What are some interesting facts about Portugal?

History and geography

Portugal was the first European country to join the transatlantic slave trading.

Portugal, a colonial power of great importance, was an essential player in the global slavery trade. It enslaved people from West Africa to the Americas. It was also the first colonial country to abolish slavery, 50 years earlier than Britain, Spain, and France.

Lisbon is older than Rome, one of the oldest European cities.

Lisbon is a Portuguese city that has existed since 1147. However, its history dates back a few thousand years. Excavations dating back to 1200BC show that the Phoenicians established settlements in what is now Lisbon. This means that Lisbon has been continuously inhabited for over 3,000 years.

Portugal is Europe’s most westerly point.

The westernmost point on the continent of continental Europe is Cabo da Roca, a cape found in Sintra. Portugal, which includes continental Europe’s islands, is still the westmost country and is the Eurasian Plate’s westernmost point. Capelinhos is a volcano in the Azores, the westernmost spot on the Eurasian Plate.
Portugal is the European Union’s westernmost point, but it isn’t the most westerly. France holds that honor, with Saint-Martin in the Caribbean as its overseas collection.

Portugal holds the world record for the longest-reigning monarch

After his father Carlos, I’s assassination on February 1, 1908, Crown Prince Luis Filipe became the King of Portugal for 20 minutes. Luis Filipe, who was also injured in the attack, died. The title of King was then transferred to Manuel II. He is the last King of Portugal.

Portugal is Europe’s oldest nation-state.

Portugal’s current form was officially made a kingdom in 1139. Portugal’s borders had not changed much since 1297 when the Portuguese and Spanish signed an agreement to hand over the Algarve from Spain to Portugal. In 1143, Afonso I was elected as the first king. Portugal remained a kingdom for 800 years until it became a republic in 1910.

Portugal’s official title (Republica Portuguesa) refers to Portugal’s second-largest port.

Portugal today consists of the Azores, Portugal’s mainland, and the Madeira Archipelago. The Azores’ nine islands are located approximately 1,300 km west of the Atlantic Ocean mainland. Madeira Archipelago consists of Madeira, Porto Santo, and two uninhabited islands and is located about 500 km off Morocco’s west coast.

The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is the oldest diplomatic alliance in the entire world.

In 1373, the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty was established. It was the first agreement between these two countries. Despite a 60-year interruption to the alliance during Portugal and Spain’s political union, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is still the oldest in force today.

Portuguese is the official language in nine other countries.

Portugal’s imperial ambitions made Portuguese an official language in Angola and Brazil, Cabo Verde (East Timor), Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Guinea-Bissau. Mozambique. Sao Tome. Principe in India. With around 220 million native speakers, it is the sixth most spoken language.

Around 81% of Portugal’s population is Roman Catholics.

Portugal was a Roman Empire territory when Christianity arrived in Portugal for the first time. Since the First Republic (1920-1926), the church and the state have been separate. The Catholic moral and legal codes are rooted in Catholicism, and many traditional festivals and fairs are religiously based. According to the 2011 census, 81% of Portuguese residents are Catholic.

Monks and nuns created Portugal’s most delicious traditional recipes.

In Portugal, you can eat a nun’s belly (barrages e freira), an angel’s double chin, and fat from heaven (Coutinho does); these pastries are delicious. The egg whites were used by the monks, nuns, and monasteries in Portugal to preserve wine and starch. They made delicious pastries and cakes from the egg yolks they had left.

Lisbon’s Livraria Bertrand bookshop is the oldest in the world.

Livraria Bertrand, founded in 1732, was a small bookshop. Unfortunately, the initial store was among the many victims of the Great Lisbon earthquake in 1755. Around 60,000 people were killed when the quake struck at 8.5 on Richter’s scale. In 1773, Livraria Bertrand opened a shop in Rua Garrett. It is still there. Today, Livraria Bertrand has around 50 branches in Portugal.

