155-634: João Albasini (1813–1888) was an explorer. Albasini was born to an Italian family, but according to tradition born in Portugal on a ship leaving for Africa – hence the Portuguese form of his first name. A passionate tradesman and big game hunter, Albasini came to Lourenço Marques in 1831. He revolutionised trade in the Lowveld more than a decade before the first settlers from European descent arrived there. Albasini set up trade routes and infrastructure that reached from
310-669: A nobility , which played a key social and political role during the Middle Ages . It was under the Visigoths that the Church began to play an important part within the state. As the Visigoths did not learn Latin from the local people, they had to rely on bishops to continue the Roman system of governance. The laws were made by councils of bishops, and the clergy emerged as a high-ranking class. Today's continental Portugal, along with most of modern Spain,
465-489: A temperate climate , tempering winters and summers, on much of the continent. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable producing more continental climates . European culture consists of a range of national and regional cultures, which form the central roots of the wider Western civilisation , and together commonly reference ancient Greece and ancient Rome , particularly through their Christian successors , as crucial and shared roots. Beginning with
620-618: A transcontinental nation and not a colonial empire. Pro-Indian residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli , separated those territories from Portuguese rule in 1954. In 1961, Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá 's annexation by the Republic of Dahomey was the start of a process that led to the dissolution of the centuries-old Portuguese Empire. Another forcible retreat occurred in 1961 when Portugal refused to relinquish Goa . The Portuguese were involved in armed conflict in Portuguese India against
775-842: A German naturalist, Peter Simon Pallas , as a valley that once connected the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and subsequently was proposed as a natural boundary between continents. By the mid-19th century, there were three main conventions, one following the Don, the Volga–Don Canal and the Volga, the other following the Kuma–Manych Depression to the Caspian and then the Ural River, and the third abandoning
930-631: A Semitic term for west , this being either Akkadian erebu meaning 'to go down, set' (said of the sun) or Phoenician 'ereb 'evening, west', which is at the origin of Arabic maghreb and Hebrew ma'arav . Martin Litchfield West stated that "phonologically, the match between Europa's name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor", while Beekes considers a connection to Semitic languages improbable. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to
1085-791: A boundary along the Terek and Kuban rivers, so southwards from the Kuma and the Manych, but still with the Caucasus entirely in Asia. However, most geographers in the Soviet Union favoured the boundary along the Caucasus crest, and this became the common convention in the later 20th century, although the Kuma–Manych boundary remained in use in some 20th-century maps. Some view the separation of Eurasia into Asia and Europe as
1240-764: A career as the Portuguese Ambassador in London, later in Vienna. King Joseph I was crowned in 1750 and made him his Minister of Foreign Affairs. As the King's confidence in Carvalho e Melo increased, he entrusted him with more control of the state. By 1755, Carvalho e Melo was made prime minister. Impressed by British economic success witnessed as Ambassador, he successfully implemented similar economic policies in Portugal. In 1761, during
1395-567: A common currency, the euro , and participate in the European single market and a customs union . A large bloc of countries, the Schengen Area , have also abolished internal border and immigration controls. Regular popular elections take place every five years within the EU; they are considered to be the second-largest democratic elections in the world after India's . The EU is the third-largest economy in
1550-483: A distinct capital and governor. The main cities were in the southern half of the country: Beja , Silves , Alcácer do Sal , Santarém and Lisbon . The Muslim population consisted mainly of native Iberian converts to Islam and Berbers . The Arabs (mainly noblemen from Syria ) although a minority, constituted the elite. The Berbers who joined them, were nomads from the Rif Mountains of North Africa. Invasions from
1705-660: A federation contract with Emperor Honorius , many of these people settled in Hispania . An important group was made up of the Suebi and Vandals in Gallaecia , who founded a Suebi Kingdom with its capital in Braga . They came to dominate Aeminium ( Coimbra ) as well, and there were Visigoths to the south. The Suebi and the Visigoths were the Germanic tribes who had the most lasting presence in
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#17330935345931860-406: A large land mass completely or almost completely surrounded by water at its borders. Prior to the adoption of the current convention that includes mountain divides, the border between Europe and Asia had been redefined several times since its first conception in classical antiquity , but always as a series of rivers, seas and straits that were believed to extend an unknown distance east and north from
2015-525: A line west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa. In 1498 Vasco da Gama became the first European to reach India by sea, bringing economic prosperity to Portugal and helping to start the Portuguese Renaissance . In 1500, the Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real reached what is now Canada and founded the town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's , one of many Portuguese colonies of
2170-665: A period marked by a civil war between liberals and absolutists from 1828 to 1834. The monarchy was overthrown in the 1910 revolution, which led to the establishment of the Portuguese First Republic . A phase of unrest ultimately led to the rise of authoritarian regimes of the Ditadura Nacional and the Estado Novo . Democracy was finally restored following the Carnation Revolution of 1974 , and brought an end to
2325-730: A precise eastern boundary of Europe arises in the Early Modern period, as the eastern extension of Muscovy began to include North Asia . Throughout the Middle Ages and into the 18th century, the traditional division of the landmass of Eurasia into two continents, Europe and Asia, followed Ptolemy, with the boundary following the Turkish Straits , the Black Sea , the Kerch Strait , the Sea of Azov and
2480-701: A residue of Eurocentrism : "In physical, cultural and historical diversity, China and India are comparable to the entire European landmass, not to a single European country. [...]." During the 2.5 million years of the Pleistocene , numerous cold phases called glacials ( Quaternary ice age ), or significant advances of continental ice sheets, in Europe and North America, occurred at intervals of approximately 40,000 to 100,000 years. The long glacial periods were separated by more temperate and shorter interglacials which lasted about 10,000–15,000 years. The last cold episode of
2635-661: A result, the Reconquista took the greater part of eight hundred years, in which period a long list of Alfonsos, Sanchos, Ordoños, Ramiros, Fernandos, and Bermudos would be fighting their Christian rivals as much as the Muslim invaders. During the Dark Ages, the Western Roman Empire fell under the control of various tribes. The Germanic and Slav tribes established their domains over Western and Eastern Europe, respectively. Eventually
2790-566: A single railway. The government of Portugal quietly accepted the ultimatum and withdrew their forces from the disputed area, leading to a widespread backlash among the Portuguese public, who viewed acceptance of the British demands as a humiliation. On 5 October 1910, a coup d'état overthrew the near 800 year-old Monarchy and the Republic was proclaimed. During World War I, Portugal helped the Allies fight
2945-401: Is also evidence that Homo sapiens arrived in Europe around 54,000 years ago, some 10,000 years earlier than previously thought. The earliest sites in Europe dated 48,000 years ago are Riparo Mochi (Italy), Geissenklösterle (Germany) and Isturitz (France). The European Neolithic period—marked by the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock, increased numbers of settlements and
