History of Portugal
History of Portugal. This is a short essay covering the history of the European nation of Portugal.
Wikipedia notes, "The Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, and is the westernmost country in continental Europe. Portugal is bordered by Spain to the north and east and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. In addition, Portugal includes two archipelagos in the Atlantic, Azores (Açores) and Madeira Islands."
From the site:
Throughout the centuries which witnessed the conquest of Lusitania and destruction of Carthaginian power by Rome, the establishment and decline of Latin civilization, the invasion by Alani, Suevi and other barbarian races, the resettlement under Visigothic rule and the overthrow of the Visigoths by Arab and Berber tribes from Africa, today's Portugal remained an undifferentiated part of Hispania, without sign of national consciousness.
The Iberian Peninsula was one and its common history is related under Spain. Its divisions didn't match the modern ones. It is true that some Portuguese writers have sought to identify their race with the ancient Lusitani, and have claimed for it a separate and continuous existence dating from the 2nd century B.C. The revolt of Lusitania against the Romans has been regarded as an early manifestation of Portuguese love of liberty, Viriathus as a national hero. But this theory, which originated in the 15th century and was perpetuated in the title of the Lusiadas epic, has no historical foundation, and Viriathus has also been considered a national hero in Spain.
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