Learn Portuguese

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic (), Portal do Governo is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.

The land within the borders of today's Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. Gallaeci, Lusitanians, Celtici, Cynetes, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and many Germanic tribes such as the Suevi, the Buri and the Visigoths, all left their influence on what is today Portuguese territory. The territory was integrated in the Roman Empire as the province of Lusitania and Roman settlers strongly influenced Portuguese culture, particularly the Portuguese language, mostly derived from Latin. In the 5th century, after the fall of the Roman empire, it was occupied by different Germanic tribes. In the early 8th century the Muslim Moors conquered the Christian Germanic kingdoms, occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. Later, during the Christian Reconquista (Reconquering), the County of Portugal was settled, as part of the Kingdom of Galicia. Portugal emerged during the 12th century from this brief earldom and would establish almost its entire modern-day borders in 1249.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, with a global empire that included possessions in Africa, Asia, and South America, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. In 1580 it was united with Spain by a period called the Iberian Union; however, in 1640 it went on to re-establish total sovereignty and independence during the Portuguese Restoration War that resulted in the establishment of a new dynasty and a return to the previous separation between the two crowns and empires.

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, Spanish and French invasions, which preceded the loss of its largest territorial possession abroad, Brazil, resulted in both the disruption of political stability and potential economic growth as well as the reduction of Portugal's international status as a global power during the 19th century. After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1910, a republic was established that was then followed by a dictatorship. With the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution coup d'état in 1974, the ruling dictatorship was deposed in Lisbon and the country handed over its last overseas provinces (most prominently Angola and Mozambique in Africa); the last overseas territory, Macau, was handed over to China in 1999.

Portugal is a developed country Appendix B - International Organizations and Groups: developed countries (DCs), CIA ? The World Factbook ? Appendix B, The World Factbook and it has the world's 19th highest quality-of-life, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. It is the 14th most peaceful and the 13th most globalized country in the world. It is a member of the European Union (joined the then EEC in 1986, leaving the EFTA where it was a founding member in 1960) and the United Nations; as well as a founding member of the Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, OECD, NATO, Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the European Union's Eurozone, and also a Schengen state.

Lisbon (Lisboa, ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is considered an alpha global city and is the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region. Its municipality, which matches the city proper excluding the larger continuous conurbation, has a municipal population of 564,477Uma população que se urbaniza, Uma avaliação recente - Cidades, 2004 Nuno Pires Soares, Instituto Geográfico Português (Geographic Institute of Portugal) in , while the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in total has around 2.8 million inhabitants, and 3.34 million people live in the broader agglomeration of Lisbon Metropolitan Region (includes cities ranging from Leiria to Setúbal).Fernando Nunes da Silva (2005), Alta Velocidade em Portugal, Desenvolvimento Regional, Censur ist

Due to its economic output, standard of living, and market size, the Grande Lisboa (Greater Lisbon) subregion is considered the second most important financial and economic centre in the Iberian Peninsula.Global Financial Centres Index The Lisbon region is the wealthiest region in Portugal and it is well above the European Union's GDP per capita average ? it produces 37% of the Portuguese GDP. It is also the political centre of the country, as seat of government and residence of the Head of State.

The city was under Roman rule from 205 BC, when it was already a 1000 year old town. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city for the Christians and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural center of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially ? by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal.

Lisbon hosts two agencies of the European Union, namely, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), is also headquartered in Lisbon.