3100-481: Is closest to Anatolia (or Asia Minor), but is considered part of Europe politically and it is a member state of the EU. Malta was considered an island of North-western Africa for centuries, but now it is considered to be part of Europe as well. "Europe", as used specifically in British English , may also refer to Continental Europe exclusively. The term "continent" usually implies the physical geography of
3255-722: Is commonly considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains , the Ural River , the Caspian Sea , the Greater Caucasus , the Black Sea , and the waterway of the Bosporus Strait . Europe covers about 10.18 million km (3.93 million sq mi), or 2% of Earth's surface (6.8% of land area), making it the second-smallest continent (using the seven-continent model ). Politically, Europe
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#17330935345933410-472: Is divided into about fifty sovereign states , of which Russia is the largest and most populous , spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a total population of about 745 million (about 10% of the world population ) in 2021; the third-largest after Asia and Africa. The European climate is affected by warm Atlantic currents, such as the Gulf Stream , which produce
3565-556: Is generally considered a transcontinental country divided entirely by water, while Russia and Kazakhstan are only partly divided by waterways. France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain are also transcontinental (or more properly, intercontinental, when oceans or large seas are involved) in that their main land areas are in Europe while pockets of their territories are located on other continents separated from Europe by large bodies of water. Spain, for example, has territories south of
3720-533: Is sometimes considered to mark the end of antiquity; alternatively antiquity is considered to end with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE; the closure of the pagan Platonic Academy of Athens in 529 CE; or the rise of Islam in the early 7th century CE. During most of its existence, the Byzantine Empire was one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe. During
3875-422: Is somewhat arbitrary and inconsistent compared to any clear-cut definition of the term "continent". The current division of Eurasia into two continents now reflects East-West cultural, linguistic and ethnic differences which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The geographic border between Europe and Asia does not follow any state boundaries and now only follows a few bodies of water. Turkey
4030-666: Is unclear. The mainstream explanation is an ethnonym derived from the Callaeci, also known as the Gallaeci peoples, who occupied the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula . One theory proposes Cale is a derivation of the Celtic word for 'port'. Another is that Cala was a Celtic goddess. Some French scholars believe it may have come from Portus Gallus , the port of the Gauls. Around 200 BC,
4185-851: The Age of Discovery under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator . Portugal explored the Atlantic, encountering the Azores , Madeira , and Portuguese Cape Verde , which led to the first colonization movements. The Portuguese explored the Indian Ocean , established trade routes in most of southern Asia, and sent the first direct European maritime trade and diplomatic missions to China ( Jorge Álvares ) and Japan ( Nanban trade ). In 1415, Portugal acquired its first colonies by conquering Ceuta , in North Africa. Throughout
4340-448: The Battle of São Mamede , in the outskirts of Guimarães , in 1128, Afonso Henriques , Count of Portugal, defeated his mother Countess Teresa and her lover Fernão Peres de Trava , establishing himself as sole leader of the county . Afonso continued his father Henry of Burgundy's Reconquista wars. His campaigns were successful and in 1139, he obtained a victory in the Battle of Ourique , so
4495-480: The British government delivered an ultimatum to Portugal, demanding the withdrawal of Portuguese forces from the area between Portugal's colonies of Mozambique and Angola . The area had been claimed by Portugal as part of its colonialist Pink Map project, but Britain disputed these claims, mostly due to Cecil Rhodes ' aspirations to create a Cape to Cairo Railway , which was intended to link all British colonies via
4650-809: The Carolingian Renaissance of the 9th century. From that time, the term designated the sphere of influence of the Western Church , as opposed to both the Eastern Orthodox churches and to the Islamic world . A cultural definition of Europe as the lands of Latin Christendom coalesced in the 8th century, signifying the new cultural condominium created through the confluence of Germanic traditions and Christian-Latin culture, defined partly in contrast with Byzantium and Islam , and limited to northern Iberia ,
4805-498: The Cave of Aroeira in 2014. Later Neanderthals roamed the northern Iberian peninsula and a tooth has been found at Nova da Columbeira cave in Estremadura . Homo sapiens sapiens arrived in Portugal around 35,000 years ago and spread rapidly. Pre-Celtic tribes inhabited Portugal. The Cynetes developed a written language, leaving stelae , which are mainly found in the south. Early in
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4960-809: The Central Powers ; however the war hurt its weak economy. Political instability and economic weaknesses were fertile ground for chaos and unrest during the First Portuguese Republic . These conditions led to the failed Monarchy of the North , 28 May 1926 coup d'état , and creation of the National Dictatorship ( Ditadura Nacional ). This in turn led to the right-wing dictatorship of the Estado Novo (New State), under António de Oliveira Salazar in 1933. Portugal remained neutral in World War II . From
5115-466: The Companhia Geral de Pernambuco e Paraíba - whose main activity was the trafficking of slaves, mostly Africans, to Brazilian lands. He reorganized the army and navy and ended legal discrimination against different Christian sects. He created companies and guilds to regulate commercial activity and one of the first appellation systems by demarcating the region for production of Port to ensure
5270-687: The Continental System of embargo against the United Kingdom; a French invasion under General Junot followed, and Lisbon was captured in 1807. British intervention in the Peninsular War helped maintain Portuguese independence; the last French troops were expelled in 1812. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was the Portuguese capital between 1808 and 1821. In 1820, constitutionalist insurrections took place at Porto and Lisbon. Lisbon regained its status as
5425-414: The Don (ancient Tanais ). But maps produced during the 16th to 18th centuries tended to differ in how to continue the boundary beyond the Don bend at Kalach-na-Donu (where it is closest to the Volga, now joined with it by the Volga–Don Canal ), into territory not described in any detail by the ancient geographers. Around 1715, Herman Moll produced a map showing the northern part of the Ob River and
5580-415: The European Union (green) Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country in the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe . Featuring the westernmost point in continental Europe , to its north and east is Spain, with which it shares the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union ; to the south and the west is the North Atlantic Ocean ; and to the west and southwest lie
5735-439: The European population at the time. The plague had a devastating effect on Europe's social structure; it induced people to live for the moment as illustrated by Giovanni Boccaccio in The Decameron (1353). It was a serious blow to the Roman Catholic Church and led to increased persecution of Jews , beggars and lepers . The plague is thought to have returned every generation with varying virulence and mortalities until
5890-460: The Greeks and Phoenicians gave rise to early Mediterranean cities. Early Iron Age Italy and Greece from around the 8th century BCE gradually gave rise to historical Classical antiquity, whose beginning is sometimes dated to 776 BCE, the year of the first Olympic Games . Ancient Greece was the founding culture of Western civilisation. Western democratic and rationalist culture are often attributed to Ancient Greece. The Greek city-state,
