Jenny Orendort, age 13, of Davenport, Iowa, for her question:
HOW OLD IS PORTUGAL AS A NATION?
Portugal forms the westernmost end of the European continent, bounded by Spain on the north and east and by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and south. A French nobleman named Alfonso Henriques took the title of King of Portugal in 1143 and the nation was established as a kingdom independent from Spain.
Earlier, a French nobleman named Henry of Burgundy had teamed with the Iberian Christians in their fight against the Muslims. Both wanted the area that now forms Portugal and Spain.
Then in 1094 the Christian king of Spain, Alfonso VI, rewarded Henry with the land of Porto and Coimbra in what is now northern Portugal. Alfonso actually named Henry the Count of Portugal. The land remained part of Spain until Henry's son, Alfonso Henriques, came along in 1143 to establish Portugal's independence.
More than 100,000 years ago prehistoric people lived in the area. They were followed about 5,000 years ago by members of a tribe called Iberians. Celts from northern Europe settled there during the 900s B.C. after Phoenicians formed settlements in the 1000s B.C.
Next to invade the Iberian Peninsula were the Greeks who arrived in the 6UOs B.C. They were followed in the 400s B.C. by forces from Carthage that came up from Northern Africa.
When the Roman Empire conquered Carthage, part of the peace agreement gave Rome the right to the Iberian Peninsula. By the time of Christ, the Romans had conquered all of what is now Portugal. They called the land Lusitania and named the port and city at present day Porto "Portus Cale." These words formed the origin of the name "Portugal."
In the 700s A.D. North African Muslims conquered most of what are now Spain and Portugal. Many Christians opposed Muslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula and they struggled for hundreds of years to retake their land. By the mid 1200s, they had driven the Muslims out.
In 1385 King John I of Portugal made an alliance with England. Still in force today, this alliance is the oldest existing political partnership in Europe.
By the 1400s, Portuguese fishermen and traders made extensive use of the Atlantic. They mastered shipbuilding skills and navigational information and were soon making long trips.
Henry the Navigator, a son of King John 1, was a key person in Portugal's climb in becoming a major sea power. His studies contributed much, although he himself never made an overseas voyage.
By 1488 a Portuguese vessel sailed around the Cape of Good Hope. This was the first time a European sailed to the southern tip of Africa.
King Manuel I became ruler in 1495 and sponsored many daring explorations.