A servant of God and Church, you also brought great learning to Portugal, patronizing her monasteries and her ancient military orders. Having wrested independence from Leon in 1139, you waged nearly 50 years of war against the heathen Moors. 'Hail great crusader, Afonso I, first King of Portugal. He achieved the independence of the southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia, the County of Portugal, from Galicia's overlord, the King of LeГіn, in 1139, establishing a new kingdom and doubling its area with the Reconquista, an objective that he pursued until his death, in 1185, after forty-six years of wars against the Moors. Afonso Henriques, nicknamed 'the Conqueror', 'the Founder' or 'the Great' by the Portuguese, and El-Bortukali by the Moors whom he fought, was the first King of Portugal. It is apparently inhabited by one man who lives in a long row of yellow houses with red roofs, and populated by sheep who do grand acts of balancing on the side of the hill.' But, with its rich history and culture, and now one of the world's most globalized nations, Portugal is much, much more.ДЄfonso I, more commonly known as D. Davis, who wrote, 'Portugal is a high hill with a white watch tower on it flying signal flags.

The erroneous view that Portugal has been no more than an outpost on the fringe of Europe was summarized by American journalist Richard H. A new constitution in 1976 and membership in the EEC in 1986 insured that it would remain a progressive democracy. After the 1910 revolution which ended the monarchy, Portugal suffered through a succession of juntas and dictatorships until democratic elections were finally held in 1975. The 1800s saw the dismantling of that empire, Brazilian independence in 1822 being the most serious blow to the power and prestige of Portugal.

Spearheading the 'Age of Discovery,' in the 15th and 16th centuries Portugal would establish the first global empire, stretching from South America to Africa to the Far East.

During the Reconquista, Portugal was born as an independent Christian kingdom in 1139. Over the following centuries, the Romans, Suebi and Visigoths ruled the peninsula but the history of Portugal might be said to begin with the Muslim invasion in 711 AD. Inhabited since prehistoric times, Portugal was reached by Phoenician and later Carthaginian traders in the first millennium BC, there meeting Celtic tribes that had pushed into Iberia across the Pyrenees.

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