6045-497: The Indian Armed Forces . The operations resulted in the defeat and loss of the remaining Portuguese territories in the Indian subcontinent . The Portuguese regime refused to recognize Indian sovereignty over the annexed territories, which continued to be represented in the National Assembly until the coup of 1974. Also in the early 1960s the independence movements in the Portuguese provinces of Portuguese Angola , Portuguese Mozambique , and Portuguese Guinea in Africa, resulted in
6200-400: The Inquisition against heretics. In the Iberian Peninsula , the Reconquista concluded with the fall of Granada in 1492 , ending over seven centuries of Islamic rule in the south-western peninsula. In the east, a resurgent Byzantine Empire recaptured Crete and Cyprus from the Muslims, and reconquered the Balkans. Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe from the 9th to
6355-409: The Iron Curtain , with NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East . This divide ended with the Revolutions of 1989 , the fall of the Berlin Wall , and the dissolution of the Soviet Union , which allowed European integration to advance significantly. European integration is being advanced institutionally since 1948 with the founding of the Council of Europe , and significantly through
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6510-442: The Irtysh River , a major tributary of the Ob, as components of a series of partly-joined waterways taking the boundary between Europe and Asia from the Turkish Straits, and the Don River all the way to the Arctic Ocean. In 1721, he produced a more up to date map that was easier to read. However, his proposal to adhere to major rivers as the line of demarcation was never taken up by other geographers who were beginning to move away from
6665-405: The Jesuits were suppressed and expelled . This crushed opposition by publicly demonstrating even the aristocracy was powerless before Pombal. Further titled "Marquês de Pombal" in 1770, he ruled Portugal until Joseph I's death in 1777. The new ruler, Queen Maria I of Portugal , disliked Pombal because of his excesses, and upon her accession to the throne, withdrew all his political offices. Pombal
6820-429: The Macaronesian archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira , which are two autonomous regions of Portugal . Lisbon is the capital and largest city , followed by Porto , which is the only other metropolitan area . The western part of the Iberian Peninsula has been continuously inhabited since prehistoric times , with the earliest signs of settlement dating to 5500 BCE . Celtic and Iberian peoples arrived in
6975-419: The Mediterranean Sea —namely, Ceuta and Melilla —which are parts of Africa and share a border with Morocco. According to the current convention, Georgia and Azerbaijan are transcontinental countries where waterways have been completely replaced by mountains as the divide between continents. The first recorded usage of Eurṓpē as a geographic term is in the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo , in reference to
7130-490: The Megalithic Temples of Malta and Stonehenge , were constructed throughout Western and Southern Europe. The modern native populations of Europe largely descend from three distinct lineages: Mesolithic hunter-gatherers , descended from populations associated with the Paleolithic Epigravettian culture; Neolithic Early European Farmers who migrated from Anatolia during the Neolithic Revolution 9,000 years ago; and Yamnaya Steppe herders who expanded into Europe from
7285-406: The Moluccas . Although it was believed the Dutch were the first Europeans to arrive in Australia, there is evidence the Portuguese may have discovered it in 1521. Between 1519 and 1522 Ferdinand Magellan organized a Spanish expedition to the East Indies which resulted in the first circumnavigation of the globe. The Treaty of Zaragoza , signed in 1529 between Portugal and Spain, divided
7440-427: The Neandertal valley in Germany ) appeared in Europe 150,000 years ago (115,000 years ago it is found already in the territory of present-day Poland ) and disappeared from the fossil record about 40,000 years ago, with their final refuge being the Iberian Peninsula. The Neanderthals were supplanted by modern humans ( Cro-Magnons ), who seem to have appeared in Europe around 43,000 to 40,000 years ago. However, there
7595-432: The Pechenegs and the Cuman-Kipchaks , caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north, and temporarily halted the expansion of the Rus' state to the south and east. Like many other parts of Eurasia , these territories were overrun by the Mongols . The invaders, who became known as Tatars , were mostly Turkic-speaking peoples under Mongol suzerainty. They established
7750-409: The Pontic–Caspian steppe of Ukraine and southern Russia in the context of Indo-European migrations 5,000 years ago. The European Bronze Age began c. 3200 BCE in Greece with the Minoan civilisation on Crete , the first advanced civilisation in Europe. The Minoans were followed by the Myceneans , who collapsed suddenly around 1200 BCE, ushering the European Iron Age . Iron Age colonisation by
7905-471: The Portuguese Colonial War (lasting from 1961 till 1974). The war mobilized around 1.4 million men for military or for civilian support service, and led to large casualties. Throughout the colonial war period Portugal dealt with increasing dissent, arms embargoes and other punitive sanctions imposed by the international community. The authoritarian and conservative Estado Novo regime, first governed by Salazar and from 1968 by Marcelo Caetano , tried to preserve
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#17330935345938060-408: The Portuguese Restoration War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake , which destroyed the city and damaged the empire's economy. The Napoleonic Wars motivated the Portuguese royal family to relocate to Brazil in 1807. This event reshaped the relationship between Portugal and Brazil, culminating in Brazilian independence in 1822 . Following the liberation during the Peninsular War , Portugal endured
8215-420: The Romans took Iberia from the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War . In the process they conquered Cale, renaming it Portus Cale ('Port of Cale') and incorporating it into the province of Gallaecia . During the Middle Ages , the region around Portus Cale became known by the Suebi and Visigoths as Portucale . The name Portucale changed into Portugale during the 7th and 8th centuries, and by
8370-416: The Schengen Area , and the Council of Europe , as well as a founding members of NATO , the eurozone , the OECD , and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries . The word Portugal derives from the combined Roman - Celtic place name Portus Cale (present-day's conurbation of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia ). Porto stems from the Latin for port , portus ; Cale ' s meaning and origin
8525-406: The Serbian Principality (later Kingdom and Empire ), and the Duchy of Croatia (later Kingdom of Croatia ). To the east, Kievan Rus' expanded from its capital in Kiev to become the largest state in Europe by the 10th century. In 988, Vladimir the Great adopted Orthodox Christianity as the religion of state. Further east, Volga Bulgaria became an Islamic state in the 10th century, but
8680-401: The South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts. Portuguese explorers and merchants were instrumental in establishing trading posts and colonies that enabled control over spices and slave trades. While Portugal expanded its influence globally, its political and military power faced internal and external challenges towards the end of the 16th century. The dynastic crisis marked the beginning of
8835-415: The Transvaal and indeed, in the whole of South Africa, to rule Africans as their Chief or leader. Albasini acted at all times as a paramount chief of the Transvaal Tsonga people until his death in 1888. In the same year N'wamanungu of the Siweya Clan took over the throne of Kingship of Vatsonga until 1901–1902 at Klein Letaba River where he was shot dead by James Alfred Taylor, Shiel and Phephu Ramabulana. He
