Portugal

República Portuguesa

Flag of Portugal Portugal: Coat of Arms (In Detail)
National motto: None
Official language	Portuguese
Capital	Lisbon
Largest City	Lisbon
President:	Jorge Sampaio
Prime Minister:	Pedro Santana Lopes
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 109th 92,391 km² 0.5%
Population  - Total (2004)  - Density	Ranked 75th 10,524,145 114/km²
Sovereignty Independence	868 1095
Currency	Euro (€)1
Time zone  - in summer	WET2, UTC EST (UTC+1)
National anthem	A Portuguesa
Internet TLD	.pt
Calling Code	+351
1 Prior to 1999: Portuguese escudo. 2 Azores: UTC-1; UTC in summer

Portugal is a democratic republic located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Portugal is bordered by Spain to the north and east and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. In addition, Portugal contains several island territories in the Atlantic, including the Azores (Açores) and Madeira (including the Savage Islands).

A citizen of Portugal is usually identified in English by the noun and adjective Portuguese, but someone born in Portugal can also be referred to as Luso or Lusitano (English "Lusitanian").¹

Portugal during the past 3000 years has witnessed a constant flow of different civilizations. Phoenician, Greek, Celtic, Carthaginian, Roman, Barbarian and Arabic cultures have all made an imprint in Portugal. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal eclipsed most other nations in terms of economic, political, and cultural influence and it had an extensive overseas empire throughout the world.

Portugal's name derives from the Roman name Portus Cale, a mixed Greek and Roman name meaning "Beautiful Port".

History

Main article: History of Portugal

In the early first millennium BC, several waves of Celts invaded Portugal from Central Europe and intermarried with local peoples, the Iberians, forming the Celt-Iberians. Two of the new tribes formed by this intermarriage were the Lusitanians, who lived between the Douro and Tagus rivers, and the Calaicians who, lived north of the Douro river with several other tribes. A Phoenician colony was established in southern Portugal, the Conii. The Celtics, a later wave of Celts, settled in Alentejo.

In 238 BC, The Carthaginians occupied the Iberian coasts. In 219 BC, the first Roman troops invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Within 200 years, Roman armies dominated most of the peninsula, driving the Carthaginians out of their colonies in the Punic Wars.

The Roman conquest of Portugal started from the south, where the Romans found friendly natives, the Conii. Over decades, the Romans increased their areas of control. But in 194 BC a rebellion began in the north. The Lusitanians and other native tribes successfully held off the Romans, took back land, and ransacked Conistorgis, the Conii capital, because of their alliance with Rome. Viriathus drove Roman forces out of all of Portugal. Rome sent numerous legions and its best generals to reinforce the Roman positions. At first, Rome installed a colonial regime. But during this period, Lusitania grew in prosperity and many Portuguese cities and towns were founded. In 27 BC, Lusitania gained the status of Roman Province.

File:Conimbriga ruins.jpg

Ruins of the Roman city of Conimbriga--laid waste by the Suevi. Some inhabitants fled to the north to establish a new city called Coimbra.

In the 5th century, Germanic tribes, known as Barbarians, invaded the peninsula. One of these, the Suevi, stopped fighting and founded a kingdom whose domains were, approximately, coincident with today's Portugal. They fixed their capital in Bracara Augusta. Later, the Visigoths conquered this kingdom, unifying the Peninsula.

An Islamic invasion took place in 711, destroying the Visigoth Kingdom. Many of the ousted nobles took refuge in the unconquered north Asturian highlands. From there they aimed to reconquer their lands from the Moors. They were eventually successful.

In 868, Count Vímara Peres reconquers and governs the region between the Minho and Douro Rivers (including the city that became its first capital, Portucale - today's city of Porto). Thus, the county became known as Portucale (i.e. Portugal). Occasionally, Portugal gained factual independence during weak Leonese reigns. In fact, the struggle for independence has started as early as the 9th century.

After the Moors were, for the most part, driven out of power, most of the Northern Iberian peninsula was briefly united under Christian rule. However, it quickly split apart after the death of Ferdinand the Great of Leon and Castile, whose domains were divided by his children. Therefore, in 1065 the Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal became independent, shortly after a war among brothers, made all the domains of Ferdinand back in one.

