed and expelled]]. This crushed opposition by publicly demonstrating even the aristocracy was powerless before Pombal. Further titled "Marquês de Pombal" in 1770, he ruled Portugal until Joseph I's death in 1777. The new ruler, Queen [[Maria I of Portugal]], disliked Pombal because of his excesses, and upon her accession to the throne, withdrew all his political offices. Pombal was banished to his estate at [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]], where he died in 1782.

Historians argue that Pombal's "enlightenment," while far-reaching, was primarily a mechanism for enhancing autocracy at the expense of individual liberty and especially an apparatus for crushing opposition, suppressing criticism, and furthering colonial exploitation and consolidating personal control, and profit.<ref>Kenneth Maxwell, ''Pombal, Paradox of the Enlightenment'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 83, 91–108, 160–62.</ref>

=== Crises of the 19th century ===
{{Main|History of Portugal (1777–1834)|History of Portugal (1834–1910)}}
[[File:Battle of Ferreira Bridge.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Ponte Ferreira]] during the [[Liberal Wars]] (1828–1834)]]
In 1807 Portugal refused [[Napoleon]]'s demand to accede to the [[Continental System]] of embargo against the United Kingdom; a French invasion under [[Jean-Andoche Junot|General Junot]] followed, and Lisbon was captured in 1807. British intervention in the [[Peninsular War]] helped maintain Portuguese independence; the last French troops were expelled in 1812.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ertl|first=Alan W.|title=Toward an Understanding of Europe: A Political Economic Precis of Continental Integration|year=2008|publisher=Dissertation.com|isbn=9781599429830|page=303}}</ref> During the [[Napoleonic Wars|Napoleonic invasions]], the [[Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil|Portuguese royal family transferred]] the court to [[Rio de Janeiro]], in Brazil, making it the capital of the Portuguese empire between 1808 and 1821.<ref>{{cite web |title=A fuga da família real para o Brasil |publisher=RTP Ensina |access-date=14 March 2025 |url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/artigo/a-fuga-para-o-brasil-da-familia-real/ |date=2008 }}</ref>

In 1820, [[constitutionalist]] insurrections took place at [[Porto]] and Lisbon, and King John VI and his court were forced to return to mainland Portugal in 1821.<ref>{{cite web |title=Há 200 anos, Dom João 6º voltava a Portugal e, sem querer, abria caminho para independência do Brasil |publisher=BBC Brasil |access-date=14 March 2025 |url=https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-56857790 |date=24 April 2021 }}</ref> Lisbon regained its status as the capital of Portugal when Brazil declared its independence in 1822. The death of King [[John VI of Portugal|John VI]] in 1826 led to a crisis of royal succession. His eldest son, [[Pedro I of Brazil]], briefly became [[Pedro IV of Portugal]], but neither the Portuguese nor Brazilians wanted a unified monarchy; consequently, Pedro abdicated the Portuguese crown in favor of his 7-year-old daughter, [[Maria II of Portugal|Maria da Glória]], on the condition that when she came of age she would marry his brother, [[Miguel I of Portugal|Miguel]]. Dissatisfaction at Pedro's constitutional reforms led the "absolutist" faction of landowners and the church to proclaim Miguel king in February 1828. This led to the [[Liberal Wars]], also known as the ''War of the Two Brothers'' or the ''Portuguese Civil War'', in which Pedro forced Miguel to abdicate and go into exile in 1834 and place his daughter on the throne as Queen [[Maria II of Portugal]].
[[File:Mapa Cor-de-Rosa.png|thumb|In pink are areas in Africa claimed by Portugal before the 1890 British Ultimatum]]
After 1815 the Portuguese expanded their trading ports along the African coast, moving inland to take control of Angola and Mozambique. The slave trade was abolished in 1836. In [[Portuguese India]], trade flourished in the colony of [[History of Goa|Goa]], with its subsidiary colonies of [[Portuguese Macau|Macau]], near Hong Kong, and [[Portuguese Timor|Timor]], north of Australia. The Portuguese successfully introduced Catholicism and the Portuguese language into their colonies, while most settlers continued to head to Brazil.<ref>{{harvp|Livermore|1969|pp=299–306}}</ref><ref>Gervase Clarence-Smith, ''The Third Portuguese Empire, 1825–1975: A Study in Economic Imperialism'' (1985)</ref>

On 11 January 1890, the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] delivered [[1890 British Ultimatum|an ultimatum]] to Portugal, demanding the withdrawal of Portuguese forces from the area between Portugal's colonies of [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]] and [[Portuguese Angola|Angola]]. The area had been claimed by Portugal as part of its colonialist [[Pink Map]] project, but Britain disputed these claims, mostly due to [[Cecil Rhodes]]' aspirations to create a [[Cape to Cairo Railway]], which was intended to link all British colonies via a single railway. The government of Portugal quietly accepted the ultimatum and withdrew their forces from the disputed area, leading to a widespread backlash among the Portuguese public, who viewed acceptance of the British demands as a humiliation.<ref>João Ferreira Duarte, [http://www.erudit.org/revue/TTR/2000/v13/n1/037395ar.pdf The Politics of Non-Translation: A Case Study in Anglo-Portuguese Relations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910035749/http://www.erudit.org/revue/TTR/2000/v13/n1/037395ar.pdf |date=10 September 2016 }}</ref>