8990-582: The Tsonga people . Every year, hundreds of Tsonga people gather around the grave of João Albasini and perform Tsonga rituals in honour of their tribal leader. The grave of Albasini is regarded as a sacred site by the Tsonga people of Valdezia Village and the Tsonga neighbouring villages. De Vaal, J.B. 1953. Die Rol van João Albasini in die Geskiedenis van die Transvaal. Argief-jaarboek vir Suid-Afrikaanse Geskiedenis 16 (1). Elsiesrivier: Nasionale Handelsdrukkery vir die Staatsdrukker. Portugal – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
9145-426: The decline of the Roman Empire , Europe entered a long period of change arising from what historians call the " Age of Migrations ". There were numerous invasions and migrations amongst the Ostrogoths , Visigoths , Goths , Vandals , Huns , Franks , Angles , Saxons , Slavs , Avars , Bulgars , Vikings , Pechenegs , Cumans , and Magyars . Renaissance thinkers such as Petrarch would later refer to this as
9300-465: The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, Christian consolidation of Europe in the wake of the Migration Period marked the European post-classical Middle Ages . The Italian Renaissance spread in the continent a new humanist interest in art and science which led to the modern era . Since the Age of Discovery , led by Spain and Portugal , Europe played a predominant role in global affairs with multiple explorations and conquests around
9455-432: The last glacial period ended about 10,000 years ago. Earth is currently in an interglacial period of the Quaternary, called the Holocene . Homo erectus georgicus , which lived roughly 1.8 million years ago in Georgia , is the earliest hominin to have been discovered in Europe. Other hominin remains, dating back roughly 1 million years, have been discovered in Atapuerca , Spain . Neanderthal man (named after
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#17330935345939610-517: The polis , was the fundamental political unit of classical Greece. In 508 BCE, Cleisthenes instituted the world's first democratic system of government in Athens . The Greek political ideals were rediscovered in the late 18th century by European philosophers and idealists. Greece also generated many cultural contributions: in philosophy , humanism and rationalism under Aristotle , Socrates and Plato ; in history with Herodotus and Thucydides ; in dramatic and narrative verse, starting with
9765-402: The "Dark Ages". Isolated monastic communities were the only places to safeguard and compile written knowledge accumulated previously; apart from this, very few written records survive. Much literature, philosophy, mathematics, and other thinking from the classical period disappeared from Western Europe, though they were preserved in the east, in the Byzantine Empire. While the Roman empire in
9920-402: The "absolutist" faction of landowners and the church to proclaim Miguel king in February 1828. This led to the Liberal Wars , also known as the War of the Two Brothers or the Portuguese Civil War , in which Pedro forced Miguel to abdicate and go into exile in 1834 and place his daughter on the throne as Queen Maria II of Portugal . After 1815 the Portuguese expanded their trading ports along
10075-461: The 12th centuries, with a population of approximately 400,000. The Empire was weakened following the defeat at Manzikert , and was weakened considerably by the sack of Constantinople in 1204 , during the Fourth Crusade . Although it would recover Constantinople in 1261, Byzantium fell in 1453 when Constantinople was taken by the Ottoman Empire . In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as
10230-401: The 12th to the 15th centuries, the Grand Duchy of Moscow grew from a small principality under Mongol rule to the largest state in Europe, overthrowing the Mongols in 1480, and eventually becoming the Tsardom of Russia . The state was consolidated under Ivan III the Great and Ivan the Terrible , steadily expanding to the east and south over the next centuries. The Great Famine of 1315–1317
10385-442: The 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for commodities , ranging from gold to slavery . Portugal sailed the Portuguese India Armadas to Goa via the Cape of Good Hope . The Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 was intended to resolve a dispute created following the return of Christopher Columbus and divided the newly located lands outside Europe between Portugal and Spain along
10540-444: The 18th century. During this period, more than 100 plague epidemics swept across Europe. The Renaissance was a period of cultural change originating in Florence , and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The rise of a new humanism was accompanied by the recovery of forgotten classical Greek and Arabic knowledge from monastic libraries, often translated from Arabic into Latin . The Renaissance spread across Europe between
10695-421: The 1940s to 1960s, Portugal was a founding member of NATO , OECD , the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and joined the United Nations in 1955. New economic development projects and relocation of mainland Portuguese citizens into the overseas provinces in Africa were initiated, with Angola and Mozambique being the main targets of those initiatives. These actions were used to affirm Portugal's status as
10850-400: The 50 years of peace that followed are known as Golden Age of Athens , the seminal period of ancient Greece that laid many of the foundations of Western civilisation. Greece was followed by Rome , which left its mark on law , politics , language , engineering , architecture , government , and many more key aspects in western civilisation. By 200 BCE, Rome had conquered Italy and over
11005-459: The 9th century, it was used to refer to the region between the rivers Douro and Minho . By the 11th and 12th centuries, Portugale , Portugallia , Portvgallo or Portvgalliae was already referred to as Portugal . The region has been inhabited by humans since circa 400,000 years ago, when Homo heidelbergensis entered the area. The oldest human fossil found in Portugal is the 400,000-year-old Aroeira 3 H. Heidelbergensis skull discovered in
11160-490: The African coast, moving inland to take control of Angola and Mozambique. The slave trade was abolished in 1836. In Portuguese India , trade flourished in the colony of Goa , with its subsidiary colonies of Macau , near Hong Kong, and Timor , north of Australia. The Portuguese successfully introduced Catholicism and the Portuguese language into their colonies, while most settlers continued to head to Brazil. On 11 January 1890,
11315-749: The Americas . In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on Brazil and claimed it for Portugal. Ten years later, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa in India, Muscat and Ormuz in the Persian Strait , and Malacca , now in Malaysia. Thus, the Portuguese empire held dominion over commerce in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic. Portuguese sailors set out to reach Eastern Asia, landing in Taiwan , Japan, Timor , Flores , and
11470-526: The British Isles, France, Christianised western Germany, the Alpine regions and northern and central Italy. The concept is one of the lasting legacies of the Carolingian Renaissance : Europa often figures in the letters of Charlemagne's court scholar, Alcuin . The transition of Europe to being a cultural term as well as a geographic one led to the borders of Europe being affected by cultural considerations in
11625-730: The Christian kingdoms of the north. Most of present-day Portugal fell into the hands of the Taifa of Badajoz of the Aftasid Dynasty , and in 1022 the Taifa of Seville of the Abbadids poets. The Taifa period ended with the conquest of the Almoravids in 1086, then by the Almohads in 1147. Al-Andaluz was divided into districts called Kura . Gharb Al-Andalus at its largest consisted of ten kuras, each with
11780-502: The Don altogether, following the Greater Caucasus watershed to the Caspian. The question was still treated as a "controversy" in geographical literature of the 1860s, with Douglas Freshfield advocating the Caucasus crest boundary as the "best possible", citing support from various "modern geographers". In Russia and the Soviet Union , the boundary along the Kuma–Manych Depression was the most commonly used as early as 1906. In 1958,
