Portugal Diary

Geographic Brief

Officially known as the Portuguese Republic, Portugal is a country sitting on the edge of the Iberian Peninsula and sharing a common border with Spain in its north and eastern frontiers and faces the Atlantic Ocean on its western and southern fronts.  It is one of the NATO founding members and among the first members of the European Union.   The Azores and Madeira Atlantic archipelagos are part of its territory.

Portugal is one of the warmest European countries with a basically Mediterranean climate.  This makes its soils a fertile ground for a variety of plants notably its olives and grapes.  It has some of the most varied and finest vineyards that rival those found in the similarly warm regions of southern France and accounts for its world famous Madeira and port wines.

Historical Diversity as a Cultural Melting Pot

Portugal has seen a continuous stream of diverse cultures settling in the region since before recorded history.   There are the pre-Roman civilization of the Lusitanians, Celts, and Gallaeci tribes that have had contacts with the Carthaginian and Phoenician traders.

It became part of the Roman empire starting in the 2^nd century BC and underwent the Christian Germanic onslaughts and eventual settlement of the Visigoths and Vandals thereafter.  Then, with the Muslims spreading its zeal over most of the Middle East into the Mediterranean, the Iberian Peninsula came under Moorish conquest in the early 8^th century.  With the Crusaders eventually reclaiming most of the territories occupied by the Moors, by the 13^th century, most Moors had been pushed south of the Iberian Peninsula and Portugal was able to reassert itself as a Christian country to this day with ethnic Moors remaining in its southern provinces.  This long and storied past accounts for the rich cultural diversity one finds when traveling across Portugal.

Historical Highlights

Portugal became a political, economic and military power to reckon with between the 15^th and 17 centuries.  It rivaled Spain in exploring and conquering lands beyond the Atlantic and European shores to the east.   At the height of its global empire, Portugal has territorial possessions in Africa, Asia and mostly in South Americas where to this day, the Portuguese cultural heritage can be seen and felt in the Brazil and other South American countries.

Soon after the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s, Portugal’s territorial empire started to decline with the declaration of independence of many South American and African states starting with Brazil.

Economic Highlights

Portugal is one of the developed countries in Europe with the world’s 19^th highest quality of life despite having the lowest per capita income among Western EU members.  Its economy is largely based on services and industry such as computer software development and automotive industries.  With its increasing role in the EU and incursions into Eastern European markets, Portugal is slowly emerging from a low-labor cost producer to one with a strong focus in exports, investments and high tech manufacturing.

With the Atlantic bordering much of its frontiers, fishing is a major economic activity.  But it’s also strong in agricultural products accounting for 4% of its GDP.  Portugal is among the world’s largest wine and cork producers.