=== First Republic and Estado Novo ===
{{Main|First Portuguese Republic|Estado Novo (Portugal)}}
[[File:Estremoz13.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration alluding to the ''Proclamation of the Portuguese Republic'' on 5 October 1910.]]
On 1 February 1908, King [[Carlos I of Portugal|Carlos I]] and his son and heir, [[Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal|Luís Filipe, Prince Royal]], were [[Lisbon Regicide|assassinated]] by Republican and [[Carbonária]] members.<ref>{{cite web |title=Regicídio em Lisboa |publisher=RTP Ensina |access-date=14 March 2025 |url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/artigo/regicidio-em-lisboa-1908/ |date=1974 }}</ref> Two years later, on 5 October 1910, a [[5 October 1910 revolution|coup d'état]] overthrew the near 800-year-old Monarchy and the Republic was proclaimed. During World War I, Portugal helped the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] fight the [[Central Powers]]; however the war hurt its weak economy. Political instability and economic weaknesses were fertile ground for chaos and unrest during the [[First Portuguese Republic]]. Several coups occurred during the First Republic, like the failed [[Monarchy of the North]] coup, but others had success, like the [[December 1917 coup d'état]], which led to the rise of [[Sidónio Pais]] to power. In 1921, the [[Bloody Night (Lisbon, 1921)|''Bloody Night'']] revolt ended in the assassinaton of the Prime Minister and other high-ranking officials of the Republic.

These conditions led to the [[28 May 1926 coup d'état]] and creation of the National Dictatorship (''[[Ditadura Nacional]]''). This in turn led to the right-wing dictatorship of the [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]] (New State), under [[António de Oliveira Salazar]] in 1933.
{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| align             = right
| width             = 248
| footer            = 
| image1            = Antonio de Olivera Salazar sitting at his desk (by Bernard Hoffman, 1940) – Google Art Project.png
| caption1          = [[António de Oliveira Salazar]] ruled Portugal between 1932 and 1968, within the [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]] regime.
| image2            = AssaltonaMatadaSanga.jpg
| caption2          = Paratroopers in a Portuguese Air Force helicopter during the [[Portuguese Colonial War]]
}}
Portugal remained neutral in [[World War II]]. From the 1940s to 1960s, Portugal was a founding member of [[NATO]], [[OECD]], the [[European Free Trade Association]] (EFTA) and joined the [[United Nations]] in 1955. New economic development projects and relocation of mainland Portuguese citizens into the overseas provinces in Africa were initiated, with [[Portuguese Angola|Angola]] and [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]] being the main targets of those initiatives. These actions were used to affirm Portugal's status as a [[List of transcontinental countries|transcontinental]] nation and not a colonial empire.

Pro-Indian residents of [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli]], separated those territories from Portuguese rule in 1954.<ref name="Lele">P S Lele, Dadra and Nagar Haveli: past and present, Published by Usha P. Lele, 1987,</ref> In 1961, [[Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá]]'s annexation by the [[Republic of Dahomey]] was the start of a process that led to the dissolution of the centuries-old Portuguese Empire. Another forcible retreat occurred in 1961 when Portugal refused to relinquish [[Goa]]. The Portuguese were involved in armed conflict in [[Portuguese India]] against the [[Indian Armed Forces]]. The [[Annexation of Goa|operations resulted in the defeat]] and loss of the remaining Portuguese territories in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The Portuguese regime refused to recognise Indian sovereignty over the annexed territories, which continued to be represented in the National Assembly until the coup of 1974.

Also in the early 1960s the independence movements in the Portuguese provinces of [[Portuguese Angola]], [[Portuguese Mozambique]], and [[Portuguese Guinea]] in Africa, resulted in the [[Portuguese Colonial War]] (lasting from 1961 till 1974). The war mobilised around 1.4 million men for military or for civilian support service,<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://journals.openedition.org/lerhistoria/484 |title=A desmobilização dos combatentes africanos das Forças Armadas Portuguesas da Guerra Colonial (1961-1974) |date=2013 |doi=10.4000/lerhistoria.484 |access-date=8 December 2022 |archive-date=8 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208230030/https://journals.openedition.org/lerhistoria/484 |url-status=live |last1=Rodrigues |first1=Fátima da Cruz |journal=Ler História |issue=65 |pages=113–128 |doi-access=free |issn=0870-6182}}</ref> and led to large casualties. Throughout the colonial war period Portugal dealt with increasing dissent, arms embargoes and other punitive sanctions imposed by the international community. The authoritarian and conservative Estado Novo regime, tried to preserve the empire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://purl.pt/11440/1/P1.html |title=Portugal Não É Um País Pequeno |publisher=Purl.pt |access-date=21 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20141025060609/http://purl.pt/11440/1/P1.html |archive-date=25 October 2014 }}</ref>

