Portugal may be one of Europe’s most under-rated countries. It has a rich history and culture from its founding during the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula in the late 1400s. About the size of Indiana, it was once one of the world’s most significant maritime powers. During the Age of Discovery (1400s through 1700s), it founded and colonized Brazil and launched military campaigns in Asia. In 1498, Vasco da Gama accomplished what Columbus set out for and became the first European to reach India by sea, bringing economic prosperity to Portugal.
From 1519 to 1522, Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães) organized a Spanish expedition to the East Indies which resulted in the first circumnavigation of the globe.
A severe earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 devastated what had been a wealthy country. In the early 1800s, it was occupied by the forces of Napoleon, and in 1822 Brazil declared its independence. A civil war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists over royal succession followed.
History Matters: “Where did Portugal come from? Who founded it? When was it born? Well that’s what here to find out when we ask ‘How did Portugal Happen?’. We’ll learn about Leon/Castile’s relationship with the County of Portugal, how it became independent under Alfonso I and how Crusaders from England, Scotland, Belgium, and other European states helped in its birth as one of Europe’s most important nations.”
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