Destination: PORTUGAL
Things To Know The Land Portuguese Empire The People Society and Language Changing Portugal Prince Henry the Navigator	Portuguese Empire It's easy to forget that Portugal was once at the head of a powerful empire. From the early 15th century, Portuguese explorers pushed far into the unknown, challenging the traditional view that the world ended somewhere west of Gibraltar. Madeira and the Azores were the first to be discovered, and these islands remain part of Portugal. Portuguese ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, and in 1497 Vasco da Gama reached Calicut, India. By 1560, Portugal had claimed Brazil and had an empire stretching east as far as Japan, with missionary and trading posts in Africa, India, Malaysia, Macao and Timor. Despite strong rivalry between Portugal and Spain over discoveries in the Americas, the 16th century was a Golden Age, with spices, slaves and gold making Portugal hugely rich. But the voyages and maintenance of an overseas empire were extremely costly, and the home economy was worsening. By 1580, Philip II of Spain had claimed the throne, becoming Philip Accessible: of Portugal the following year. Within 100 years, many of the overseas possessions had fallen to the English and Dutch. The legacy of the empire still exists, however. Portugal extricated itself from Africa in the 1970s, when Angola, Mozambique and Guinea became independent; East Timor in Indonesia was relinquished at the same time. Today there are buildings, churches and monuments wherever the Portuguese held power, but language became the country's most important legacy. Portuguese is the seventh most widely spoken language in the world. Brazil retains strong ties with Portugal and, unlike many other former colonies, there is genuine respect between the two countries.	COUNTRY Introduction Things To Know Survival Guide TimeLine Essential Info REGION CITIES Lisbon Porto MAPS World Europe TRAVEL BOOK