The Story of the Nations: Portugal

Thus ended the regency of Donna Theresa. She had not added a single town to her son’s dominions, for her early conquests had been recaptured by Queen Urraca and Alfonso VII. But...

The affection which the first princes of the house of Aviz had felt for literature, and especially for purely national literature, has been alluded to, and the natural result is...

Such a monarch was not the man to check the decadence of Portugal; only a practical man, who should try to husband the resources of the nation, could have attempted such a task,...

Affonso then turned his attention to his own position in Portugal, and determined to bridle the power of the bishops in spite of his oath at Paris. Perceiving that this could on...

King John, after the victory of Aljubarrota had firmly seated him on the throne, felt it necessary to give Portugal such an interval of peace after the great efforts of the Cast...

Great as was the triumph of the revolt in Brazil, it at first filled the heart of the King of Portugal with alarm, for it deprived him of an ally in Europe on whose valuable ass...

The name of St. Francis Xavier suggests that of his illustrious friend, Dom João de Castro, who rivalled upon the battlefield the glories of Francisco de Almeida, Affonso de Alb...

In each army different customs prevailed; the strength of the Moors lay in their perfect military discipline and absolute obedience to their generals; that of the Christians in...

In July, 1832, the ex-emperor with an army of 7,500 men arrived at Oporto, where he was enthusiastically welcomed, and Dom Miguel then laid siege to the city. European opinion w...

It need hardly be said that the fall of Pombal left many aspirants to his high place. The three Secretaries of State, Martinho de Mello e Castro, Thomas Xavier de Lima Brito, Vi...

The spirit of stern, revengeful justice which had marked the commencement of the short reign of Dom Pedro continued to show itself in all matters of administration; the king lov...

Portugal was at the period, when the Duchess of Braganza involved her husband in her ambitious schemes, under the nominal rule of Margaret of Savoy, Duchess of Mantua; and the C...

But, first of all, King Sancho devoted himself to the task of repairing the old city walls, and to the foundation of new towns in commanding strategic positions, which gave him...

It is strange that Prince Henry “the Navigator” should have been the founder of the African slave trade, but so it was, and the reasons are not hard to find. The provinces of th...

The accession of Napoleon to power was of no advantage to Portugal; from the very first he showed his hatred of the little country; no amount of submission could win his friends...

England, 52, 62, 72, 86, 93-95, 106, 111, 113, 116-18, 164, 165, 290, 295, 296, 329, 330, 336, 337-40, 343, 352, 363, 380, 381, 387, 388, 399-405, 414, 417, 421, 429

From a political point of view, the Methuen treaty assured the very existence of Portugal; in all times of danger it could now count upon the support of the great power whose in...

The colonists, who flocked to Brazil from Portugal at this time, were of a very different type to the Portuguese who were sent to Asia. The latter were chiefly soldiers, sailors...

The first viceroy he selected was Dom Francisco de Almeida, a Portuguese nobleman of high rank, who had learned the art of war under Gonsalvo da Cordova, better known in Spanish...

But it was not only on account of his suppression of the power of the feudal nobility, and of his wise peace policy, that John “the Perfect” was beloved by his people, it was al...

At first the new Secretary of State held no higher rank than his colleagues, but his abilities soon became evident to the king, and his conduct at the time of the great earthqua...

This feat of arms was surpassed in the same year by a still greater event, the capture of Lisbon, the important city at the mouth of the Tagus, the future capital of Portugal, a...

[A number of the views illustrating Portuguese scenery are taken from photographs; others are copied from W. M. Kinsey’s “Portugal Illustrated,” London, 1829; other volumes whic...

The regency of Dom Pedro, better known by his title of Duke of Coimbra, is marked by the same features as the reign of his brother Edward; in it appears the same consistent atte...

There was, however, a more serious cause for the decline of the power of Portugal than the absolutism of the Crown, the want of patriotism of the nobility, or even than the corr...

In the story form the current of each National life is distinctly indicated, and its picturesque and noteworthy periods and episodes are presented for the reader in their philos...

Finally in the March of 1811, Masséna had to retire, and the Portuguese then reaped their reward in having their frontiers freed from the invader for the rest of the Peninsular...

But before studying the rapid manner in which, first, the Dutch, and then the English and other foreign nations, contended for a share in the Asiatic trade, and eventually destr...

Nor was more serious literary work neglected by the universally cultured Portuguese of the heroic age. Mention has been made of the great scholars, who made the University of Co...

Produced by Chris Curnow, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The In...