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The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, which lasted almost two centuries, led to the establishment of the provinces of Lusitania in the south and Gallaecia in the north of what is now Portugal.
Portugal, country lying along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Once continental Europe’s greatest power, Portugal shares commonalities—geographic and cultural—with the countries of both northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Portugal - Age of Discovery, Reconquista, Iberian Peninsula: The earliest human remains found in Portugal are Neanderthal-type bones from Furninhas. A distinct culture first emerged in the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) middens of the lower Tagus valley, dated about 5500 bce.
Portugal, in the 20th century the poorest and least developed of the western European powers, was the first nation (with Spain) to establish itself as a colonial power and the last to give up its colonial possessions. In Portuguese Africa during the authoritarian regime of…
Portugal's imperial history has left a cultural legacy, with around 300 million Portuguese speakers around the world. Today, it is a developed country with an advanced economy relying chiefly upon services, industry, and tourism.
Portugal’s history can be divided into several main periods: Ancient Roots (Stone Age to Roman Era), Medieval Beginnings (Suevi, Visigoths, and Moors), The Birth of a Nation (Formation of Portugal), The Age of Discoveries (15th and 16th Centuries), Union with Spain (1580-1640), The Braganza Dynasty (17th and 18th Centuries), The Age of ...
From the late Middle Ages, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal ascended to the status of a world power during Europe's "Age of Discovery" as it built up a vast empire.
The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian peninsula. The region is visited by Phoenicians and carthaginians , settled by Celts , incorporated in the Roman empire (as Lusitania in 138 BC), settled again by Visigoths and conquered by Muslims.
Portugal was founded in 1143, year of the Zamora’s Treaty signing. The treaty, agreed upon by D. Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, and Alphonse the VII of León and Castile, recognized Portugal as an independent kingdom.
During the Age of Exploration, Portugal explored the North Atlantic islands, the coast of West Africa, the east and west coasts of southern Africa, the west coast of India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the southern coast of China. Major Portuguese colonies included Madeira, Cochin, Goa, Malacca, Brazil, Mozambique, and Angola.