Education.—Portugal belongs almost exclusively to the church of Rome, and shows little toleration to other creeds. At Lisbon and Oporto, Protestant places of worship are, however, sanctioned by the government. Portugal is divided into three dioceses, which are presided over by the cardinal patriarch of Lisbon, the archbishop of Braga, who is primate of the kingdom, and the archbishop of Evora; and those, with the fourteen bishops, belong to the grandeza, or higher nobility. The number of clergy holding (times is given at 18,000. The monasteries have been dissolved since 1834, but convents for nuns still exist. Portugal stands below the other countries of Europe in regard to education; which is now superintended by a superior council, at the head of which is the minister of the interior. Public education is entirely free from the super vision and control of the church. Compulsory education was enacted in 1844, but is far from fully enforced. In 1874 there were in Portugal and its islands 2,681 elementary schools, with 2,212 male and 509 female teachers, and 113,000 pupils; there are 18 lyceums, and 57 other secondary schools; polytechnic academies at Lisbon and Oporto; and clerical, medical, naval, and military training schools. The one university at Cohn bra, one of the oldest in Europe, has 5 faculties, 52 professors, and abort 1000 students. Lisbon has a learned society (the academy of sciences), and a public library of 300,000 volumes.
Law, Government, etc.—The administration of the law is effected by means of 111 courts of justice, 0 of which are located at Lisbon, where also the high court of appeal holds its sittings. The courts are public, and in some cases trial by jury is ticlopted. Excepting in regard to suits referring to trade, law is still administered in accordance with the Alfousine code of the 15th c., and the Codigo Filippino, or code of Philip IV. of Spain.
Portugal is a constitutional monarchy, the crown being hereditary alike in the female and male lines. The houses of representatives are called tortes, and consist of the camaras dos pares, and the cameras dos diputados, the former composed of grandees, chosen for life by the sovereign, and the latter of 149 members, elected by voters. The monarch is assisted by a cabinet of six ministers of state, and a council composed of members chosen for life. He bears the title of king of Portugal and of Algarve "on both sides of the ocean." The heir-apparent bears the title of prince of &ire, The winter residence of the king and court is the palace dos Necessidades at Lisbon, which at other seasons is eXchanged for the palaces at 3Iafra, Queluz, Bemfica, and liamalhao. The nobility is divided into titulados and fidalgos, and these, with the upper higher clergy, etc., constitute one-eighth of the whole population. Very many of the fidalgos having been reduced to the condition of paupers, subsisting on charity, a law *as passed in 1844, partly abolishing hereditary aristocracy, it being made dependent on the possession of an annual income of £500, together with an academical degree. Time members of the second chamber are chosen directly by all citizens having an income of £22. The deputies must have at least per annum ; but graduates of any of the learned professions need no property qualifications. Lisbon (q.v.), the capital, is the center of the small amount of literary, artistic, and manufacturing activity in Port ugal. Besides Oporto (q.v.) and the capital, there is no city whose population exceeds 20,000, and only 11 which have more than 10,000 inhabitants.
Race.—The Portuguese arc a mixed race. In Algarve and Alemtcgo the Arabic element is still very perceptible, and the people of those provinces have dark-brown skins. and tall, slim, but lithe and active figures; while the natives of the more northern districts, with lighter skins, have less regular features, small eyes, and short, thick-set figures. Although the Portuguese may very probably be regarded as the remains of the original population of the Peninsula, they differ essentially from their Spanish brethren, whom they now regard with inveterate hatred and jealousy on account of their attempts a few centuries ago to annihilate the independence of Portugal. They indulge in inter minable verbosity, ceremonious flattery, and servile politeness, and they are inclined to extravagance and display. They are, however, intensely patriotic, brave, persevering, enterprising, cheerful, and ready to oblige. As a people, they are dirty and slovenly; few persons among them possess any great degree of mental culture. and the lower orders are even unable to read or write, and hence the grossest superstition and bigotry prevail in every class of the population.
