Portugal

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Portugal is a republic in extreme southwest of Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, and the Atlantic Ocean (the islands of Azores, Madeira and Savage). Portugal claims Olivenca, administrated by Spain, as part of its national territory. It shares land borders with Spain in the north and east, shares a marine border with Morocco in the south. A Portuguese citizen is usually identified as Portuguese but also as Luso (or Lusitano)¹.

Republica Portuguesa

(In Detail)
National motto: None
Official language	Portuguese (Mirandese is officially recognised in Miranda do Douro3)
Capital	Lisbon
President	Jorge Sampaio
Prime Minister	Jose Durao Barroso
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 109th 92,391 km² 0.5%
Population  - Total (2001)  - Density	Ranked 79th 10,356,117 112/km²
Independence      - Declared    - Recognised	From Kingdom of Leon 1065, Garcia declared King of the shortlived Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal 1128, as a county 1139, as a kingdom 1143, by the Kingdom of Leon 1179, by the Pope
Currency	Euro(€)¹, Portug. euro coins
Time zones	UTC -1 to 0
National anthem	A Portuguesa
Internet TLD	.PT
Calling Code	351
(1) Prior to 1999: Portuguese escudo

Table of contents

1 History 1.1 Portugal's Name 2 Politics 3 Districts and regions 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 International Disputes 8 Culture 9 Miscellaneous topics 10 Notes 11 External links

History

Main article: History of Portugal Before the creation of the Portuguese state, Portugal was ruled by the Phoenicians (since 1104 BC), Carthaginians (since 258 BC), Lusitanians (native insurrection from 194 BC), Romans (since 218 BC), Suevi (since 409), Visigoths (since 416), Arabs (since 711), Asturians and Leonese (since 739).

By the division of the Spains and following a Visighot tradition, Portugal first became independent (as Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal) in 1065 under the rule of Garcia. Because Garcia was a tyrant, Portuguese and Galician nobles rebelled and the country rejoined Leon and Castile.

Portugal traces its national origin by the Battle of Sao Mamede in 23th June 1128, when the first Portuguese King, Afonso I, proclaimed himself as Prince of Portugal. By the conference of Zamora in 1143, with the assistance of a representant of the Holy See, Portugal was recognized as independent ². and the prince as Dux Portucalensis. In 1179, Afonso I was declared, by the pope, as King. The first Capital of Portugal is fixed in Coimbra. In 1249 - 1250, the Algarve is finnaly reconquest by Portugal to the Moors, and in 1255, the capital is shifted to Lisbon. Rio de Janeiro (Today a city of Brazil), also became the Portuguese capital between 1808 and 1821, with the loss of it's power, Brazil declares independence and Lisbon regained it's statute.

The border with Spain has remained almost unchanged since the 13th century. Portugal has always turned towards the sea. Since early times fishing and overseas commerce have been the main economic activities. 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.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal eclipsed most other nations in terms of economic, political, and cultural influence and it had an extensive empire throughout the World.

Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the loss of its Kingdom of Brazil in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the Portuguese monarchy starting a period of chaotic republicanism (First Republic); in 1926 a nationalist military coup d'etat began a period of more than five decades of repressive fascist governments.

In 1974, a effectively bloodless left-wing military coup (the Carnation Revolution) installed a government that instituted broad democratic reforms. The following year Portugal granted independence to its colonies in Africa (Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe) and lost its colony of East Timor in Asia to an Indonesian invasion. Portugal itself entered the European Union in 1986, whilst another Asian dependency, Macau, reverted to Chinese sovereignty in December 1999.

Portugal's Name

Origin of the Name Portugal's name is due to a settlement in the estuary of Douro River, named Cale. Some believe that the name Cale is from the Greek Kalles (The Greek word for beautiful), because of the beautiful scenario of the Douro River where some ancient Greek had settled, while others refer that the name has a Phoenician origin, a people that settled in the Portuguese coast. Nevertheless during the Roman dominion on all the territory, the settlement grew and became a Roman port, so it became known as Portus Cale (Port of Cale). During the Middle ages, the king Luivegildus of the Visigoths and its successors coined currencies with the legend Portucale, which turned to Portugale in the 7th and 8th centuries. In the 9th century the name was extensively used by the all region between the Douro and Minho rivers. In the 11th century, the province gained importance in Galicia, and it became a county of the Kingdom of Leon, like Galicia.

Official name Unlike most European nations, Portugal is the same nation that became independent in the 12th century. Sometimes, Portugal changed the official name, but it was always known as Portugal.