11935-600: The Early Middle Ages, and soon spread throughout Europe. A struggle for influence between the nobility and the monarchy in England led to the writing of Magna Carta and the establishment of a parliament . The primary source of culture in this period came from the Roman Catholic Church . Through monasteries and cathedral schools , the Church was responsible for education in much of Europe. The Papacy reached
12090-499: The East, especially relating to areas under Byzantine, Ottoman, and Russian influence. Such questions were affected by the positive connotations associated with the term Europe by its users. Such cultural considerations were not applied to the Americas, despite their conquest and settlement by European states. Instead, the concept of "Western civilisation" emerged as a way of grouping together Europe and these colonies. The question of defining
12245-458: The Elim area today are a result of Albasini's policies of encouraging Tsonga immigration into the area, mostly between the years 1845–1895. Due to large scale Tsonga immigration into the Elim area, headmen were appointed (by Albasini) to help settle the thousands of Tsonga immigrants who arrived in the area as refugees from Mozambique. This is the reason why Albasini is famously known as the "White Chief of
12400-418: The Elim area, between the years 1845–1885, powerful Tsonga chiefs, such as Hosi Bungeni, Hosi Njhakanjhaka of Elim, Hosi Mbhokota, Hosi Bokisi, Hosi Mtsetweni, Hosi Ndengeza, Hosi Malele of Wayeni, Hosi Sibisi Mahatlane, Hosi Njhakanjhaka-Marholeni, Hosi Sikhunyana (Makhoma), Hosi Nkuzana, Hosi Xitaci and many more, were appointed as headmen by N'wamanungu and confirmed by Albasini. The large Tsonga population in
12555-565: The Far East, resulting in the loss of Portugal's Indian sea trade monopoly. In 1640 John IV of Portugal spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. The Portuguese Restoration War ended the 60-year period of the Iberian Union under the House of Habsburg . This was the beginning of the House of Braganza , which reigned until 1910. John V saw a reign characterized by
12710-680: The Frankish tribes were united under Clovis I . Charlemagne , a Frankish king of the Carolingian dynasty who had conquered most of Western Europe, was anointed " Holy Roman Emperor " by the Pope in 800. This led in 962 to the founding of the Holy Roman Empire , which eventually became centred in the German principalities of central Europe. East Central Europe saw the creation of the first Slavic states and
12865-509: The Great 's efforts to make Russia more European, ignored the whole boundary question with his claim that neither Russia, Scandinavia, northern Germany, nor Poland were fully part of Europe. Since then, many modern analytical geographers like Halford Mackinder have declared that they see little validity in the Ural Mountains as a boundary between continents. The mapmakers continued to differ on
13020-634: The Levant and North Africa and making inroads into Asia Minor . In the mid-7th century, following the Muslim conquest of Persia , Islam penetrated into the Caucasus region. Over the next centuries Muslim forces took Cyprus , Malta , Crete , Sicily , and parts of southern Italy . Between 711 and 720, most of the lands of the Visigothic Kingdom of Iberia were brought under Muslim rule—save for small areas in
13175-729: The Mediterranean Sea without the inclusion of any mountain ranges. Cartographer Herman Moll suggested in 1715 Europe was bounded by a series of partly-joined waterways directed towards the Turkish straits, and the Irtysh River draining into the upper part of the Ob River and the Arctic Ocean . In contrast, the present eastern boundary of Europe partially adheres to the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, which
13330-626: The Moors. In 1249, the Reconquista ended with the capture of the Algarve and expulsion of the last Moorish settlements. With minor readjustments, Portugal's territorial borders have remained the same, making it one of the oldest established nations in Europe. After a conflict with the kingdom of Castile , Denis of Portugal signed the Treaty of Alcañices in 1297 with Ferdinand IV of Castile. This treaty established
13485-476: The North also occurred in this period, with Viking incursions raiding the coast between the 9th and 11th centuries, including Lisbon. This resulted in the establishment of small Norse settlements in the coastline between Douro and Minho . The Reconquista was a period when Christians reconquered the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish domination. An Asturian Visigothic noble named Pelagius of Asturias
13640-511: The Pacific Ocean between Spain and Portugal. Portugal voluntarily entered a dynastic union (1580–1640) because the last two kings of the House of Aviz died without heirs, resulting in the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 . Philip II of Spain claimed the throne and was accepted as Philip I of Portugal. Portugal did not lose its formal independence, forming a union of kingdoms. But
13795-591: The Portuguese Colonial War, allowing the last of Portugal’s African territories to achieve independence. Portugal's imperial history has left a cultural legacy , with around 300 million Portuguese speakers around the world. Today, it is a developed country with an advanced economy relying chiefly upon services, industry, and tourism. Portugal is a member of the United Nations , the European Union,
13950-571: The Roman conquest. In southern Portugal, some small, semi-permanent commercial coastal settlements were also founded by Phoenician-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC. The Carthaginians, Rome's adversary in the Punic Wars , were expelled from their coastal colonies. During Julius Caesar 's rule, almost the entire peninsula was annexed to Rome. The conquest took two hundred years and many died, including those sentenced to work in slave mines or sold as slaves to other parts of
14105-657: The Shangaan people". After the destruction of Schoemansdal by the Venda King Makhado in 1867, all whites left the area and moved south, where they established the town of Pietersburg , 100 km away. The Pedi King, Sekhukhune did not attack the Boers when they took land in Pietersburg, the town grew to be the biggest town north of Pretoria , while Schoemansdal became a ghost town. João Albasini remained as stubborn as ever and
14260-710: The Soviet Geographical Society formally recommended that the boundary between the Europe and Asia be drawn in textbooks from Baydaratskaya Bay , on the Kara Sea , along the eastern foot of Ural Mountains, then following the Ural River until the Mugodzhar Hills , and then the Emba River ; and Kuma–Manych Depression, thus placing the Caucasus entirely in Asia and the Urals entirely in Europe. The Flora Europaea adopted
14415-500: The Tanais (the modern Don River) as the boundary. The Roman Empire did not attach a strong identity to the concept of continental divisions. However, following the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the culture that developed in its place , linked to Latin and the Catholic church, began to associate itself with the concept of "Europe". The term "Europe" is first used for a cultural sphere in
14570-591: The Tsonga people, due to his lack of trust. Albasini was a good friend and fellow of the Tsonga people , he was so revered among them that they made him their honorary tribal leader and named their area Albasini village, which was later renamed Valdezia in 1875. He ruled supreme as a chief of the Tsonga people at Valdezia Village until his death in 1888. In 1858 Albasini was appointed Vice Consul of Portugal in South Africa and
14725-536: The adoption of Christianity ( c. 1000 CE) . The powerful West Slavic state of Great Moravia spread its territory all the way south to the Balkans, reaching its largest territorial extent under Svatopluk I and causing a series of armed conflicts with East Francia . Further south, the first South Slavic states emerged in the late 7th and 8th century and adopted Christianity : the First Bulgarian Empire ,
14880-573: The basis of many modern legal systems, funded the construction of the Hagia Sophia and brought the Christian church under state control. From the 7th century onwards, as the Byzantines and neighbouring Sasanid Persians were severely weakened due to the protracted, centuries-lasting and frequent Byzantine–Sasanian wars , the Muslim Arabs began to make inroads into historically Roman territory, taking
