Portugal had established itself
as akingdomindependent
PortugalPortuguese:
officially thePortuguese Repub-
lic(Portuguese:Repblica Portu-
guesa), is a country on theIberian
Peninsula, insouthwestern Europe.
It is the westernmost country
ofmainland Europe, being bor-
dered by theAtlantic Oceanto the
west and south and bySpainto the
north and east. ThePortugal-Spain
borderis 1,214km (754mi) long
and considered the longest uninter-
rupted border within the European
Union.
The republic also holds sovereignty
over the Atlanticarchipelagosof
theAzoresandMadeira, bothau-
tonomous regionswith their
ownregional governments.
The land within the borders of cur-
rent Portugal has been continuously
settled and fought over sinceprehis-
toric times.
TheCeltsand theRomanswere
followed by theVisigothicand
theSuebiGermanic peoples, who
were themselves later invaded by
theMoors. TheseMuslimpeoples
were eventually expelled during the
ChristianReconquistaof the penin-
sula. By 1139,
fromLen.In the 15th and
16th centuries, as the result of
pioneering theAge of Discov-
ery,
Portugal expandedWesternin-
fluence and established thefirst
global empire,[becoming one
of the worlds major economic,
political and militarypowers.
Portugal lost much of its
wealth and status with the
destruction ofLisbonin a1755
earthquake, occupation during
theNapoleonic Wars, and
theindependence of Brazil, its
wealthiest colony, in 1822.
After the1910 revolutionde-
posed the monarchy, the dem-
ocratic but unstablePortuguese
First Republicwas established,
later being superseded by
theEstado Novo right-wing
authoritarian regime.
Democracy was restored
after thePortuguese Colonial
Warand theCarnation Revolu-
tionin 1974.
Shortly after, independence was
granted to all its colonies, with the ex-
ception ofMacau, which was handed
over toChinain 1999.This marked
the end of thelongest-lived European
colonial empire, leaving a profound
cultural and architectural influ-
enceacross the globeand a legacy of
over 250 millionPortuguese speakers
today.
Portugal maintains auni-
tarysemi-presidentialrepubli-
canform of governmentand is ade-
veloped countrywith anadvanced
economy, and very highliving
standards, having the 18th high-
estSocial Progressin the world,
putting it ahead of other western
European countries like France,
Spain and Italy. It is a member of
numerous international organiza-
tions, including theUnited Nations,
theEuropean Union, theEuro-
zone,OECD,NATOand theCom-
munity of Portuguese Language
Countries.