Portugal: Empire

    Since around 1250, when the Portuguese Reconquista ended, the border with Spain has not changed.

    The Portuguese Empire began in 1415 when the North African city of Ceuta was conquered by Henry the Navigator and a handful of other kings thanks in part to the Portuguese Armada. Henry the Navigator's enthusiasm for technological innovation and exploration helped to expand Portugal's empire and an amassing of geographic knowledge of the outside world. Between 1418 and 1431, the islands of Porto Santo, Madeira Island, and most of the Azorean islands were discovered and added to Portugal's empire. The Portuguese began exploring Africa in 1434. Barolomeu Dias helped Portugal's hope of sea trade with India when he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, once called the Tormentas Cape for the frequent storms and high chances of shipwreck. The Portuguese continued their expansion into Africa by building a trading post in 1448 on the island of Arguim to circumvent Arabic traders. The Portuguese eventually reached the Congo River.

    Portugal began its relationship with India beginning in 1487 when Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope, a remarkable achievement for the time. It was named as such because of the promise of trade with India. Between 1489 and 1494, Portuguese explorers
began exploring North America, reached Ethiopia in Africa, and in 1498, Vasco de Gama  arrived in India, bringing back ships filled with tea and spices. Meanwhile, the King of Bemobi in Africa became a Christian and gave his land to the Portuguese King. By 1500, Brazil was reached by Pedro Alvares Cabral, and by 1510, the Portuguese had conquered the Indian city of Goa. At this point, the Portuguese, numbering 2 million, ruled an empire populated by many millions, across the Atlantic Ocean from Brazil to Africa, and all the way to the Persian Gulf and India. The Portuguese even reached China and Japan around 1514.
 

    The heirless King Sebastian died in 1578, which led to King Philip II of Spain becoming Philip I of Portugal, ruler of both Portugal and Spain. A myth called Sebastianism, which states that the king would return on a foggy day, has prevailed even into today. Portugal managed to maintain, under two popular Spanish kings, independent law, government, and currency, but the third Spanish king, Philip III, tried to provencialize Portugal. The Portuguese fought a Restoration war against Spain, butting John IV on the throne. At this point, the Portuguese Empire was not powerful enough to maintain its worldwide holdings, and began to decline, especially in Asia nad the farther areas of Africa. In 1755, Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, was destroyed by an earthquake. During teh Napoleonic Wars, Portugal was occupied and ended up losing part of its national territory to Spain. Under the rule of the Portuguese Emperor Pedro I, Brazil declared independence, marking an end to most of Portugal's power as a major empire.   

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