15035-482: The border between the kingdoms of Portugal and Leon. The reigns of Denis, Afonso IV , and Peter I mostly saw peace with the other kingdoms of Iberia. In 1348-49 Portugal, as with the rest of Europe, was devastated by the Black Death . In 1373, Portugal made an alliance with England , the oldest standing alliance in the world. In 1383 John I of Castile , Beatrice of Portugal , and Ferdinand I of Portugal claimed
15190-556: The boundary between the lower Don and Samara well into the 19th century. The 1745 atlas published by the Russian Academy of Sciences has the boundary follow the Don beyond Kalach as far as Serafimovich before cutting north towards Arkhangelsk , while other 18th- to 19th-century mapmakers such as John Cary followed Strahlenberg's prescription. To the south, the Kuma–Manych Depression was identified c. 1773 by
15345-531: The capital of Portugal when Brazil declared its independence in 1822. The death of King John VI in 1826 led to a crisis of royal succession. His eldest son, Pedro I of Brazil , briefly became Pedro IV of Portugal , but neither the Portuguese nor Brazilians wanted a unified monarchy; consequently, Pedro abdicated the Portuguese crown in favor of his 7-year-old daughter, Maria da Glória , on the condition that when she came of age she would marry his brother, Miguel . Dissatisfaction at Pedro's constitutional reforms led
15500-460: The continent The prevalent definition of Europe as a geographical term has been in use since the mid-19th century. Europe is taken to be bounded by large bodies of water to the north, west and south; Europe's limits to the east and north-east are usually taken to be the Ural Mountains , the Ural River , and the Caspian Sea ; to the south-east, the Caucasus Mountains , the Black Sea , and
15655-504: The continent. Chinese, for example, uses the word Ōuzhōu ( 歐洲 / 欧洲 ), which is an abbreviation of the transliterated name Ōuluóbā zhōu ( 歐羅巴洲 ) ( zhōu means "continent"); a similar Chinese-derived term Ōshū ( 欧州 ) is also sometimes used in Japanese such as in the Japanese name of the European Union, Ōshū Rengō ( 欧州連合 ) , despite the katakana Yōroppa ( ヨーロッパ ) being more commonly used. In some Turkic languages,
15810-568: The continents as the lands given by Noah to his three sons; Europe was defined as stretching from the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar , separating it from Northwest Africa , to the Don, separating it from Asia. The convention received by the Middle Ages and surviving into modern usage is that of the Roman era used by Roman-era authors such as Posidonius , Strabo , and Ptolemy , who took
15965-462: The country's political decline that led to the Iberian Union (1580-1640), a period in which Portugal was united under Spanish rule. While maintaining a degree of self-governance, the union strained Portugal’s autonomy and drew it into conflicts with European powers which targeted Portuguese territories and trade routes. Portugal's prior opulence was further exacerbated by a series of events, such as
16120-616: The development of major commercial routes along the coast of the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas . The growing wealth and independence acquired by some coastal cities gave the Maritime Republics a leading role in the European scene. The Middle Ages on the mainland were dominated by the two upper echelons of the social structure: the nobility and the clergy. Feudalism developed in France in
16275-456: The earthquake, Joseph I gave his prime minister more power, and Carvalho de Melo became an enlightened despot . In 1758 Joseph I was wounded in an attempted assassination. The Marquis of Távora , several members of his family and even servants were tortured and executed in public with extreme brutality (even by the standards of the time), as alleged part of the Távora affair . The following year,
16430-640: The empire. Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere . It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Asia and Africa . Europe
16585-408: The empire. Roman occupation suffered a setback in 155 BC, when a rebellion began in the north. The Lusitanians and other native tribes, under the leadership of Viriathus , wrested control of all of western Iberia. Rome sent legions to quell the rebellion but were unsuccessful. Roman leaders bribed Viriathus's allies to kill him in 139 BC; he was replaced by Tautalus . In 27 BC, Lusitania gained
16740-636: The end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe and eventually the wider world. Both world wars began and were fought to a great extent in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the Soviet Union and the United States took prominence and competed over dominance in Europe and globally. The resulting Cold War divided Europe along
16895-570: The epic poems of Homer ; in drama with Sophocles and Euripides ; in medicine with Hippocrates and Galen ; and in science with Pythagoras , Euclid , and Archimedes . In the course of the 5th century BCE, several of the Greek city states would ultimately check the Achaemenid Persian advance in Europe through the Greco-Persian Wars , considered a pivotal moment in world history, as
17050-588: The first cities he founded is Vimaranes, known today as Guimarães – "birthplace of the Portuguese nation" or the "cradle city". After annexing the County of Portugal into one of the counties that made up the Kingdom of Asturias , King Alfonso III of Asturias knighted Vímara Peres, in 868, as the First Count of Portus Cale (Portugal). The region became known as Portucale , Portugale , and simultaneously Portugália . With
17205-408: The first millennium BC, several waves of Celts invaded Portugal from Central Europe and intermarried with the local populations to form several different ethnic groups. The Celtic presence is patent in archaeological and linguistic evidence. They dominated most of northern and central Portugal, while the south maintained its older character (believed non-Indo-European, likely related to Basque ) until
17360-535: The first millennium BCE , with Phoenician and later Punic influence reaching the south during the same period. The region came under Roman control in the second century BCE, followed by a succession of Germanic peoples and the Alans from the fifth to eighth centuries CE. Muslims conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century CE, but were gradually expelled by the Christian Reconquista over
17515-410: The following two centuries it conquered Greece , Hispania ( Spain and Portugal ), the North African coast, much of the Middle East , Gaul ( France and Belgium ), and Britannia ( England and Wales ). Expanding from their base in central Italy beginning in the third century BCE, the Romans gradually expanded to eventually rule the entire Mediterranean basin and Western Europe by the turn of
17670-403: The forced abdication of Alfonso III in 910, the Kingdom of Asturias split into three separate kingdoms; they were reunited in 924 under the crown of León . In 1093 Alfonso VI of León bestowed the county to Henry of Burgundy and married him to his daughter, Teresa of León . Henry thus became Henry, Count of Portugal and based his newly formed county from Bracara Augusta (modern Braga ). At
17825-400: The height of its power during the High Middle Ages. An East-West Schism in 1054 split the former Roman Empire religiously, with the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Catholic Church in the former Western Roman Empire. In 1095 Pope Urban II called for a crusade against Muslims occupying Jerusalem and the Holy Land . In Europe itself, the Church organised
17980-399: The idea of water boundaries as the only legitimate divides between Europe and Asia. Four years later, in 1725, Philip Johan von Strahlenberg was the first to depart from the classical Don boundary. He drew a new line along the Volga , following the Volga north until the Samara Bend , along Obshchy Syrt (the drainage divide between the Volga and Ural Rivers ), then north and east along
18135-503: The influx of gold into the royal treasury, supplied largely by the royal fifth (tax on precious metals) from the Portuguese colonies of Brazil and Maranhão . Most estimates place the number of Portuguese migrants to Colonial Brazil during the gold rush of the 18th century at 600,000. This represented one of the largest movements of European populations to their colonies, during colonial times. In 1738 Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo , later ennobled as 1st Marquis of Pombal , began