At the end of the 11th century a knight from Burgundy named Henry became count of Portugal. Henry was a strong supporter of independence. Under his leadership, the County of Portucale and the County of Coimbra merged. Henry declared independence ² for Portugal while a civil war raged between Leon and Castile.

File:Guimaraes castle IPPAR.jpg

Castle of Guimarães, prime symbol of Nationality. The Battle of São Mamede took place nearby in 1128.

Henry died without reaching his aims. His son, Afonso Henriques, took control of the county. The city of Braga, the Catholic centre of the Iberian peninsula, faced new competition from other regions. The lords of the cities of Coimbra and Porto with the Braga's clergy demanded the independence of the renewed county.

Portugal traces its national origin to 24 June 1128 with the Battle of São Mamede. Afonso proclaimed himself first as Prince of Portugal and in 1139 as the first King of Portugal. On October 5 1143, with the assistance of a representative of the Holy See at the conference of Zamora, Portugal was formally recognized as independent ². Afonso, aided by the Templar Knights, continue to conquer southern lands to the moors. In 1250, the Portuguese Reconquista came to an end, as the Algarve was finally reconquered from the Moors. Since then, the border with the kingdoms that would be Spain has remained almost unchanged.

July 25 1415, marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire, when the Portuguese Armada along with King John I and his sons Prince Duarte (future king), Prince Pedro, Prince Henry the Navigator and Prince Afonso, also with the mythical Portuguese hero Nuno Álvares Pereira departed to Ceuta in North Africa, a rich Islamic trade centre. On August 21, the city was conquered, and the Portuguese Empire was founded. Further steps were taken which expanded the Empire even more. Henry the Navigator's interest in exploration together with some technological developments in navigation made Portugal's expansion possible and led to great advances in geographic knowledge. The discoveries were financed by the wealth of the Templar Knights, who found refuge in Portugal after being persued all over Europe.

In 1418 two of the captains of Prince Henry the Navigator, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, were driven by a storm to an island which they called Porto Santo, or Holy Port, in gratitude for their rescue from the shipwreck. In 1419, Zarco disembarked on Madeira Island. Between 1427 and 1431 most of the Azorean islands were discovered.

In 1434, Gil Eanes rounded the Cape Bojador, South of Morocco. The trip marked the beginning of the Portuguese exploration of Africa. Before this voyage very little information was known in Europe about what lay beyond it. At the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th centuries, those who tried to venture there became lost, giving birth to legends of sea monsters.

File:Bartolomeu dia cape of good hope.jpg

Bartolomeu Dias turning the Tormentas Cape, renamed Cabo da Boa Esperança (Cape of Good-Hope), representing Portugal's hope of becoming a powerful and rich empire by reaching India.

In 1448, on a small island known as Arguim off the coast of Mauritania a castle was built, working as a feitoria (a trading post) for commerce with inland Africa thus circumventing the Arabic caravans that crossed the Sahara. Some time later, the caravels explored the Gulf of Guinea leading to the discovery of several uninhabited islands and reaching the Congo River.

A remarkable achievement was the rounding of Cape of Good Hope by Bartholomew Diaz in 1487. By then the spices of India were nearby, hence the name of the cape. In 1489, the King of Bemobi gave his realms to the Portuguese King and converted to Christianity. Between 1491 and 1494, Pêro de Barcelos and João Fernandes Lavrador explored North America. At the same time, Pêro da Covilhã reached Ethiopia, searching for the mytical and lost Christian kingdom of Prestes João. Vasco da Gama sailed to India, and arrived at Calicut on May 20 1498, returning in triumph to Portugal the next year. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on the Brazilian coast. Ten years later, Alfonso d'Albuquerque conquered Goa, in India.

In 1578, a very young King Sebastian died in battle, leaving no heir, which lead to a dynastic crisis. Because Philip II of Spain was the son of a Portuguese princess, the Spanish ruler became Philip I of Portugal in 1580. Some men claimed to be King Sebastian in 1584, 1585, 1595 and 1598. Sebastianism, a myth that the young king would return on a foggy day has prevailed until modern times.

Portugal maintained an independent law, currency and government, and the two first Spanish kings were popular. The third Spanish king, Philip III tried to make Portugal a Spanish province. Because of this, in December 1 1640, the Duke of Bragança, of the Portuguese Royal Family, John IV, was acclaimed, and a Restoration War against Spain was fought. New empires had emerged and started to assault all the Portuguese Empire; Portugal regained some, but some were lost, especially in Asia.

