A people known as the Lusitanos, who are thought to be direct ancestors of the Portuguese people, occupied the part of Iberia, which is now Portugal. The region was invaded and occupied by the Romans and later the Moors; it remained under the latter’s control until the 11th century, when Ferdinand, ruler of the Kingdom of Leon and Castilla (in what is now Spain) conquered much of the territory. Over the next 200 years, the remaining Moors were driven out and the boundaries of Portugal fixed; and it was during this period that Portugal first became recognized as an independent entity, under the rule of King Afonso Henriques.

The Castilians were themselves expelled in 1385 after defeat at the hands of João of Aviz. From this point, the Portuguese went on to build a colonial empire in Africa, Latin America, India and the Far East.

In the 16th century, with the Portuguese regime weakened by a struggle for the succession to the throne and the legacy of a disastrous ‘crusade’ against the Moors, Philip II of Spain invaded. Spanish rule lasted just 60 years until 1640, when the Portuguese launched a successful uprising and seceded from Spain. However, by the time they recovered their independence, the Portuguese had lost the bulk of their empire, including most of the valuable East Indies territories, which had been occupied by the Dutch. Occasional conflicts with the Spanish and French – sometimes in alliance – threatened the country’s autonomy, but the Portuguese always managed to preserve their independence, often with the support of the British. The monarchy was finally overthrown in 1910 by republican forces, which particularly resented the strong influence of the Catholic Church on the regime.

Though military in composition, the key figure in the new regime was finance minister Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. Having addressed Portugal’s chaotic financial situation, Salazar became President in 1932. He was influenced by the populist fascism of Benito Mussolini in Italy and founded a party, the National Union, to prepare the way for an Estado Novo.

Salazar’s eventual successor, Marcello Caetano, eased the restrictions on domestic political activity, but otherwise altered little. On April 25, 1974 (a date of great significance in Portugal), a group of radical army officers deposed Caetano in a bloodless coup. The African colonies were immediately abandoned: indeed, they were left with such haste that internal crises were almost inevitable.

Portugal has been a member of NATO since its inception in 1949 and a member of the EC, now the EU, since 1986. Portugal joined the European Monetary Union at the beginning of 1999. EU reforms were a principal motivation for the constitutional changes effected by the government in 1997, of which the most important was a measure allowing for referendums on important matters of national interest.