18290-503: The joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of an independent foreign policy, and led to its involvement in the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands. War led to a deterioration of relations with Portugal's oldest ally, England , and the loss of Hormuz , a strategic trading post located between Iran and Oman . From 1595 to 1663 the Dutch-Portuguese War primarily involved Dutch companies invading Portuguese colonies and commercial interests in Brazil, Africa, India and
18445-532: The latter waterway to its source in the Ural Mountains . At this point he proposed that mountain ranges could be included as boundaries between continents as alternatives to nearby waterways. Accordingly, he drew the new boundary north along Ural Mountains rather than the nearby and parallel running Ob and Irtysh rivers. This was endorsed by the Russian Empire and introduced the convention that would eventually become commonly accepted. However, this did not come without criticism. Voltaire , writing in 1760 about Peter
18600-464: The local inhabitants. St. Martin of Braga was a particularly influential evangelist. In 429, the Visigoths moved south to expel the Alans and Vandals and founded a kingdom with its capital in Toledo . From 470, conflict between the Suebi and Visigoths increased. In 585, the Visigothic King Liuvigild conquered Braga and annexed Gallaecia; the Iberian Peninsula was unified under a Visigothic Kingdom . A new class emerged, unknown in Roman times:
18755-464: The millennium. The Roman Republic ended in 27 BCE, when Augustus proclaimed the Roman Empire . The two centuries that followed are known as the pax romana , a period of unprecedented peace, prosperity and political stability in most of Europe. The empire continued to expand under emperors such as Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius , who spent time on the Empire's northern border fighting Germanic , Pictish and Scottish tribes. Christianity
18910-412: The next several centuries. Modern Portugal began taking shape during this period, initially as a county of the Christian Kingdom of León in 868, and ultimately as an independent Kingdom with the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. During the Age of Discovery , the Kingdom of Portugal established itself as a major economic and political power, largely through its maritime empire, which extended mostly along
19065-441: The northwest ( Asturias ) and largely Basque regions in the Pyrenees . This territory, under the Arabic name Al-Andalus , became part of the expanding Umayyad Caliphate . The unsuccessful second siege of Constantinople (717) weakened the Umayyad dynasty and reduced their prestige. The Umayyads were then defeated by the Frankish leader Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 732, which ended their northward advance. In
19220-431: The originally Persian name Frangistan ("land of the Franks ") is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa . Clickable map of Europe, showing one of the most commonly used continental boundaries Key: blue : states which straddle the border between Europe and Asia ; green : countries not geographically in Europe, but closely associated with
19375-444: The poetry devoted to it. An alternative view is that of Robert Beekes , who has argued in favour of a pre-Indo-European origin for the name, explaining that a derivation from eurus would yield a different toponym than Europa. Beekes has located toponyms related to that of Europa in the territory of ancient Greece, and localities such as that of Europos in ancient Macedonia . There have been attempts to connect Eurṓpē to
19530-483: The port at Lourenço Marques far into the mainland. Albasini supplied the Tsonga people with ammunition and rifles to protect themselves against other tribes. He also trained and employed 500 Tsonga men to hunt elephant for him, these 500 Tsonga men were all given hunting rifles or guns and Albasini did not control the supply of guns to these hunters because he greatly trusted the Tsonga people. By contrast, Albasini would not give guns or ammunition to any tribes other than
19685-417: The realisation of the European Union (EU), which represents today the majority of Europe. The European Union is a supranational political entity that lies between a confederation and a federation and is based on a system of European treaties . The EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. A majority of its members have adopted
19840-441: The reign of King José I, he banned the import of black slaves into mainland Portugal and India, not for humanitarian reasons, but because they were a necessary work force in Brazil. At the same time, he encouraged the trade of black slaves ("the pieces", in the terms of that time) to that colony, and with the support and direct involvement of the Marquis of Pombal, two companies were founded - the Companhia do Grão-Pará e Maranhão and
19995-456: The remote regions of north-western Iberia and the middle Pyrenees the power of the Muslims in the south was scarcely felt. It was here that the foundations of the Christian kingdoms of Asturias , Leon , and Galicia were laid and from where the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula would start. However, no coordinated attempt would be made to drive the Moors out. The Christian kingdoms were mainly focused on their own internal power struggles. As
20150-422: The state of the Golden Horde with headquarters in Crimea, which later adopted Islam as a religion, and ruled over modern-day southern and central Russia for more than three centuries. After the collapse of Mongol dominions, the first Romanian states (principalities) emerged in the 14th century: Moldavia and Walachia . Previously, these territories were under the successive control of Pechenegs and Cumans. From
20305-427: The status of Roman province . Later, a northern province was separated from the province of Tarraconensis , under Emperor Diocletian 's reforms, known as Gallaecia . There are still ruins of castros ( hill forts ) and remains of the Castro culture , like Conímbriga , Mirobriga and Briteiros . In 409, with the decline of the Roman Empire , the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by Germanic tribes . In 411, with
20460-494: The territories corresponding to modern Portugal. As elsewhere in Western Europe, there was a sharp decline in urban life during the Dark Ages . Roman institutions disappeared in the wake of the Germanic invasions with the exception of ecclesiastical organizations, which were fostered by the Suebi in the fifth century and adopted by the Visigoths afterwards. Although the Suebi and Visigoths were initially followers of Arianism and Priscillianism , they adopted Catholicism from
20615-410: The throne of Portugal. John of Aviz, later John I of Portugal , defeated the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota , and the House of Aviz became the ruling house. The new ruling dynasty led Portugal to the limelight of European politics and culture. They created and sponsored literature, such as a history of Portugal, by Fernão Lopes . Portugal spearheaded European exploration of the world and
20770-465: The vast Umayyad Caliphate's empire of Damascus , until its collapse in 750. That year the west of the empire gained its independence under Abd-ar-Rahman I with the establishment of the Emirate of Córdoba . The Emirate became the Caliphate of Córdoba in 929, until its dissolution in 1031, into 23 small kingdoms, called Taifa kingdoms. The governors of the taifas proclaimed themselves Emir of their provinces and established diplomatic relations with
20925-482: The war of Christian reconquest. At the end of the 9th century, the region of Portugal between the rivers Minho and Douro, was reconquered from the Moors by nobleman and knight Vímara Peres on the orders of King Alfonso III of Asturias . Finding many towns deserted, he decided to repopulate and rebuild them. Vímara Peres elevated the region to the status of County , naming it the County of Portugal after its major port city – Portus Cale or modern Porto . One of