Lisbon was destroyed in a 1755 earthquake. From 1801, the country was occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, and lost Olivença (part of the national territory) to Spain (ally of France). Shortly after, Brazil proclaimed its independence, under the rule of Emperor Pedro I, later the Brazilian emperor will also be Pedro IV of Portugal.

A 1910 revolution deposed the Portuguese monarchy starting the First Republic. It was marked by chaos, and came to an end in 1926 when a nationalist military coup d'etat gave birth to the Second Republic, a period of almost fifty years of repressive rule. Although a stable period financially and economically, it saw the beginning of the end of the Portuguese Empire. India annexed Portuguese India, including Goa, in 1961. Independence movements also became active in Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea, and an increasingly costly series of colonial wars failed to defeat the guerrillas. Discontent about the war was one of the factors leading to the 1974 [coup d'etat].

The Carnation Revolution of 1974, an effectively bloodless left-wing military coup, installed the Third Republic. Broad democratic reforms were implemented. In 1975, Portugal granted independence to its Overseas Provinces (Províncias Ultramarinas in Portuguese) in Africa. In December 1975, Indonesia invaded and annexed the Portuguese province of Portuguese Timor (East Timor) in Asia one week after independence was declared (but before legal recognition of this by Portugal and other countries had been given). The Asian dependency of Macau, was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999. Portugal applied international pressure to secure East Timor's independence from Indonesia, as East Timor was still legally a Portuguese dependency, and recognized as such by the United Nations. After a referendum in 1999, East Timor voted for independence and Portugal recognized its independence in 2002.

With the 1975 independence of its colonies, the 560 year old Portuguese Empire had already effectively ended. With it, 15 years of war effort also came to an end. Also many Portuguese returned from the colonies, coming to comprise a sizeable sector of the population and starting an economic recovery, thus opening new paths for the country's future just as others closed. In 1986, Portugal entered the EEC, today's European Union.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Portugal

The four main organs of Portuguese politics are the President of the Republic, the Parliament, the Council of Ministers (Government), and the Judiciary.

The President of the Republic, elected to a 5-year term by universal suffrage is also commander in chief of the armed forces. Presidential powers include appointing the Prime Minister, as advised by the Parliament which elects the Prime Minister, and the Council of Ministers, named by the Prime Minister. Some other major powers include dismissing the Government, dissolving the Parliament, and declaring war or peace. These have several constitutional restrictions, namely the need to previously consult the presidential advisory body. This is the Council of State, composed of six senior civilian officers, all former presidents elected since 1976, and ten citizens, five chosen by the President and other five by the Parliament. The most commonly used power is that of approving or vetoing any legislation.

The Parliament, or Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República in Portuguese) is a unicameral body composed of 230 deputies. It is elected by universal suffrage according to a system of proportional representation to multi-member constituencies. Deputies serve terms of office of 4 years, unless the president dissolves the assembly and calls for new elections. The Assembly of the Republic is the main legislative body. The President of Parliament substitutes the President of the Republic in the event of his absence.

The Government is headed by the Prime Minister, who names the Council of Ministers. A newly elected government is required to define the broad outline of its policy in a program and present it to the Parliament for a mandatory period of debate. Failure of the assembly to reject the program by a majority of deputies confirms the government in office.

The Courts have several categories, including judicial, administrative and fiscal. The national Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. A nine-member Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation.

The national and regional governments are dominated by two political parties, the PSD (Partido Social Democrata) - Social Democrats and the PS (Partido Socialista) – Socialists. Within the Portuguese political culture, the PSD is described as center-right and the PS is described as center-left. Other parties with seat in the parliament are the PP (Partido Popular) – Popular Party, PCP (Partido Comunista Português) – Communists, Os Verdes – The Greens and the BE (Bloco de Esquerda) – Left Block. Both BE, Os Verdes and PCP are left wing and the PP right wing. As of 2004, a coalition between the PSD (main party) and PP is governing Portugal in the 16th constitutional government, led by Pedro Santana Lopes, substituting José Manuel Durão Barroso. Barroso resigned to become President of the European Commission.

