When Jonah was swallowed by the big fish, he was trying to escape to what is now Portugal. Here, Hannibal discovered the warriors, weapons and gold, to march on Rome; and Julius Caesar found the fortune that paid the way to his conquests of Gaul and England. During the Dark Ages further north, Portugal's Arab rulers made it part of the world's most advanced civilization. After the Norman conquest of Lisbon, the new Portugal bankrupted Venice and became the wealthiest nation in Europe. Before he became Pope John XXI, Joao Hispano of Lisbon wrote one of the first modern medical textbooks, consulted through much of Europe more than a century later. Portuguese Jews introduced tulips, chocolate and diamonds to Holland. The Portuguese gave the English afternoon tea, and Bombay, the key to empire. They brought to Africa protection from malaria, and slave-shipments to America; to India, higher education, curry and samosas; to Japan, tempura and firearms. Portugal entered the 21st century as the first European nation to have freed itself from communism, returned to democracy and set about rebuilding itself as a vital part of the new Europe. - Cover flap.
This book offers a comprehensive overview of the early modern military history of Portugal and its possessions in Africa, the Americas, and Asia from the perspective of the military revolution historiographical debate. The existence of a military revolution in the early modern period has been much debated in international historiography, and this volume fills a significant gap in its relation to the history of Portugal and its overseas empire. It examines different forms of military change in specifically Portuguese case studies but also adopts a global perspective through the analysis of different contexts and episodes in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Contributors explore whether there is evidence of what could be defined as aspects of a military revolution or whether other explanatory models are needed to account for different forms of military change. In this way, it offers the reader a variety of perspectives that contribute to the debate over the applicability of the military revolution concept to Portugal and its empire during the early modern period. Broken down into four thematic parts and broad in both chronological and geographical scope, the book deepens our understanding of the art of warfare in Portugal and its empire and demonstrates how the military revolution debate can be used to examine military change in a global perspective. This is an essential text for scholars and students of military history, military architecture, global history, Asian history, and the history of Iberian empires.
THE Story of Portugal possesses a peculiar interest from the fact that it is to its history alone that the country owes its existence as a separate nation Geographically, the little kingdom is an integral portion of the Iberian peninsula, with no natural boundaries to distinguish it from that larger portion of the peninsula called Spain; its inhabitants spring from the same stock as the Spaniards, and their language differs but slightly from the Spanish. Its early history is merged in that of the rest of the peninsula, and but for two great men, Affonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, and John I., the founder of the house of Aviz, Portugal would not at the present day rank among the independent nations of Europe. The first of these monarchs created his dominions into a kingdom like Leon, Castile, and Aragon, and the latter encouraged the maritime explorations which gave the little country an individuality and national existence, of which it was justly proud. When Philip II. annexed Portugal in 1580, it was at least a century too late for the Portuguese to coalesce with the Spaniards. They had then produced Vasco da Gama and Alboquerque and other great captains and explorers, who had shown Europe the way to India by sea; and their tongue had been developed by the genius of Camoens and Sá de Miranda, from a Romance dialect, similar to those used in Gallicia, Castile, or Aragon, into a great literary language. Conscious of its national history, Portugal broke away again from Spain in 1640, and under the protection of England maintained its separate existence during the eighteenth century...
This concise, illustrated history of Portugal offers an introduction to the people and culture of the country, its empire, and its search for economic modernisation, political stability and international partnership. It remains the standard single-volume work on Portugal, studying the effects of the vast wealth mined from Portuguese Brazil, the growth of the wine trade, and the evolution of international ties. The Portuguese Revolution of 1820 to 1851 created a liberal monarchy, but in 1910 the king was overthrown and, by 1926, had been replaced by a dictatorship. In 1975, Portugal withdrew from its African colonies and looked north to become a democratic member of the European Community in 1986. This third edition brings the story up to date, with a new afterword to reflect recent changes in Portugal, Europe, and the wider world.
Winner of the Dom João de Castro Prize for Portuguese History This is the story of the first and one of the greatest colonial empires: its birth, apotheosis, and decline. By approaching the history of the Portuguese empire thematically, A. J. R. Russell-Wood is able to pursue ideas and make connections that previously have been constrained by strict chronological approaches. Using the study of movement as a focus, Russell-Wood gains unique insight into the diversity, breadth, and balance between the competing interests and priorities that characterized the Portuguese culture and its expansion spanning four centuries' events on four different continents.
