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Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, overlooking the Tagus river
Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, overlooking the Tagus river

Flag of Portugal
Location of Portugal in Europe

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country in the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it shares the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union; to the south and the west is the North Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and southwest lie the Macaronesian archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, which are two autonomous regions of Portugal. Lisbon is the capital and largest city, followed by Porto, which is the only other metropolitan area.

The western part of the Iberian Peninsula has been continuously inhabited since prehistoric times, with the earliest signs of settlement dating to 5500 BC. Celtic and Iberian peoples arrived in the first millennium BC. The region came under Roman control in the second century BC, followed by a succession of Germanic peoples and the Alans from the fifth to eighth centuries AD. Muslims conquered the entirety of Portugal's current mainland in the eighth century, but they were gradually expelled by the Christian Reconquista over the next several centuries. Modern Portugal began taking shape during this period, initially as a county of the Christian Kingdom of León in 868, officially declared a sovereign Kingdom with the Treaty of Zamora in 1143.

During the Age of Discovery, the Kingdom of Portugal settled Madeira and the Azores, and established itself as a major economic and political power, largely through its maritime empire, which extended mostly along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts. Portuguese explorers and merchants were instrumental in establishing trading posts and colonies that enabled control over spices and slave trades. While Portugal expanded its influence globally, its political and military power faced internal and external challenges towards the end of the 16th century. The dynastic crisis marked the beginning of the country's political decline that led to the Iberian Union (1580-1640), a period in which Portugal was united under Spanish rule. While maintaining a degree of self-governance, the union strained Portugal’s autonomy and drew it into conflicts with European powers which targeted Portuguese territories and trade routes. Portugal's prior opulence was further diminished by a series of events, such as the Portuguese Restoration War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which destroyed the city and damaged the empire's economy. (Full article...)

The Prehistoric Rock-Art Site of Escoural Cave (Portuguese: Estação Arqueológica da Herdade da Sala/Gruta do Escoural) is a structure known for its Paleolithic-era rock-art and funerary burial site, located in the Portuguese municipality of Montemor-o-Novo, in the civil parish of Santiago do Escoural. (Full article...)

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The trocaz pigeon, Madeira laurel pigeon or long-toed pigeon (Columba trocaz) is a pigeon which is endemic to the island of Madeira, Portugal. It is a mainly grey bird with a pinkish breast; its silvery neck patch and lack of white wing markings distinguish it from its close relative and probable ancestor, the common wood pigeon. Its call is a characteristic six-note cooing, weaker and lower-pitched than that of the wood pigeon. Despite its bulky, long-tailed appearance, this pigeon has a fast, direct flight.

A scarce resident breeder in laurisilva forests, the trocaz pigeon lays one white egg in a flimsy twig nest. Its numbers fell sharply after human colonisation of the Madeira archipelago, and it vanished altogether from Porto Santo Island. The major cause of its population decline was habitat loss from forest clearance, but hunting and nest predation by introduced rats were also contributory factors. Protection of the laurel forests and a ban on hunting have enabled numbers to increase, so that the species is no longer endangered. (Full article...)

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"Obviously, I'll dismiss him."

Obviamente, demito-o.
Humberto Delgado, opposition presidential candidate, about dictator António de Oliveira Salazar

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Ruins of St. John the Baptist Church in Andheri, built by the Portuguese Jesuits in 1579.

Bombay, also called Bom Bahia or Bom Baim in Indo-Portuguese creole, Mumbai in the local language; is the financial and commercial capital of India and one of the most populous cities in the world. It's also the cosmopolitan city centre of the Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area, and the cultural base of the Bollywood film industry. At the time of arrival of the Portuguese Armadas, Bombay was an archipelago of seven islands. Between the third century BCE and 1348, the islands came under the control of successive Hindu dynasties. The Delhi Sultanate had been ruling the area along with Chaul, New Bombay (Thana) & Damaon; with the local administration at Bassein (Vasai) since the raids of Malik Kafur in the Konkan region and across the Indian subcontinent. This territory in North Konkan along with the Bombay islands were later taken over by the Sultan of Guzerat from 1391 to 1534, when he had declared the end of the suzerainty to Delhi, after the Timurid invasion of it. Growing apprehensive of the power of the Moghal emperor Humayun, Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein on 23 December 1534; according to which, the Seven Islands of Bombay, Fort San Sebastian of Bassein in strategic town of Bassein (Vasai), and its dependencies were offered to the Portuguese East Indies. The places were only later officially surrendered on 25 October 1535, by the Sultan of Guzerat.

The Portuguese in Goa-Anjediva and Bombay-Bassein were actively involved in the foundation and growth of their Latin Christian religion in Bombay and the neighbouring area. They called the island by various names, which finally took the written form Bom Baim, when the islands were leased to several Portuguese officers during their regime. Portuguese Franciscans and Jesuits built several churches in and around Bombay (Mumbai); the prominent ones are the St Michael's Church at Mahim, St John the Baptist Church at Andheri, St Andrew's Church, the Basilica of Mount Bandra (Bombay) at Bandra, the Gloria Church at Byculla & the Holy Spirit Church Nandakhal at Virar. The Portuguese also built several fortifications around the city like the Bombay Castle, Castella de Aguada (Castelo da Aguada or Bandra Fort) and Madh Fort. (Full article...)

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Anthony of Padua by Francisco de Zurbarán, 1627–1630

Anthony of Padua, OFM, (Portuguese: António/Antônio de Pádua; Italian: Antonio di/da Padova; Latin: Antonius Patavinus) or Anthony of Lisbon (Portuguese: António/Antônio de Lisboa; Italian: Antonio da/di Lisbona; Latin: Antonius Olisiponensis; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor.

Anthony was born and raised by a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, and died in Padua, Italy. Noted by his contemporaries for his powerful preaching, expert knowledge of scripture, and undying love and devotion to the poor and the sick, he was one of the most quickly canonized saints in church history, being canonized less than a year after his death. (Full article...)

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