The Portuguese are fatalists.

Portugal is known for its tradition of fado. This refers to the belief that one cannot escape his fate. It is also a traditional form of Portuguese singing that carries UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage status. Fado is a sad song of love, loss, and hopefulness accompanied by soulful guitars and mandolins. These songs are often heard in restaurants, bars, and cafes. Fado is also used in daily speech. People often use the oxalate, translated from Arabic inshallah (‘god willing’) to mean ‘hopefully’ and ‘if only.’

Japanese tempura is a Portuguese invention.

Tempera is one of Japan’s most popular dishes. Portuguese missionaries and traders invented this dish of deep-fried seafood and battered vegetables in Nagasaki. Tempura spread to Japan in the 16th Century.

Portugal Economy Facts

Portugal was among the first to adopt the euro, but you can still exchange Portuguese banknotes for euros.

Portugal officially abandoned its Portuguese escudo currency in favor of the euro in 1999. Although the Banco de Portugal introduced the euro in 2002, the central bank will continue to issue escudo banknotes until 28 February 2022.

Port wine is Portugal’s most well-known export and national drink.

Vinho do Porto refers to a fortified wine that adds grape spirit, brandy, or other spirits before fermentation. Port wine is sweetened with the grape spirit or brandy before fermentation ends. It can be around 20% alcohol. The wine is then aged in oak barrels for two to six years before being bottled. Port wine grapes can only be grown near Porto in the Douro Valley. Douro Valley, one of the oldest wine-producing areas in the world, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Portugal is home to more than half the world’s cork

Portugal has the most significant number of montados (cork oak forests) in the world. Portuguese law protects this cork oak (Quercus Suber L). Every nine years, the cork is removed from the trunk of the cork Oak without causing any damage to the tree.

Portugal is a leader in renewable energy.

Around 70% of the country’s energy was generated from renewable sources by July 2014. Portugal has shown that it can provide all its domestic electricity needs using renewable sources in recent years. Near Moura, there is one of the largest photovoltaic plants in the world. WaveRoller converts ocean waves into electricity and energy, and a floating wind farm (the WindFloat) is two examples of innovative projects.

Portugal’s dictatorship was one of the longest in Europe.

From 1926 to 1974, the authoritarian regime ruled with Antonio de Oliveira Salazar as its leader. Portugal experienced three phases of dictatorship. First, there was the military dictatorship (Ditadura Militar, 1926-1928); then came the national dictatorship (Ditadura Nacional, 1928-1933); and finally, the new state (Estado Novo, 1933-1974). Strong nationalistic conservatism fueled by Catholicism marked Portugal’s dictatorship years.
On 25 April 1974, the dictatorship was overthrown by a bloodless coup known as the Carnation Revolution. Portugal celebrates the revolution yearly on Freedom Day (Dia da Liberdade), which falls on 25 April. In 1976, the country became a democratic republic.

Portugal is both a founding member and a member of the EU.

Portugal joined the European Economic Community in 1986, which was the precursor to the European Union. In 2011, the country was granted a bailout of EUR78 billion by the EU/IMF. This bailout was based on the assumption that the government would take austerity measures.

Portugal was the sixth European country to permit same-sex marriages in 2010.

Since homosexuality was banned and made criminal under the fascist Estado Novo regime, the country has made great strides. In the 2019 Ilga-Europe Rainbow Country Rankings, it ranks seventh among 49 European countries in terms of its record on LGBT rights.

Portugal was the first country to record a hot air balloon ascent.

Father Bartolomeu de Gusmao invented a model hot-air balloon. It was launched on August 8, 1709. The balloon flew at Casa da India, Terreiro do Pago.

Portugal’s women live six years longer than their male counterparts

Portugal has a higher health gap between men and women than other developed countries. Statistics Portugal’s 2020 data shows that the life expectancy in Portugal at birth is 78.07 for men and 83.67 for women.