POR'FUGAL, the most westerly kingdom of Europe, is bounded on the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the east and north by Spain. It is situated between 36° 56' and 42° 7' of north latitude, and 7° 34' and 9° 30' of west longitude. Its form is oblong, extending in length from north to south 360 British miles, and in medial breadth from east to west 120—its superficial extent being estimated at about 40,000 square miles.
Respecting the name of Portugal there havg been vari ous conjectures. Some have asserted that a colony of Gauls, having landed at the place now denominated Opor to, called it Porlus Gallorum ; and that at length the name was applied to the whole country, but softened into Portugal. The most probable, and the generally received opinion, however, is, that, on an eminence overlooking the site of the present Oporto, there was, during the time of the Romans, a town or fort named Calle, and that the harbour of this place (the mouth of the river Douro) being of unrivalled excellence, it was, by way of distinction, termed Portus Callus, or Porto Calle ; a name which, as the country was gradually recovered from the Moors, was extended to the whole kingdom. The ancient appel lation of this coutry was Lusitania ; but the boundaries of the two did not exactly correspond, Lusitania excluding the two southern provinces of Portugal, and comprehend ing some portions of the north-western districts of Spain. The term Portugal does not occur in any writings earlier than the middle of the eleventh century.
Portugal is divided into six provinces: Entre Douro e Minho, and Tras os Montes towards the north ; Beira and Estremadura in the centre; Alentejo and Algarve towards the south. The population of this kingdom was long a subject of conjecture and uncertainty ; but a census of the kingdom having been instituted in 1802, the truth has now been exactly ascertained. The two northern provinces were found to contain 907,965 and 318,605 souls respec tively; the two central, 1,121,595 and 826,680; the two in the south, 380,480 and altogether a total of 3,683,000. The number of parishes vas ascer tained to amount to no fewer than 4262; the number of families to 760,152; averaging, it is evident, !78 farfiilies to each parish, and nearly five individuals to each family.
The climate of Portugal is various in'the different parts of the kingdom. In the south it is extremely mild. and pleasant, and would indeed be scorching, were it not mo derated by the'Atlantic breezes. It is considerably more temperate in the centre ; while in the north it is compara tively cold, is subject to rains to a degree unknown in an other part of the kingdom, and is altogether characteristic of a country situated several degrees farther distant from a tropical region. The rugged mountain tracts of Tras os Montes, together with its northern situation, may proba bly account for this diversity of climate. In every quarter of the kingdom, indeed, the mountain ridges are remark able for comparative intensity of cold ; while, in the val leys, which arc extensive and numerous, the air is infinitely milder and more genial ; not so much so, however, as in the parallel situations of Spain, as these latter enjoy not the cooling advantages of the sea coast, by which the for mer is ,every where distinguished. In Portugal frost is
never very intense, and, in most cases, the frost which is formed during the night the heat of the returning sun im mediately thaws and removes. Snow also is extremely rare, except on the summits of the highest mountains ; in so much, to use the words of an intelligent traveller, that, in the year 1784, some happening to fall, " the com mon people were so alarmed that they ran into the churches, and thought the end of the world was coming." The fall of rain, particularly in winter, is very considerable, and is often so rapid, (though of short continuance,) that rivers, which had been nearly dried up, not uncommonly in a few hours overflow their hanks, and rush in torrents in all di rections. At Lisbon, whith is probably the mildest and most salubrious spot in the kingdom, and which is much resorted to by persons from Great Britain, thriittened with consumption and pulmonary complaints, the days of fair weather are computed to amount to 200 in the year ; while those of settled rain seldom are known to exceed 80. The medial heat is about The physical appearance of Portugal is extremely diversified and interesting. Elegant vineyards, groves of orange and lemon trees, verdant vales, and meadows, rivers of every degree of magnitude dashing down craggy steeps, or meandering in valleys, together with extensive mountain ridges, wild and majestic,—are the features for which this country is remarkable. Numerous valleys, of the most picturesque description, are formed by the moun tain chains, with which Portugal so much abounds; but the most rich and celebrated meadow land lies in the north-west, between the Douro and the Minho ; and there are, besides, two extremely extensive plains, one to the south of the Tagus, near Santarem, and the other at the mouth of the Vouga in the north. Notwithstanding these valleys and plains, however, Portugal may, in some re spects, be denominated a mountainous country. Several of -the great mounmin chains of Spain penetrate into it, and, intersecting it from east to west, terminate in large promontories in the Atlantic. Of these the most re markable are the Serra de Estrella, which traverses the province of Beira, and the Serra de Monchique in Al garve, of which Cape St. Vincent forms the extremity. There arc also various clusters of mountains, unconnected with any of the Spanish chains,—such as those in the north-east in Tras os Montes, those which separate Alen tejo from Algarve, and Cintra situated about five leagues southwest of Lisbon, and known to navigators as the Cape in which it terminates, and denominated Cabo de Rocca, the most westerly part, not only of Portugal, but of Eu rope. These mountains are generally rocky, chiefly granitic,—and are barren, if we except Monte Junto, the ancient Sagrus, in Estremadura, which is clothed with verdure, and affords a rich pasturage. The highest mountains in Portugal do not exceed six thousand feet, while in some cases the same chain in Spain may be esti mated at eight thousand. For a more minute description of the mountains of Portugal, we refer the reader to Link's Travels in Spain, (Lon. 1801, one vot. 8vo.) decidedly the best hook on this subject yet published.