A Brief History of Portugal

Part 1 - The House of Avis: Dom João 1

I HAVE BEEN invited to write about the colourful history surrounding a relatively small country sandwiched between Spain and the Atlantic Ocean, called Portugal.  The number of well-known figures of history that have been associated with this country, in one way or another, is quite extraordinary.  To give you some idea of the vast quantity of material available for research, there are over 286 MILLION items on the Internet relating to Portugal and its history.

And so, where shall we begin?  For those readers of this web site who are in a hurry, the best thing to do is to give you a quick roundup of events, as follows: -

Synopsis

It is somewhat surprising that a country the size of Portugal has been able to retain its independence since the year 1140 until fairly recent times.  Mind you, it hasn't been easy, what with the Iberian countries around finally deciding to combine into a unified Spain. However, one of the positives during all this time must be the alliance forged between Portugal and England, which stretches back some 600 years.  The Treaty of Windsor Peace Pact made between Dom João I and King Richard II of England in 1386, linking the two countries together has stood the test of time.  In fact, it is longer than any other treaty and is still relevant today in some matters of international trade.

Although Portugal became a kingdom under Alfonso Henriques around 1140, its Empire didn't actually begin until the 15^th century, following a period of world exploration.  It came under Spanish domination between the years 1580 to 1640 and was invaded in 1807 by the French.  The First Republic was set up in 1910, following the overthrow of the monarchy. In 1926 a military coup took place and this was followed by a 35-year dictatorship under Dr Salazar.

This period of stability came to an end in 1974 due to yet another military coup.  What followed was a further 10 or so years of political unrest, involving the setting up of some 15 governments of coalition or compromise.  It wasn't until the mid 1980's that the Social Democratic party obtained a large enough majority to enable them to govern the country properly.  For the first time in over sixty years, Portugal had a President in Mario Soares. Negotiations had already started for Portugal to become a full member of the European Economic Community (EEC) as it was called at the time.  The formal act of admission took place in July 1985, thereby effectively ending Portugal's long history of independence.

So there you have it; Portugal's history stripped right down to the bare bones, for those movers and shakers out there who haven't got the time to stand and stare for a while. What a pity?

But for the rest of us, I think a quiet amble through Portuguese history, looking in more detail at events and personalities should be both informative and fun.  The writer doesn't claim to be an expert in this field and so, if any readers would like to comment on things, or point out some minor or glaring mistakes as we proceed, please feel free to do so.  My email address is dfdev@btinternet.com

I look forward to hearing from you so that corrections can be made in future Newsletters.  At this stage of the proceedings, it is difficult to say how many Newsletters it will take to tell this story, but, without more ado, let's set sail on this Voyage of Discovery!

For a start, we need to pick a date to begin this epic voyage.  If we were to go back as far as the recorded history of Portugal extends, it would take us forever.  And so the date I have chosen, as an Englishman, with a French name, is 1386; the year England and Portugal signed that famous treaty of cooperation that has lasted for over 600 years.

The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships

Before we move off from our History Lesson starting blocks, as it were, I have just noticed something rather strange, if not sinister, about the map of Portugal.

I was looking at an outline map in one of the many textbooks and Internet printouts scattered around my office floor at a distance and it suddenly hit me!

I'm sure I can't be the first person to remark that the outline map of Portugal bordered by the Atlantic Ocean resembles the left-hand side view of a man's face.  I would even go as far as to say, it looks like a very aristocratic face (depending on how true to reality the particular map you are looking at has been drawn, of course).  The map I'm looking at is one of the originals and so some of the place names may have been superseded.

Anyway, commencing at the top, where the border with Spain marks the start of the hairline, Coimbra could be the left eye, Lisbon the bottom of the nose, Setúbal a moustache, Sines the lips and Lagos a goatee beard.  I have an idea that we are going to meet this particular gentleman along the way somewhere during our history exploration.  It would be interesting to speculate in what century, but let's wait a bit until things become a little clearer first.  We will definitely be coming across some significant names linked with Portugal as we progress, so I'm pretty confident that a front-runner will emerge.  Of course, it could be that the Spanish painter, Salvador Dali has already identified a likely candidate and used the shape in one of his paintings, but as he died in 1989 we can't ask him.  Does anyone out there know?

OK, let's make a start then with the reign of Dom João I.  As this proved to be one of the most remarkable reigns, with the appearance of Prince Henrique, who was to make such a profound contribution to the whole history of Portugal, it has been necessary to divide Dom João I's time on the Portuguese throne into two parts.  The alternative would have been the chance that you, my dear friend, would get totally bored before the end, and we can't have that, can we?  (Right, stand in the corner that person who murmured they were getting bored already!)

THE HOUSE OF AVIS

Dom João I: 1385-1433 

This is the point in time when Portugal entered a new era, replacing the old nobility with a new landed aristocracy.  The Perpetual Alliance of 1386, as it became known, which was set up between the English and Portuguese monarchy in May of that year, has to go down as the most significant achievement during this period.  It was signed by Dom João I for Portugal and King Richard II for England.  Although modified over the years, to reflect changing circumstances, this treaty has been in force now for 620 odd years, making it the longest continuous alliance between two sovereign countries.

The close bonding between the two countries at that time was helped enormously by the marriage in 1387 of one of the dignitaries to the treaty, Dom João I, to Philippa, the Duke of Lancaster's (also known as John of Gaunt) daughter.  If I tell you that the Duke of Lancaster was actually King Richard II's uncle, it all gets a bit confusing, doesn't it?  However, let's continue; Philippa's formal English background caused her to insist on her sons Duarte and Henrique being referred to as `Dukes'.  She also made sure that they had a first class education too.  Even their names had close ties with England; Prince Duarte (Edward) and Prince Henrique (Henry, `the Navigator' as he became known in later life).  In fact, history will record that it was Prince Henrique, whose determination to find out what lay beyond the known world at that time, was the man most responsible for Portugal's amazingly successful voyages of discovery being entered into in a more `professional' way.  Up until Prince Henrique got involved, exploration was very much a hit or miss affair but he insisted that this had got to change.  Although as a devout Christian he agreed that crusading to ensure that peoples in the lands discovered should be introduced to the Faith should continue, there must be a financial payback as well. 

Well, after all that going off piste at the beginning of this episode, we have run out of space in this Newsletter. But don't worry. I'll make it up to you next time.  To whet your appetite, we come across an interesting monarchy link between Portugal and England and how Prince Henrique was able to influence some remarkable voyages of discovery.  I can hardly wait myself. In the meantime, have fun!

David Devereux

dfdev@btinternet.com

Why not now have a look at the Family Tree of Kings and Queens of Portugal?

return to A brief history of Portugal index

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