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| Moorish influence in Portugal |
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nPortugalnis the western-most country in Europe. It was settled by Celts, thennmade part of the Roman Republic; it was settled later by Germanicnpeoples such as the Visigoths, then conquered by the Moors (Islamicnpeople from Africa and Arabia). When Christian people reconquered thenarea, in 1139, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom,nand it claims to be the oldest nation-state in Europe.
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nWesternmostnand oldest? Can we add some more “most-ests” to the list?
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nWell,nin the 15th and early 16th centuries, Portugalnwas the leader of all of Europe in the Age of Exploration. Inspirednby Henry the Navigator, Portuguese “discovered,” explored,nsettled, and conquered islands in the Atlantic Ocean, parts of Africanand India, and Asia, and Brazil in South America. The PortuguesenEmpire was the first transoceanic empire in history (that is, thenfirst to cross a major ocean, as opposed to a mere sea), and of allnthe European colonial empires, it was the longest lasting.
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Still,nthe Portugal of today is considered of less power and influence thannmany other nations.
Still,nthe Portugal of today is considered of less power and influence thannmany other nations.n
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nCelebrate!
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nPortugal has its primary national day on June 10; called Portugal Day, it commemorates thenJune 10, 1580, death of national poet Luis Vaz de Camoes. This Republic Day celebrates the first democratic republic which was setnup on this date in 1910, after the king of Portugal was overthrown. The best news of all isnthat the overthrow was bloodless—no fighting, no deaths!
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- Learnna little Portuguese here.
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- Learnnabout Portugal here.
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- Checknout the mixture of old and new that is Portugal, here.
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