In a survey on nationalism and European issues made by a newspaper in Portugal in 1994, revealed that only 9% of the Portuguese people would consider themselves as very little or not at all nationalist, while 43% consider themselves as a lot or extremely nationalist. But when the question is federalism in Europe, Portuguese people do not see a contradiction between an European identity and nationalism, 51% of the interviewed would even agree with Portugal's integration in a supposed United States of Europe, while 27% would be against (22% do not have an opinion). Portuguese public opinion and media tend to be Europhile, in the EuroBarometer's 2004 Spring survey, 60% of the Portuguese trusted the EU.

Portugal has a territorial dispute with Spain. By the Vienna Treaty of 1815, Spain agreed to return Olivença (Olivenza in Spanish) to Portugal, but this agreement was never met. Portugal has periodically reasserted its claim to the territory. This issue has been discussed at the Portuguese Parliament as recently as 2004. In accordance with international law, Olivença is still considered to be Portuguese territory, despite being under Spanish administration since 1801.

Districts and regions

Map of Portugal, showing the relative locations of its archipelagos

Main article: Political divisions of Portugal

Mainland Portugal is currently divided into 18 districts (Portuguese: distritos): Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Porto, Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu.

There are two Autonomous Regions: the Azores and Madeira islands. Each district and region is further subdivided into municipalities.

• Autonomous regions: Azores, and Madeira;
• Metropolitan Areas: Lisbon, Porto, Minho, Aveiro, Coimbra, Algarve, and Viseu;
• Urban Communities: Oeste, Vale do Sousa, Leiria, Lezíria do Tejo, Baixo Alentejo, Trás-os-Montes, Valimar, Centro Alentejo, Baixo Tâmega, Douro, Médio Tejo, Beiras, Beira Interior Sul, and Alto Alentejo;
• Intermunicipal communities: Pinhal, and Vale do Minho.

Geography

File:Typical landscape in Alentejo.jpg Typical landscape in Alentejo, southern Portugal.

Mount Pico in Pico Island as viewed from Faial Island.

Main article: Geography of Portugal

Continental Portugal is split in two by its main river, the Tagus (Tejo). To the north the landscape is mountainous in the interior areas with plateaus, cut by four breakings lines that allow the development of relevant agricultural areas. Portugal's highest point, however, is Mount Pico (2351m) in the Azores.

The south down as far as the Algarve features mostly rolling plains with a climate somewhat warmer and drier than the cooler and rainier north. Other major rivers include the Douro, the Minho and the Guadiana, similar to the Tagus in that all originate in Spain. Another important river, the Mondego, originates in the Serra da Estrela (the highest mountains in mainland Portugal - 1,991 m). The islands of the Azores and Madeira are volcanic in origin, and in the Azores, one to nine volcanoes are possibly active.

Climate

In mainland Portugal, average temperatures are 13ºC in the North and 18ºC in the South. Madeira and Azores, due to their location in the Atlantic, are rainy and wet, and have a narrower range of temperatures.

Portugal is one of the warmest European countries. Spring and Summer months are usually sunny and the temperatures very high during July and August, with highs in the centre of the country between 30°C and 35°C, reaching sometimes highs of 45°C in the southern interior. Autumn and Winter are typically rainy and windy, yet sunny days are not rare either, the temperatures rarely fall below 5°C, usually staying at an average of 10°C. Snow is common in the mountainous areas of the north. Portugal's climate is classified as Atlantic-Mediterranean.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Portugal

Portugal has developed an increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Union in 1986, a development that began with the boom of the 1960s. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatised many state-controlled firms and liberalised key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. Today, Portugal is a developed nation. It joined the Economic and Monetary Union in 1998 and began circulating its new currency, the euro, on January 1, 2002 along with 11 other EU members.

As of 2004, economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but GDP per capita stands at just 75% of that of the leading EU economies. Portuguese GDP grew 1.5% in real terms in the second quarter of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003, by virtue of favourable domestic conditions. It benefited from investment and private consumer spending. Exports increased, but not in comparison with the strong growth of imports. In the same quarter the unemployment rate was 6.3%. In 2003, GDP per capita shrank 1%, due to the stringent austerity measures imposed by the government, low rates of investment and an internationally weak economic climate.

