Portugal

Where the name comes from

Portugal comes from Latin Portus Cale, around today’s Porto and Gaia; portus means “port”, while the origin of Cale is disputed.

First people

Lusitanian and other Iberian tribes lived here, and Romans and later Muslims governed the area.^1,2

Known for

Portugal is known for fado music, port wine and its sea voyages, which from the 1400s linked it with Africa, Asia and the Americas through trade, conquest and slavery.³

Outside contact

The kingdom grew in the 1100s as its rulers broke away from León and pushed south into Muslim-ruled lands.^4,5

The modern country

The Treaty of Alcañices in 1297 settled much of its border with Castile, long before its ocean empire; the 1974 Carnation Revolution brought democracy.⁶