Geography :
Portugal occupies the western part of the Iberian Peninsula and is slightly smaller than Indiana. The country is crossed by three large rivers that rise in Spain, flow into the Atlantic, and divide the country into three geographic areas. The Minho River, part of the northern border, through a mountainous area that extends south from the vicinity of the Douro River. South of the Douro, the slope of the mountains to the plains around the Tejo River. The remaining division is the southern Alentejo. The Azores stretch over 340 km (547 km) in the Atlantic and consists of nine islands with a total area of 902 square miles (2,335 square kilometers). Madeira, consisting of two inhabited islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and two groups of uninhabited islands, lie in the Atlantic 535 km (861 km) southwest of Lisbon.
History :
An early Celtic tribe , the Lusitanians , are believed to have been the first inhabitants of Portugal. The Roman Empire conquered about 140 BC By the end of the Roman Empire in the region, the Visigoths invaded the Iberian Peninsula.
Portugal won its independence from Moorish Spain in 1143 . King John I (1385-1433) unified the country at the expense of the Castilians and the Moors of Morocco . The expansion of Portugal was brilliantly coordinated by John's son , Prince Henry the Navigator. In 1488 , Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope , proving that Asia was accessible by sea. In 1498 , Vasco da Gama reached the west coast of India . By the mid 16th century , the Portuguese empire extended to West and East Africa , Brazil , Persia , Indochina and the Malay Peninsula.
In 1581 , Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal and held for 60 years, precipitating a catastrophic decline in Portuguese commerce. Fine and brave explorers, the Portuguese colonizers proved to be inefficient and corrupt . When the Portuguese monarchy was restored in 1640, the Dutch, English and French competitors had begun to enter the lion's share of the settlements and trade of the world. Portugal retained Angola and Mozambique in Africa and Brazil ( until 1822 ) .
Portugal occupies the western part of the Iberian Peninsula and is slightly smaller than Indiana. The country is crossed by three large rivers that rise in Spain, flow into the Atlantic, and divide the country into three geographic areas. The Minho River, part of the northern border, through a mountainous area that extends south from the vicinity of the Douro River. South of the Douro, the slope of the mountains to the plains around the Tejo River. The remaining division is the southern Alentejo. The Azores stretch over 340 km (547 km) in the Atlantic and consists of nine islands with a total area of 902 square miles (2,335 square kilometers). Madeira, consisting of two inhabited islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and two groups of uninhabited islands, lie in the Atlantic 535 km (861 km) southwest of Lisbon.
History :
An early Celtic tribe , the Lusitanians , are believed to have been the first inhabitants of Portugal. The Roman Empire conquered about 140 BC By the end of the Roman Empire in the region, the Visigoths invaded the Iberian Peninsula.
Portugal won its independence from Moorish Spain in 1143 . King John I (1385-1433) unified the country at the expense of the Castilians and the Moors of Morocco . The expansion of Portugal was brilliantly coordinated by John's son , Prince Henry the Navigator. In 1488 , Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope , proving that Asia was accessible by sea. In 1498 , Vasco da Gama reached the west coast of India . By the mid 16th century , the Portuguese empire extended to West and East Africa , Brazil , Persia , Indochina and the Malay Peninsula.
In 1581 , Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal and held for 60 years, precipitating a catastrophic decline in Portuguese commerce. Fine and brave explorers, the Portuguese colonizers proved to be inefficient and corrupt . When the Portuguese monarchy was restored in 1640, the Dutch, English and French competitors had begun to enter the lion's share of the settlements and trade of the world. Portugal retained Angola and Mozambique in Africa and Brazil ( until 1822 ) .
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