Is the day of all Portuguese people. We celebrate Portugal, our values and the millions of Portuguese who live around the world. Happy Portugal Day!
From the Origin of Portugal to the Present Day
Portugal was founded in 1143, with the signing of the Treaty of Zamora. Signed between D. Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal, and Afonso VII of Leão and Castile, it recognized Portugal’s legal status as an independent kingdom. In 1179 this status was confirmed by Pope Alexander III.
During the centuries. XII and XIII the Portuguese kings expanded the borders, until the conquest of the Algarve, consolidating a territory practically unchanged to this day.
With the borders defined, Portugal began to look inward. At the end of the century. In the 13th century, King D. Dinis created the prestigious University of Coimbra, one of the oldest in Europe. In the most important centers castles, palaces and cathedrals were built, and territorial administration was established.
In 1385, following a popular movement, D. João I was acclaimed king, beginning the 2nd dynasty. The children of D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre would be nicknamed in “Os Lusíadas”, by Luís Vaz de Camões, “Inclita generation, tall Infantes”, for the education, humanism and governing qualities they demonstrated.
Among them, one became known to History as a visionary and main worker in the Discoveries, one of the great adventures of Humanity. Thanks to the impetus of Infante D. Henrique, also known as “Henrique the Navigator”, Portuguese caravels crossed the seas, making use of the best scientific and practical knowledge of the time. During the centuries. XIV, XV and XVI sailed to Africa, the distant East and the depths of the South American continent. They conquered lands, amassed wealth and brought things never seen before to Europe.
In 1498 Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India, and in 1500 Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived in Brazil. The Portuguese would also reach Oman (1508), Malaysia (1511), Timor (1512), China (1513) and Japan (1543). It was also a Portuguese, Fernão de Magalhães, who planned and commanded, between 1519 and 1522, the first circumnavigation of the globe.
To celebrate this era of globalization, and in particular the arrival in India, King D. Manuel ordered the erection of the Jerónimos Monastery – a unique work in which nautical motifs stand out, and integrated the armillary sphere into the Portuguese flag.
The small kingdom was now the largest empire in the world. In Portugal, wise men and mercenaries, scientists and painters, merchants and poets, slaves and princes came together. But such power and wealth culminated in the tragic death of the young king D. Sebastião, in a battle in Alcácer Quibir, in North Africa. The then vacant throne was occupied by the Spanish dynasty of the Philippians, who brought the two States together during 60 years of personal union.
In 1640 Portugal once again had a Portuguese king, D. João IV, who restored independence. In the century. XVIII, D. João V, absolutist king and lover of the arts, ordered the construction of a grand convent-palace in Mafra and, in Lisbon, the Águas Livres Aqueduct.
Lisbon almost completely disappeared in 1755 due to a devastating earthquake. It was the Marquis of Pombal, minister of King D. José, who invented a new Lisbon, monumental and better prepared to face the furies of nature.
At the beginning of the century. In the 19th century, Napoleon’s troops invaded Portugal and the court moved to Brazil in order to ensure dynastic continuity and thus Portugal’s independence. When, 14 years later, in 1821, King João VI returned to Portugal, the country was different: in addition to the marks left by the years of war, the liberal movement had emerged, which had transformed the national political panorama. The king’s power was no longer absolute and the first constitution was about to be approved.
When D. João VI died, in 1826, the political situation was confusing, both from a political and dynastic point of view. In 1828 the civil war broke out, with two sons of D. João VI competing for the throne: D. Miguel, acclaimed by the courts, who defended a traditionalist vision and opposed the Constitution, and D. Pedro who defended liberalism and the Constitution but that, because he declared the independence of Brazil in 1822 and was Emperor of this country, he was prevented from occupying the Portuguese throne.
The dispute would finally be decided in 1834, with the Convention of Évora Monte, which ended the civil war and determined the return to a liberal and constitutional version of the Portuguese monarchy.
Republican ideas began to gain more and more strength from the end of the century. XIX. Following the regicide of D. Carlos in 1908, and the revolution of October 5, 1910, the Republic was eventually established. D. Manuel II was the last king of Portugal and Teófilo Braga was the first republican head of state, as president of the provisional government. Manuel de Arriaga was the first elected president of the Portuguese Republic.
After a turbulent period and Portuguese participation in the First World War, a military coup took place on May 28, 1926, which put an end to the First Republic. Then began a period of military dictatorship that ended with the approval of the 1933 Constitution. Through this, the Estado Novo was established, an authoritarian, corporatist and single-party regime dominated by the figure of António Oliveira Salazar, who governed the country for almost half century.
On April 25, 1974, the “Carnation Revolution” returned freedom and democracy to the Portuguese, quickly recognizing the independence of the former colonies in Africa.
Once again within its original borders, Portugal turned towards Europe again. In 1986 the country joined the EEC – European Economic Community and, since then, the Portuguese have participated enthusiastically in the construction of a new Europe, without however forgetting their History, their character and their traditions.
Portuguese Speaking Countries
Despite Portugal being a small country, the Discoveries led to the Portuguese language still being present in several countries today.
Countries such as Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Brazil and Timor-Leste speak the Portuguese language.
The gastronomy
A reality that no one can deny is the quality of Portuguese cuisine. It offers a variety of sweets, abundant seafood, delicious wines and an immense diversity of fruit and vegetables.
Some of the irresistible national products are: Pastel de Belém, Toucinho do Céu, Travesseiro de Sintra, Pão de Ló, Bola de Berlin, sausages, Portuguese stew, olive oil, francesinhas, Tripas à Moda do Porto, caldo verde, bread with chorizo , steaks, pregos, among many others.
True mouth-watering cuisine!