History of Portugal.—The earliest notice which we have of the western portions of the Spanish peninsula, is derived from the Roman's, who followed the Carthaginians as con querors of the territories of the ancient Iberians and western Celts. Under Augustus, the peninsula was divided into three provinces, governed by praetors, of which the western province of Lusitania comprised thegreater part of the present kingdom of Portugal, be sides portions of Leon and Spanish Estremadura. When the Romans withdrew from the peninsula, which was rapidly overrun by Visigoths from the north, and at a later period by Saracens from the south, Lusitania was overwhelmed in one common ruin with Iberia, or ancient Spain. About the middle of the 11th c. fell under the sway of Fer dinand I. of Castile. In 1095 Henry of Burgundy, who had married a natural daughter of Alfonso VI. king of Castile, the successor of Ferdinand, received from that monarch the government of Portugal from the 3Iinho to the Tagus, as a dependent fief. It is maintained, however, by Portuguese authorities, that even from this time the country was independent. His son, Alfonso I., gained signal advantages over the Arabs, and, by his gallantry and prudence, secured the affections of the people. After the great victory which he gained over the Moslems, in the plain of Ourique, in Alemlejo, in 1139, his soldiers proclaimed him king. His successes on this occasion inflicted a serious check on the advance of the infidels, and in recompense for the services which he had thus conferred on Christendom, the pope confirmed his title, widen had been unanimously ratified by the cortes of Lamego. The Burgundian house, which con tinued in possession of the throne for 400 years, gave to Portugal some of its noblest and best kings. The immediate successors of Alfonso I. were engaged In many severe struggles with the clergy and nobles, who were always ready to combine against the sovereign; but although often baffled in their attempts to uphold the independence of the crown. the dignity of the kingdom was, on the whole, well maintained. by the representatives of this family, who are, moreover, distinguished as the promoters and uphoiders of the maritime glory of Portugal. Diuis (Diouysius), who succeeded Alfonso III. in 1279, must be regarded as the founder of Portuguese commerce and mercantile enterprise. This king, moreover, encouraged the industrial arts, and protected learning, in furtherance of which he founded, in 1284, a university at Lisbon, which was trans ferred, in 1308, to Coimbra. Dinis was succeeded in 1325 by his son, Alfonso, sur named the brave, whose reign was almost wholly occupied in wars with the Castilians and the Moslems. With Alfonso's grandson, Ferdinand I., the legitimate branch of the Burgundian house became extinct in i383. After some disturbmwes, his illegitimate brother, Joam (John), was recognized by the tortes as king iu 1385. His reign was eventful, not merely on account of the internal reforms which he introduced into the state, and of his steady maintenance of the prerogatives of the crown. but chiefly as being associated with the commencement of those vast and important geographical discoveries and commercial enterprises, to which Portugal owed the position she occupied during that and the succeeding age as the greatest maritime power of Europe. To Joam's son, Enrique (Henry) the navigator, is due the merit of having organized various voyages of discovery, and inaugurated a regular system of colonization, which, during the reign of Joan II. (who ascended the throne in 1481). culminated in the successive acquisition by Portugal of the Azores, Madeira, Cape de Verde, and other islands; in the doubling of the cape of Good Hope under Bartholomeo Diaz; and, as the result of the latter, in the successful achievement of the passage by sea to India, which was effected, in 1497, under the command of Vasco de in the reign of Joan's successor, Manoffl. The discovery of Brazil, and the settlements made there and on the western coast of India, increased the maritime power and fame of Portugal, which were further extended under Manoel's son. Joan III., who ascended the throne in 1521. At this period, Portugal ranked as one of flia most powerful monarchies in Europe, and Lisbon as one of its most important commercial cities. Sudden as this course of prosperity had been, its decline was almost more abrupt, and may in a great measure be referred to the influence of the priests, for the introduction into Portugal of the inquisition in 1536, led to the expul sion of the numerous wealthy and industrious .Jews, on whose able financial manage ment the commercial interests of the Portuguese were largely dependent and gave rise to an amount of social tyranny and oppression, both in the colonies and at home, which, coupled with a bad system of government, depressed the energy and crippled the resources of the nation. The influence of the Jesuits under the minority of Joan's