The country still has a 6.7 percent illiteracy rate, mostly among the elderly. Portugal needs to advance structural reforms to boost the country's economic competitiveness. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment.

In the tecnology area, Portugal has one of the higher rates in the World when possessing a mobile phone (over 100%). Third generation mobile phones, UMTS, are being largely commercialized by operators since early 2004. Considering that 41% of the homes in Portugal had a computer in the first quarter of 2004, only 26% of the population had Internet at home; an additional 4% also used it. It is considered that in the near future most of the population will have access to the Internet via mobile phone.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Portugal

As of 2004 Portugal has 10.5 million inhabitants.

File:Portugal complete.png

Map of Portugal. Map includes the area of Olivença, disputed with and currently administered by Spain.

Portugal is a fairly homogeneous country linguistically and religiously. Ethnically, Portuguese are a combination of several ethnicities, primarelly native Iberians, Romans, Celts, and Visigoths. Other elements are Moors, Suevi and Phoenician. Even so, Portuguese people are ethnically homogenous. The country is characterized by city, town or village cultural differentiation and there is virtually no regional affiliation, unlike other European countries. Portuguese is spoken throughout the country, with only the villages of Miranda de Douro's Leonese dialect recognised as a locally co-official language. It is known as Mirandese. The closely related Asturian dialect in Spain is another Leonese dialect but not officially recognized by Spain.

Almost ten percent of Portugal's citizens are immigrants. Since the decolonization period, Portugal has received immigrants from the former African colonies, and from Europe (especially the United Kingdom, Germany and France - the climate, culture, and relatively low cost of living are the main attractions). Today, many Eastern Europeans (especially Ukrainians, Moldavans, Romanians and Russians), as well as Brazilians, are making Portugal their home in search of a better life. Portugal, long a country of emigration, has now become a country of immigration.

The great majority of the Portuguese population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Religious observance remains very strong in northern areas, with the population of Lisbon and southern areas generally less devout. Religious minorities include a little over 300,000 Protestants and members of independent sects, 50,000 Muslims (many of them from Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the west coast of India), 10,000 Hindus (also largely from Goa), and 1000 Jews. A considerably larger number of people have some Jewish heritage, and although themselves Catholic, still observe some Jewish customs.

Culture

Main articles: Culture of Portugal - List of Portuguese people - Music of Portugal

Portugal is known for its traditional architecture, its wines, its food, and its literature.

Literature

Portugal is sometimes known as "a country of poets". As a matter of fact, Portuguese poetry has a larger influence in the country's literature than prose. In the dawn of nationhood, poetry in Portuguese-Galician was widely popular in most Christian Iberian Peninsula. There are excellent works of both lyrical and epic poetry. The best-known Portuguese poets internationally are Luís de Camões and Fernando Pessoa. Modern Portuguese poetry, since the 19th century, has its roots in a handful of relevant poets, from neo-classicism to contemporary.

Prose developed later than verse and first appeared in the 14th century. The line of the chroniclers, which is one of the boasts of Portuguese literature, began with Fernão Lopes. Gil Vicente and the priest António Vieira are some pre-modern Portuguese writers. It is the modern Portuguese literature that is more internationally known, mostly the works of Almeida Garrett, Alexandre Herculano, Eça de Queirós, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, António Lobo Antunes and the 1998 Nobel Prize for literature winner, José Saramago.

File:1020039182Marizastairs.jpg

Mariza, the new Fado Diva. She performed a duet with Sting for the Athens 2004 Olympic games, where the Fado was partially sung in English.

Music

Main article: Music of Portugal

Fado

Main article: Fado

Fado (from fate or destiny in Portuguese) is a form of melancholic music. The music is linked to the Portuguese word saudade (a word with no accurate equivalent in English; it conveys a complex mixture of sadness, pain, longing and love, along with other feelings), and its origins are probably from a mixture of African slave rhythms with traditional music of Portuguese sailors, with Arabic influence. There are two varieties of Fado: Lisbon and Coimbra. The Lisbon style is the popular, while the Coimbra's is the refined style; both are seen as ethnic music for sophisticated audience. The notable Amália Rodrigues introduced the most well-known variety of fado. After her disappearance, a new wave of performers added stylistic changes and brought more international popularity to the traditional Portuguese music. Mariza and Mísia, brought with them a new look to the traditional song, while Dulce Pontes mixed it with popular Portuguese music and Madredeus, made a complete revolution, with new instruments - all that they kept from the original Fado is its looks and the concept of "saudade". All varieties of Fado are sorrowful; although some can also be joyful songs.