Salazar governed until 1968, when he suffered a [[brain hemorrhage]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Quando Salazar caiu da cadeira |publisher=RTP Ensina |access-date=12 March 2025 |url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/artigo/quando-salazar-caiu-da-cadeira/ |date=2018 }}</ref> and was replaced by [[Marcelo Caetano]], which raised hopes of a "liberalization" of the Estado Novo regime, called the ''Marcelist Spring'', but those hopes were soon crushed.<ref>{{cite web |title=O período do Marcelismo |publisher=RTP Ensina |access-date=12 March 2025 |url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/explicador/o-periodo-do-marcelismo/ |date=2021 }}</ref>

=== Carnation Revolution and return to democracy===
{{Main|Carnation Revolution}}
[[File:Revolução dos Cravos.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Crowd celebrates on a [[Panhard EBR]] armoured car in [[Lisbon]] on 25 April 1974]]
The government and army resisted the [[decolonization]] of its overseas territories until April 1974, when a left-wing military [[coup]] in Lisbon, the Carnation Revolution, led the way for the independence of territories, as well as the restoration of democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (''[[Processo Revolucionário Em Curso]]''). This period was characterised by power disputes between left- and right-wing political forces. By the summer of 1975, the tensions were so high, that the country was on the verge of civil war. Forces connected to the extreme left-wing launched another coup on 25 November, but a military faction, the Group of Nine, initiated a counter-coup.

The Group of Nine emerged victorious, preventing the establishment of a [[communist state]] and ending political instability. The retreat from the overseas territories prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from its African territories.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12079340 Flight from Angola] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227074203/http://www.economist.com/node/12079340?story_id=12079340 |date=27 February 2013 }}, ''[[The Economist]]'', 16 August 1975</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090113204408/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913229-1,00.html Dismantling the Portuguese Empire], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 7 July 1975</ref> Over one million [[White African#Portuguese in Africa|Portuguese refugees]] fled the former Portuguese provinces, as white settlers were usually not considered part of the former colonies. By 1975, all Portuguese African territories were independent and Portugal held [[1975 Portuguese Constituent Assembly election|its first democratic elections]] in 50 years.

Portugal continued to be governed by a [[National Salvation Junta]] until the [[1976 Portuguese legislative election|Portuguese legislative election of 1976]]. It was won by the [[Socialist Party (Portugal)|Portuguese Socialist Party]] and Mário Soares, its leader, became prime minister. Soares would be prime minister from 1976 to 1978 and 1983 to 1985. Soares tried to resume the economic growth and development record that had been achieved before the Carnation Revolution. He initiated the process of accession to the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC).

After the transition to democracy, Portugal flipped between [[socialism]] and adherence to the [[neoliberal]] model. [[Land reform]] and [[nationalization|nationalisation]]s were enforced; the [[Portuguese Constitution]] was rewritten to accommodate socialist and communist principles. Until the revisions of 1982 and 1989, the constitution had references to socialism, the rights of workers, and the desirability of a [[socialist economy]]. Portugal's economic situation after the revolution obliged the government to pursue [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF)-monitored stabilisation programmes in 1977–78 and 1983–85.[[File:Tratado de Lisboa 13 12 2007 (081).jpg|thumb|The [[Treaty of Lisbon]] was signed in 2007, when Portugal held the presidency for the [[European Council]]]] In 1986 Portugal alongside Spain, joined the European Economic Community which later became the [[European Union]] (EU). Portugal's economy progressed considerably as a result of [[European Structural and Investment Funds]] and companies' easier access to foreign markets.

Portugal's last overseas territory, [[Macau]], was peacefully handed over to China in 1999. In 2002, the independence of [[East Timor]] (Asia) was formally recognised by Portugal. In 1995, Portugal started to implement [[Schengen Area]] rules, eliminating border controls with other Schengen members. [[Expo '98]] took place in Portugal and in 1999 it was one of the founding countries of the [[euro]] and [[eurozone]]. In 2004 [[José Manuel Barroso]], the then [[Prime Minister of Portugal]], was nominated [[President of the European Commission]]. On 1 December 2009 the [[Treaty of Lisbon]] entered into force, enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union. Economic disruption and an unsustainable growth in [[government debt]] during the [[2008 financial crisis]] led the country to negotiate in 2011 with the IMF and the European Union, through the [[European Financial Stability Mechanism]] and the [[European Financial Stability Facility]], a loan to help the country stabilise its finances.