grandson, Sebastian, and their evil councils in urging their young king to enter npon fatal expedition to Africa against the infidels, led to still forth& miseries. The defeat of the Portuguese. and time capture and death of the young king at the battle of Aleazar in 1578, and the extinction of the old Burgundian line in 1580, after the brief reign of Sebastian's; uncle, Enrique, plunged the country into difficulties and misfortunes of every kind, which lost none of their weight, although they changed in character. After is struggle for the throne between many eager candidates, none of whom found favor with the nation at large, who persisted in cherishing the delusive hope that Sebastian was still alive, and would return from the hands of his infidel captors, Philip II. of Spain succeeded In securing to himself the crown of Portugal, and annexing the Portuguese kingdom to the Spanish monarrhy, This event proved disastrous in the extreme to r Portugal, for, besides bringing the country to the brink of ruin, by mal-administration and misappropriation of its resources, it involved it in all time ruinous wars of Spain in the Low Countries and in Germany, a great part of the expenses of which it was made to bear; while the Dutch, in retaliation for Spanish aggressions at home, attacked the Portuguese settlements in Brazil, and almost completely deprived them of their posses sions in the Indian archipelago. The insolence of Philip IV.'s minister, Olivarez, brought matters to a crisis, and in 1640, after a forced union of 160 years, Portugal was freed, bya bo;d and successful conspiracy of the nobles, from all connection with Spain, and the duke de Braganza, a descendent of the old royal family, placed on the throne, under the title of Joani IV. The war with Spain, which was the natural result of this net, terminated in 1668, when, by time treaty of Lisbon, the independenee of Portugal was formally recognized the Spanish government. For the next hundred years. Portugal vegetated in a state of inglorious apathy. her ancient glory had departed never to return, the nation was steeped in ignorance and bigotry, and from having been one of the greatest maritime powers of Europe, the Portuguese were content with becoming a commercial dependent rather than ally of Great Britain. Under the reign of Joseph I., who died in 1777, the genius and resolution of the minister, Pombal (q.v.), infused temporary vigor into the administration, and checked for a time the downward tendency of the national credit. Pombal's efforts to rouse the people from their sloth, and infuse vigor into the government, were frustrated by the accession of Joseph's daughter, Maria, who, with her uncle-husband, Pedro III., allowed things to fall back info their own channels. The mental alienation of Maria led, in 1709, to the nomination of a regency under her eldest son. Joan. This prince, who showed considerable capacity in early life, finding that he could not maintain even a shadow of independence on the outbreak of the war between Spain and France, threw himself wholly on the protection of England; and finally, when he learned that Napoleon had determined on the destruc tion of his dynasty, left Portugal in 1807, accompanied by all his funnily, and trans ferred the seat of his government to Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. This act was immediately followed, on the part of the French, by the occupation and annexation of measure which gave rise to the peninsular war, The victory of Vi meira, gained by the combined English and Portuguese army in 1808, freed the land from its French assailants; and in 1810, on the death of queen Maria, the regent succeeded to the joint crowns of Portugal and Brazil. Tile continued residence of the new king, Joam VI., at Rio Janeiro, gave occasion to abuses and discon tent, which resulted, in 1820, in the outbreak of a revolution at Lisbon, and the proc lamation of a constitutional form of government La the place of the pre-existing absolu Usti). After a period of great. national excitemefft and political disturbance, the differ ences between the sovereign and people were so far adjusted, that Joam agreed to and signed the constitution of Portugal, and ratified the independence of Brazil, which was to be governed by his son, Dmn Pedro, 'while he himself retained only the title of emperor. On the death of Joam in 1826, Pedro IV., after organizing the government of Portugal on the model of the French charter, renounced the Portuguese crown in favor of his daughter, Dona Maria da Gloria, on condition of her marriag.e with her uncle, Dom Miguel. The latter, who, during the lifetime of Joam, had