Other music

Portuguese pop-rock has grown particularly after the 1974 revolution. Other genres include a local version of hip hop, the Hip Hop Tuga (or Portuguese hip hop), mostly performed by the African Portuguese community - descendants of immigrants from former Portuguese colonies in Africa. Hip Hop Tuga is very popular among the younger and urban population in Portugal. The soft-pop music more common in Portugal is sometimes called Pimba, popular in the rural areas and among Portuguese immigrats in other countries. Other musicians include the globally recognized classic pianist Maria João Pires and the Portuguese guitarist Carlos Paredes.

As for dancing, Portugal has the traditional folklore (Ranchos Folclóricos), with many varieties from each region: Fandango, Corridinho and O Vira are some of them. Portugal shares with Angola a shared rhythm known as "Kuduro", a sort of 'hard samba' with fast movements and extreme sensuality and strong African rhythm.

File:Church with Azulejos.jpg

A typical aspect of Portugal is its architecture, influenced by several early civilizations but unique to the nation.

Sport

European football is the most popular and practiced sport in Portugal. As of August 2004, the country is ranked 8th in 205 countries by FIFA. Luís Figo is one of the world's top players, but the legendary Eusébio, Rui Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo are also noteworthy. Portugal is also very well represented in other sports, such has Rink hockey, being the country with most world titles.

The country has an ancient martial art known as "Jogo do Pau" (Eng., Stick Game), used for self-protection and for duels between young men in dispute over a young women. Having its origin in the middle ages, Jogo do Pau uses wooden sticks as a combat weapon. Other sports are the "Jogos Populares", a wide variety of traditional sports used for fun.

Gastronomy

Eating in Portugal is often a visitor's most remembered characteristic of the country. Each region of Portugal has its own traditional dishes, including various kinds of meat, sea-food, diverse and fresh fish. Portuguese have a reputation for loving cod dishes (bacalhau in Portuguese). For that there are 365 ways of making cod dishes. The Romans associated Portugal with Bacchus, their God of Winery and Feast. Today the country is known by wine lovers, and its wines had won several international prizes. Many famous Portuguese wines are known as some of the world's best: Vinho Verde, Vinho Alvarinho, Vinho do Douro, Vinho do Alentejo, Vinho do Dão, Vinho da Bairrada and the sweet: Port Wine, Madeira wine and the Moscatels of Setúbal and Favaios (Douro). Port Wine is largely exported, now followed by Vinho Verde. Exports of Vinho Verde are largelly increasing, in response to the growing international demand.

Festivals

Festivals play a major role in Portugal's summers. Every city and town has its own or several festivals. The June Festivities are extremelly popular, these festivities are dedicated to three saints known as Santos Populares (En., Popular saints) and take place all over Portugal. Why the populace associated the saints with these pagan festivities is not known. The practice is possibly related to Roman or local deities before Christianity spread in the region. The three saints are Saint Anthony, Saint John and Saint Peter. A common denominator in these festivities are the wine and água-pé (a watered kind of wine), traditional bread along with sardines, marriages, traditional street dances, fire, fireworks and joy.

Saint Anthony is celebrated on the nights of the 12th and 13th, especially in Lisbon (where that saint was born and lived most of his life), with Marchas Populares (a sort of street carnival) and festivities. In the meantime, several marriages known as Casamentos de Santo António (En., Marriages of Saint Anthony) are celebrated at the same time. But the most popular saint is Saint John. He is celebrated in many cities and towns throughout the country on the nights of the 23rd and 24th, especially in Porto and Braga, where the sardines, Caldo Verde (traditional soup) and plastic hammers to hammer on other peoples' heads for luck are indispensable. The final Saint is Saint Peter, celebrated on the nights of the 28th and 29th, especially in Póvoa de Varzim and Barcelos, festivities are similar to the others, but mostly dedicated to the sea and extensive use of fire (fogueiras). In Póvoa de Varzim, there is the Rusgas in the night, another sort of street carnival. Each festivity is a municipal holiday in the cities and towns where it occurs. Carnival is also widely celebrated in Portugal.

