PORTUGAL, THE REPUBLIC OF, forming the W. portion of the Iberian peninsula; bounded by Spain and the Atlantic; area 36,038 square miles; pop. about 6,000,000.
Topography.—The country generally inclines from N. E. to S. W. Several of the great mountain chains of Spain in tersect it from E. to W. and terminate in large promontories in the Atlantic. The most remarkable of these chains is the Serra de Estrella, nearly in the cen ter of Portugal. This chain is a con tinuation of the Serra de Gata, and cul minates in an elevation of 7,524 feet above the level of the sea. Another chain is the Serra de Monchique, the ex tremity of which, Cape St. Vincent, is the S. W. point, not only of Portugal, but of Europe. The principal rivers are the Tagus, the Douro, the Minho, and the Guadiana.
Productions.—Wheat, barley, oats, flax, hemp, vines, and maize in the ele vated tracts; rice in the low grounds, wth olives, oranges, lemons, citrons, figs, and almonds. Silk is made of a very good quality. There are extensive for ests of oak in the N., chestnut in the center, and the sea pine and cork in the S. Oxen are employed as beasts of draught, and mules and asses as those of burden. Cattle, sheep, goats, and swine are numerous, and fish abound in the rivers and on the coasts. Iron mines are worked, and the mountains abound in fine marble, and contain traces of gold and silver. Of salt, large quantities are formed in bays along the coast, by nat ural evaporation. There are numerous salt marshes, and upward of 200 min eral springs. The manufactures are limited, principally consisting of woolens, silk, and earthenware. Cotton spinning is followed, and paper, glass, and gun powder are made in a few places. The state religion is the Roman Catholic; but all others are tolerated. The peace strength of the army is 30,000 men, and the personnel of the navy is 6,000.
History.—Portugal forms the greater part of ancient Lusitania. It was sub jugated by the Romans, in the time of Augustus, and was constituted into a province. In the 5th century, on the overthrow of the Roman supremacy, Portugal was invaded by the Alans and Visigoths, and suffered with Spain, of which it was then a part, all the troubles and vicissitudes endured by the inhabi tants of the peninsula till the 8th cen tury, at which time the Arabs, called in differently Saracens or Moors, possessed themselves of the whole of Portugal, and kept absolute dominion for nearly 400 years. In the 12th century, Don Alonzo Henriquez, a Spanish prince of Leon and Castile, gained a great victory over the Moors of Portugal and was made King. Don Alonzo had no sooner re ceived the crown, than he renounced all dependence on Spain and established a free and sovereign state.
Under the descendants of Don Alonzo I., especially Dennis I. and Alonzo IV., Portugal, during the next two centuries, rose in political importance and commer cial prosperity. In 1385, the King of
Castile having laid claim to the crown of Portugal on the death of Ferdinand, was opposed and defeated by Don John, Fer dinand's brother, and ascending the va cant throne, ruled his subjects with jus tice and prudence. Under John I. the Portuguese first projected those Atlan tic discoveries on the African coast, fraught with such territorial and com mercial advantages to the nation; and, under John II. and Emanuel, between 1481 and 1521, Vasco de Gama ex plored the Indian Ocean; the riches of the East began to pour into Europe; Goa became a prosperous possession, and Brazil was added to the possessions of the crown of Portugal. Sebastian III., fired with a holy zeal to exterminate the infidels from his country, commenced a sanguinary crusade against the Moors, which he carried on through such re peated defeats, that he eventually lost both his crown and life in the struggle. Henry the Cardinal, his uncle, an old man of 70, ascended the throne, but died without heirs, after a reign of only two years, in 1580.
With Henry terminated the male line, after enduring for 460 years. Spain once more laid claim to the vacant throne, and Portugal again became a de pendency of the Spanish crown, the na tion suffering all the injustice, exactions, and tyranny usually inflicted on a con quered country by its haughty masters. After enduring 60 years of intolerable hardships and exactions, a Portuguese nobleman named John, Duke of Bra ganza, pitying his unfortunate country men, excited a revolution, which again broke the Spanish fetters, while the people hailed their deliverer as their king, who, being crowned as John IV., .7ommenced the dynasty of the House of Braganza, a family whose descendants held sway until the Republic. When Napoleon, in 1807, entered the country, and declared the family of Braganza had ceased to reign, the royal family of Por tugal, and all the court, set sail from the Tagus to Brazil. After the downfall of Napoleon, the history of Portugal is composed of a long succession of political disturbances. At the death of Queen Maria da Gloria her eldest son ascended the throne, in 1853, as Pedro V., and died prematurely in 1861, leaving the throne to Louis I., second son of Dona Maria. In October, 1889, Carlos I., his son, succeeded to the throne. His reign created great discontent and on Feb. 1, 1908, the King and Crown Prince were assassinated. The second son was raised to the throne as Manuel II., but was deposed in the revolution of Oct. 1910, when a republic was proclaimed under Theo. Braga. The republic was formed in September, 1911, with Dr. Arriaga as President. Shortly after the outbreak of the World War in 1914, Por tugal took sides with England and aided in the South African campaign.