Portugal
THE REPUBLIC OF, forming the W. portion of the Iberian peninsula; bounded by Spain and the Atlantic; area 36,038 square miles; pop.
Topography. The country generally inclines from N. E. to S. W. Several of the great mountain chains of Spain intersect 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 center of Portugal. This chain is a continuation of the Serra de Gata, and culminates in an elevation of 7,524 feet above the level of the sea. Another chain is the Serra de Monchique, the extremity 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 elevated 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 forests 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 PORTUGAL 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 natural evaporation. There are numerous salt marshes, and upward of 200 mineral springs. The manufactures limited, principally consisting of woolens, silk, and earthenware. Cotton spinning is followed, and paper, glass, and gunpowder 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 subjugated 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 century, at which time the Arabs, called indifferently 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 received 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 commercial 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, Ferdinand's brother, and ascending the vacant throne, ruled his subjects with justice and prudence. Under John I. the Portuguese first projected those Atlantic discoveries on the African coast, fraught with such territorial and commercial advantages to the nation; and, under John II. and Emanuel, between 1481 and 1521, Vasco de Gama explored 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 repeated defeats, that he eventually lost PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA 321 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 dependency of the Spanish crown, the nation suffering all the injustice, exactions, and tyranny usually inflicted on a conquered country by its haughty masters. After enduring 60 years of intolerable hardships and exactions, a Portuguese nobleman named John, Duke of Braganza, pitying his unfortunate countrymen, excited a revolution, which again broke the Spanish fetters, while the people hailed their deliverer as their king, who, being crowned as John IV., commenced 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 Portugal, 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, Portugal took sides with England and aided in the South African campaign.
PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA OR MOZAMBIQUE, a possession of Portugal on the E. coast of Africa, having an area of 293,400 square miles and population of about 4,000,000. Almost all of the inhabitants belong to to the Bantu race, although in the southern portion there are a number of Zulus. The colony is rich in mineral resources, but because of the tropical unfavorable climate, well as the bad transportation facilities these have been little developed. The chief mineral deposits are coal, iron and gold and thus far have been exploited mostly by British subjects. The principal products are cocoanuts, bananas, POSIEDON indigo, coffee, and rubber. Three ports do almost all the export and import trade, the coast affording but few har bors. The capital is Lourenço Marques with a population app. 10,000.