Public Holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Ano Novo
-	Carnival	Carnaval	(District holiday), Tuesday 40 days before Easter
-	Good Friday	Sexta-Feira Santa	Friday before Easter
-	Easter	Páscoa	Sunday, date varies
April 25	Freedom Day	Dia da Liberdade	event of 1974
May 1	Labour Day	Dia do trabalhador
June 10	Portugal Day	Dia de Portugal	Camões death, event of 1580
-	Ascension Day	Corpo de Deus	Thursday, 40 days after Easter
August 15	Assumption	Assunção
October 5	Implantation of the Republic	Implantação da República	event of 1910
November 1	All Saints Day	Todos os santos
December 1	Restauration of Independence	Restauração da Independência	event of 1640
December 8	Imaculate Conception	Imaculada Conceição	Protecting Saint of Portugal
December 25	Christmas Day	Natal

Note: each municipality has its own holiday which is often religious (e.g. Saint Anthony Day - June 13 for Lisbon, Saint John Day - June 24 for Porto, Braga, and other towns, or Saint Peter Day - June 29 for Setúbal, Póvoa de Varzim, Barcelos).

Other Festivities (non public holidays)

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 6	Epiphany	Dia de Reis
-	Easter Monday	Pascoa	Monday after Easter; picnic day - in some areas of the country
November 11	Saint Martin Day (Short summer)	Dia/Verão de São Martinho	peak of three days usually hot, where the population celebrates the Saint with Agua-pé and roasted chestnuts (castanhas)

See also

• Communications in Portugal
• Foreign relations of Portugal
• List of Portuguese birds
• List of Cities in Portugal
• List of Portuguese islands
• Military of Portugal
• Transportation in Portugal
• Reporters without borders world-wide press freedom index 2002: Rank 7 out of 139 countries (3 way tie)

Notes

• [1] The use of the words Lusitânia or Nação Lusa to mean Portugal, and of Lusitano to mean a Portuguese citizen, is due to ancient tribes who lived in most of today’s territory of Portugal. When the Romans conquered the land, they called it the Province of Lusitania.
• [2] The concept of a declaration of independence did not exist at the time. Portugal was recognized as a kingdom with its own king by Leon in 1143 and by the Pope in 1179.
• [3] Portuguese has been the official language of Portugal since 1296, replacing Classical Latin, the official language since independence. Portuguese does not descend from Classical Latin but rather from Vulgar Latin. In Portugal, the local Vulgar Latin was known as Vulgar Language before it was renamed Portuguese. Mirandese, a related Romance language, is officially recognized in the municipality of Miranda do Douro, and spoken in the villages of the municipality.

References

• Ribeiro, Ângelo & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal I - A Formação do Território QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 9895541066).
• Ribeiro, Ângelo & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal II - A Afirmação do País QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 9895541074).
• de Macedo, Newton & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal III - A Epopeia dos Descobrimentos QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 9895541082).
• de Macedo, Newton & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal IV - Glória e Declínio do Império QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 9895541090).
• Ribeiro, Ãngelo & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal V - A Restauração da Indepêndencia QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 9895541104).
• Loução, Paulo Alexandre: Portugal, Terra de Mistérios Ésquilo, 2000 (third edition; ISBN 9728605048).
• Muñoz, Mauricio Pasto: Viriato, A Luta pela Liberdade Ésquilo, 2003 (third edition; ISBN 9728605234).
• Neves, Pedro A. & Almeida, Valdemar C.: Ao Encontro da História 7 Porto Editora (ISBN 9720314079).
• Grande Enciclopédia Universal Durclub, 2004.

External links

• Portal do Governo - Main governmental portal
• Presidência da República - Official presidential site
• Assembleia da República - Official parliamentary site
• Visit Portugal - Portugal's official travel and tourism website
• Welcome to Portugal - All about Portugal
• Contemporary Portuguese Political History Research Centre - History and politics
• IPPAR - Monuments of Portugal
• Euro 2004 - Official Euro2004 site
• PortugalTravelGuide - Tourism and holidays
• Portugalia - Photos from Portugal
• Images of Portugal
• Folclore de Portugal - Portuguese folklore
• Portuguese Stick Combat - Martial Art