21080-407: The waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea . Islands are generally grouped with the nearest continental landmass, hence Iceland is considered to be part of Europe, while the nearby island of Greenland is usually assigned to North America , although politically belonging to Denmark. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions based on sociopolitical and cultural differences. Cyprus
21235-445: The west and the north, transmitting newly acquired skills in producing copper artifacts. In Western Europe the Neolithic period was characterised not by large agricultural settlements but by field monuments, such as causewayed enclosures , burial mounds and megalithic tombs . The Corded Ware cultural horizon flourished at the transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic . During this period giant megalithic monuments, such as
21390-416: The west continued to decline, Roman traditions and the Roman state remained strong in the predominantly Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire , also known as the Byzantine Empire . During most of its existence, the Byzantine Empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Emperor Justinian I presided over Constantinople's first golden age: he established a legal code that forms
21545-399: The western shore of the Aegean Sea . As a name for a part of the known world, it is first used in the 6th century BCE by Anaximander and Hecataeus . Anaximander placed the boundary between Asia and Europe along the Phasis River (the modern Rioni River on the territory of Georgia ) in the Caucasus, a convention still followed by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE. Herodotus mentioned that
21700-419: The widespread use of pottery—began around 7000 BCE in Greece and the Balkans , probably influenced by earlier farming practices in Anatolia and the Near East . It spread from the Balkans along the valleys of the Danube and the Rhine ( Linear Pottery culture ), and along the Mediterranean coast ( Cardial culture ). Between 4500 and 3000 BCE, these central European neolithic cultures developed further to
21855-437: The wine's quality. This was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. He imposed strict law upon all classes of Portuguese society, along with a widespread review of the tax system. These reforms gained him enemies in the upper classes. Lisbon was struck by a major earthquake on November 1st 1755 , magnitude estimated to have been between 7.7–9.0, with casualties ranging from 12,000 to 50,000. Following
22010-411: The world had been divided by unknown persons into three parts—Europe, Asia, and Libya (Africa)—with the Nile and the Phasis forming their boundaries—though he also states that some considered the River Don , rather than the Phasis, as the boundary between Europe and Asia. Europe's eastern frontier was defined in the 1st century by geographer Strabo at the River Don. The Book of Jubilees described
22165-410: The world. The place name Evros was first used by the ancient Greeks to refer to their northernmost province, which bears the same name today. The principal river there – Evros (today's Maritsa ) – flows through the fertile valleys of Thrace , which itself was also called Europe, before the term meant the continent. In classical Greek mythology , Europa ( Ancient Greek : Εὐρώπη , Eurṓpē )
22320-452: The world. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers colonised at various times the Americas , almost all of Africa and Oceania , and the majority of Asia. The Age of Enlightenment , the French Revolution , and the Napoleonic Wars shaped the continent culturally, politically, and economically from the end of the 17th century until the first half of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution , which began in Great Britain at
22475-422: Was legalised by Constantine I in 313 CE after three centuries of imperial persecution . Constantine also permanently moved the capital of the empire from Rome to the city of Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul ) which was renamed Constantinople in his honour in 330 CE. Christianity became the sole official religion of the empire in 380 CE, and in 391–392 CE the emperor Theodosius outlawed pagan religions. This
22630-399: Was a Phoenician princess. One view is that her name derives from the Ancient Greek elements εὐρύς ( eurús ) 'wide, broad', and ὤψ ( ōps , gen. ὠπός , ōpós ) 'eye, face, countenance', hence their composite Eurṓpē would mean 'wide-gazing' or 'broad of aspect'. Broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and
22785-441: Was banished to his estate at Pombal , where he died in 1782. Historians argue that Pombal's "enlightenment," while far-reaching, was primarily a mechanism for enhancing autocracy at the expense of individual liberty and especially an apparatus for crushing opposition, suppressing criticism, and furthering colonial exploitation and consolidating personal control, and profit. In 1807 Portugal refused Napoleon 's demand to accede to
22940-443: Was elected leader in 718 by many of the ousted Visigoth nobles. Pelagius called for the remnants of the Christian Visigothic armies to rebel against the Moors and regroup in the unconquered northern Asturian highlands, known today as the Cantabrian Mountains , in north-west Spain. After defeating the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga in 722, Pelagius was proclaimed king, thus founding the Christian Kingdom of Asturias and starting
23095-428: Was eventually absorbed into Russia several centuries later. The period between the year 1000 and 1250 is known as the High Middle Ages , followed by the Late Middle Ages until c. 1500. During the High Middle Ages the population of Europe experienced significant growth, culminating in the Renaissance of the 12th century . Economic growth, together with the lack of safety on the mainland trading routes, made possible
23250-406: Was invaded from the South and became part of al-Andalus between 726 and 1249, following the Umayyad Caliphate conquest of the Iberian Peninsula . This rule lasted decades in the North, up to five centuries in the South. After defeating the Visigoths in a few months, the Umayyad Caliphate started expanding rapidly in the peninsula. Beginning in 726, the land that is now Portugal became part of
23405-403: Was married to Gertina Maria Petronella, daughter of “Trekker” Janse van Rensburg. Albasini later settled at Schoemansdal . He died in 1888 and was buried on Goedgewensch farm, near where the Albasini dam was built. João Albasini was the paternal great-grandfather of the prominent artist, the late Selma Albasini. N'wamanungu appointed while João Albasini recognised/confirmed all Tsonga chiefs in
23560-504: Was proclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers. This is traditionally taken as the occasion when the County of Portugal became the independent Kingdom of Portugal and, in 1129, the capital city was transferred from Guimarães to Coimbra. Afonso was recognized as the first king of Portugal in 1143 by King Alfonso VII of León , and in 1179 by Pope Alexander III as Afonso I of Portugal. Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military monastic orders , continued pushing southwards against
23715-495: Was the first crisis that would strike Europe in the late Middle Ages. The period between 1348 and 1420 witnessed the heaviest loss. The population of France was reduced by half. Medieval Britain was afflicted by 95 famines, and France suffered the effects of 75 or more in the same period. Europe was devastated in the mid-14th century by the Black Death , one of the most deadly pandemics in human history which killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe alone—a third of
23870-406: Was the main man in protecting the Davana family and the great warrior of Vatsonga tribe. Albasini died in 1888 and was buried by the Tsonga people in accordance with Tsonga burial rituals. The Tsonga people were deeply hurt and saddened by the death of their beloved chief. The village of Valdezia , situated 3 km from the Albasini Dam , is a village where João Albasini ruled supreme as chief of
24025-406: Was the only white person left in the Schoemansdal district. He was able to resist attack by Makhado because his Tsonga warriors, consisting of 2000 Tsonga men, armed with assault rifles, guarded his fort day and night. When the Boers returned to Schoemansdal during the 1870s, Albasini was able to assist the Trekkers with food and land. João Albasini and Coenraad de Buys were the only two Europeans in
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