• Kingdom of Portugal (Reino de Portugal);
• Kingdom of Portugal and Algarve (Reino de Portugal e Algarve);
• Kingdom of Portugal and Algarves (Reino de Portugal e Algarves);
• United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves (Reino Unido de Portugal, Brasil e Algarves);
• Today: Portuguese Republic (Republica Portuguesa).

See also: List of Portuguese monarchs - Kings of Portugal family tree - Timeline of Portuguese history - Monuments of Portugal - Lusitania - Lusitani mythology - Ophiussa

Politics

Main article: Politics of Portugal In the years following the 1974 coup Portugal has progressively done away with undemocratic institutions and established itself as a constitutional democracy. The four main organs of Portuguese politics are the presidency, the prime minister and Council of Ministers (the cabinet), the Assembly of the Republic (the parliament), and the Judicial branch.

The president, elected to a 5-year term by direct, universal suffrage is also commander in chief of the armed forces. Presidential powers include appointing the prime minister and Council of Ministers, in which the president must be guided by the assembly election results. The Council of State, a presidential advisory body, is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former presidents elected since 1976, five members chosen by the Assembly, and five selected by the president.

The government is headed by the prime minister, who names the Council of Ministers. A new government is required to define the broad outline of its policy in a program and present it to the assembly for a mandatory period of debate. Failure of the assembly to reject the program by a majority of deputies confirms the government in office.

The Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica) is a unicameral body composed of up to 230 deputies. Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of proportional representation, deputies serve terms of office of 4 years, unless the president dissolves the assembly and calls for new elections.

The national Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. Military, administrative, and fiscal courts are designated as separate court categories. A nine-member Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation.

Districts and regions

Main article: Political divisions of Portugal Mainland Portugal is currently divided into 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito): Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon (Port. Lisboa), Portalegre, Oporto (Port. Porto), Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu.

Beyond these there are two autonomous regions (regioes autonomas): the Azores (Acores) and Madeira. Each district and region is further subdivided into the Municipalities of Portugal.

Note: Portuguese Districts are slated to be abolished and replaced by new Metropolitan Areas and Urban Communities.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Portugal Continental Portugal is split in two by its main river, the Tagus (Tejo). To the north the landscape is mountainous, though Portugal's highest point is Mount Pico in the Azores at 2,351 m. The south down to the Algarve features mostly rolling plains and the climate here is somewhat warmer and drier than the cooler and rainier north. Other major rivers include the Douro, the Minho and the Guadiana, similar to the Tagus in that all originate in Spain.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Portugal Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Union in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatised many state-controlled firms and liberalised key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating its new currency, the euro, on January 1, 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies.

Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but GDP per capita stands at just 75% of that of the leading EU economies. The government has failed to rein in a widening deficit and to advance structural reforms needed to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness. In particular, a poor educational system has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Portugal Portugal is a fairly homogenous country linguistically, ethnically and religiously; Portuguese is spoken throughout the country, with only the town of Miranda de Douro's Leonese dialect recognised as a locally co-official language as Mirandese, Asturian in Spain is another Leonese dialect but not officially recognized by Spain. Minorities, such as those of African immigrants from the former colonies, number less than 100,000. A majority of the Portuguese population is part of the Roman Catholic Church.

International Disputes

Portugal has periodically reasserted claims to territories around the town of Olivenza, Spain

Culture

Main article: Culture of Portugal

• List of Portuguese people
• Music of Portugal

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Portugal
• Transportation in Portugal
• Military of Portugal
• Foreign relations of Portugal

Notes

• [1] The use of the words Lusitania or Nacao Lusa to mean the Portugal and Lusitano to mean a Portuguese citizen is due to ancient tribes that lived in most of today’s territory of Portugal, whose land was conquered by the Romans, that by that created, in the area, the Roman Province of Lusitania.
• [2] The actual concept declaration of independence did not exist at the time. Nether the recognization, Portugal was recognized as a kingdom with its own king by Leon in 1143 and by the Pope in 1179. What is compared to today's recognition of independence.
• [3] Mirandese language as an official recognition it is not an official language. It is spoken in the villages of the Municipality of Miranda do Douro, but it is being discovered that some other remote villages in neighbouring municipalities has dialects similar to this ancient language. Mirandese is not spoken in any town or city.

External links

• Portugal.gov.pt - Main governmental portal
• Presidencia da Republica - Official presidential site
• Assembleia da Republica - Official parliamentary site
• Contemporary Portuguese Political History Research Centre - History and politics
• Euro 2004 - Official Euro2004 site
• PortugalTravelGuide - Tourism and holidays
• Portugalia - Photos from Portugal
• world-wide press freedom index Rank 7 out of 139 countries (3 way tie)