Portugal Travel

Portugal was once one of the most powerful countries in the world. The country is one of the pioneers of the Age of Discovery and during those early times amassed lots of territories in different continents. Their cultural heritage has influenced many nations today such as Brazil and some African countries.

Portugal is said to be Europe’s oldest nation-state when it declared independence from Leon. The country’s name came from its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name is Portus Cale. Portus Cale later evolved as Portugale in the 7^th and 8^th century.

They became a superpower during their rivalry with their southern neighbor, Spain. Henry the Navigator established a school for navigation in Sagres and producing a fleet that conquered different lands across continents such as Asia, Oceania, Africa and South America. In the 15^th and 16^th century, Portugal was the world leader in economics, politics and military power.

After two centuries, Portugal lost its power to the French, Dutch and the English, for these 3 nations took advantage on the spice, trade and slave trades as they took over territories that used to belong to Portugal.

The Portuguese Empire became the first trans-oceanic empire in history. The Empire is also the longest lived European colonial empires, although it suffered a major blow in the 19^th century when Brazil, Portugal’s largest colony, seeks its own independence.

The Portuguese are the first to experience globalization, as they open up spice and trade routes to the east such as in India. They even reached China and Japan in 1514. In 1517, Fernao Pires de Andrade visited Canton in order to open up a trade route to China. This became successful, and in 1557 the Portuguese were permitted to occupy Macau

From such travels from the far reaches of the world, Portuguese sailors and scholars brought back with them their experiences to their home land. Such experiences and learning are still evident up to this day in the form of the Portuguese culture, cuisine and architecture. Many old buildings like Portugal Hotels such as those found in the city of Sintra and Lisbon shows some influences from India, while many Portuguese dishes has some hint of African or Asian flavors in them.

Know more about the rich history of the country when you go on Portugal Travel and Portugal vacations, and make your holiday a learning adventure too!