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
"The History of Portugal" explores the important role that Portugal has played in world history through its exploration, colonization, and cultural contributions. Even though Portugal is a small country, its impact has been huge. During the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese sailors like Prince Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, and Bartolomeu Dias set out on daring voyages to find new trade routes to Asia and Africa. These journeys opened up new routes and helped Portugal build a vast overseas empire. The book discusses how Portugal's trade networks with Africa, Asia, and the Americas brought wealth to the country and helped its empire grow. Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to reach places like India, China, and Japan, leading to the era of European colonialism. The influence of Portuguese colonization can still be seen today in the language and culture of many countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Portugal also made important contributions in literature, cartography, navigation, and natural history, expanding European knowledge and advancing science. Portugal's history is marked by periods of political and social change that influenced other countries. From the Christian Reconquista to the Carnation Revolution, Portugal's fights for independence, democracy, and social justice have inspired others around the world. The book gives a full account of Portugal's journey from ancient times to today, covering key events, people, and developments that have shaped its history and its place in the world. "The History of Portugal" starts with an introduction that explains why Portugal is important in world history, focusing on its role in exploration, trade, and culture. The next chapters cover ancient Portugal, the Roman conquest, the Islamic period, and how Portugal became an independent nation. The book also looks at Portugal's Age of Expansion, its Golden Age, the Iberian Union, the Enlightenment and Reform era, and the 19th century marked by political problems and social change. Further chapters talk about the First Republic, Portugal's role in World War I, the rise of the Estado Novo regime, the Carnation Revolution, and how Portugal joined the European Union. The book ends with a summary of Portugal's history, thoughts on its national identity, and what might come next. It also includes extra resources like a timeline of key events, biographies of important people, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading. Overall, "The History of Portugal" aims to be a detailed and easy-to-read book for anyone interested in Portugal's history, showing its impact on the world and its lasting cultural legacy.
This is a comprehensive history of Portugal that covers the whole span, from the Stone Age to today. An introduction provides an understanding of geographical and climatic issues, before an examination of Portugal's prehistory and classical Portugal, from the Stone Age to the end of the the Roman era. Portugal's history from ad420 to the thirteenth century takes in the Suevi, Visigoths and Moors. Then, a look at medieval Portugal, covers the development of Christian Portugal culminating with the expulsion of the Moors, with a focus on key sites. A subsequent section on Spanish rule, between 1580 and 1640, explains why Spain took over and why Spanish rule collapsed. There is a significant focus on Portugal's global role, particularly during the age of exploration, or expansion, in the fifteenth century to 1580: Manueline Portugal, Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama and Belém. Portugal was the first of the Atlantic empires, with territory in the Azores, Madeira, West Africa and Brazil, and it remained a major empire until the 1820s, retaining an African empire until the 1970s. It's empire in Asia - in Malacca, Macao, Goa and Timor - continued even longer, until the 1990s. Black shows how Portugal had a global impact, but the world, too, had an impact on Portugal. Baroque Portugal, between 1640 and 1800, is explored through palaces in Mafra, Pombal and elsewhere and the wealth of Brazil. The nineteenth century brought turmoil in the form of a French invasion, the Peninsular War, Brazilian independence, successive revolutions, economic issues and the end of the monarchy. Republican Portugal brought further chaos in the early years of the twentieth century, then the dictatorship of Salazar and its end in the Carnation Revolution of 1974. Portugal's role in both world wars is examined, also its wars in Africa. From the overthrow of autocracy to a new constitution and the leadership of Soares, contemporary, democratic Portugal is explored, including the fiscal crisis of recent years. Throughout Black introduces the history and character of the country's principal regions, including the Azores, Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands. He looks at key national sites, at Portuguese food and wine and the arts, with special sections devoted to port, Portugal's famous tiles and the university established at Coimbra in 1290.
Following the treaty of Utrecht, Portugal, successful diplomatically where she had failed militarily, embarked on a lengthy period of balancing the interests of Britain, France and Spain against her own political and economic needs. This study, drawing extensively on state papers and other collections, follows the course of Anglo-Portuguese relations through the years of John V, the age of Pombal and the 1762 war with Spain, to the years of the French revolution and the flight of the court to Brazil under the threat of Napoleon's army.