availed himself of every opportunity to thwart the more liberal policy of his father and brother, waited only for the embarkation of the English troops to break the oath which he had taken to maintain the constitution, and gathering round him all who were in favor of restoring the old order of things in Portugal, he was through their aid declared king by the tortes, which met in June, 1828. A period of indescribable confusion, misrule, and anarchy followed. The nobles, monks, and rabble ruled the land; 13,000 Portuguese citizens went into exile, while double that number of persons, suspected of favoring the constitutional party, were kept in confinement. At length, in 1832, Dom Pedro was enabled, chiefly by means of a loan from Englishmen, to raise a fleet, and make a land ing at Oporto. Admiral Napier, in the meanwhile, operated on the coast of Alg.rave successfully in favor of the young queen, whose cause, by these victories, and the sup port of an }rhizome with the great powers, finally proved victorious. Dona Marta made her entry into Lisbon in 1833; and in the following year Dom Miguel signed the conven tion of Evora, by which he renounced all pretensions to the throne, and agreed to quit Portugal. The death of Dom Pedro in the same year, after he had effected several important reforms, proved a heavy misfortune to Portugal, which suffered severely from the mercenary rule of those who occupied places of trust about the person of the young queen. Her marriage, in 1835, with Augustus, duke of Leuchtenberg, his death at the end of s. few months, and her second marriage, in 1836, with prince Ferdi nand of Saxe-Coburg., were followed by grave political disturbances, which in course of time were aggravated by the personal avarice and want of good faith of those in whom the young queen placed her confidence. A branch of the democrats, known as the Septembrists, from the moat] in which they made their first decisive stand against the government, loudly demanded the abrogation of the charter promulgated by Dom Pedro (and known as the earta de ley de 1826), and the restoration of the constitution of 1820. This contest of the charters may be said to have continued thiough the entire reign of, Dofia Maria. The government was alternately in the hands of Septembrists and chart-, ists, toward both of whom the queen acted with a degree of that frustrated every effort at an adjustment of the national disorders. Insurrections and counter insurrections were of frequent occurrence; the troops were not to be depended on in moments of emergency; guerrilia bandsacoured the country at will. and openly defied the queen's authority. The absolutists, or Miguelites, took advantage of the general disorder to produce a reaction in favor or the old church party. The financial emit)), rassments were complicated in the extreme; while the obstinacy of the nation in regard to the maintenance of the slave-trade, in defiance of treaties and pledges. brought them into temporary collision with Great Britain, the only ally on whom Dofia Maria could rely. An armed intervention of the great powers in 1847 produced a partial abatement of the national disorders; and matters might have permanently improved, had not the queen's partiality for her unpopular ministers, count Thomar and his brother Cabral, and her determination to leave the administration of affairs in their hands, exasperated the general discontent and distrust of the court, and led to the insurrection, which, without bloodshed, made the national idol, the marquis de Saldrudia, do facto military dictator of Portugal, and evoked a general expression of the popular wish for the queen's abdication. Saldanha's ministry, although begun under good auspices, soon manifested the same readiness to succumb to the views 'of the court which had charac terized former ministries. One tortes was dissolved after another, and finally, in 1852, the government declared itself prepared to carry out necessary reforms NI it hoot the con currence of the tortes, and to demand at a future period a bill of indemnity for its acts. At this crisis the queen died suddenly, and her eldest son ascended the throne in 1853, as Pedro V., under the regency of the king-consort, his father. The latter used his power discreetly; and, by his judicious management, the financial disorders were par tially adjusted. Upon the sudden death in 1861 of Pedro, his brother was proclaimed king as Luis I. lie has steadily adhered to constitutional principles, and aims at the internal improvement of the country; and, in spite of frequent ministerial crises, and continutft financial difficulties, the resources of the country are developing. When the insurrection of gen. Prim broke out in Spain, the Portuguese chzunbeis declared unan imously against any proposals for an "Iberian union."