Portugal

Portugal

Portugal / country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the most western country in Europe, and the Atlantic Ocean is bordered to the west and south, and Spain to the north and east.

The Azores archipelago and Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean are also part of Portugal.

The land within the present-day borders of Portugal has continuously settled since prehistoric times. In 29 BC the country inhabited the Galicians and the Lusitans when it was incorporated into the Roman Empire as the Province of Lusitania and part of the Province of Galicia.

Roman settlers strongly influenced Portuguese culture, especially the Portuguese language, most of which is derived from Latin. In the fifth century after the fall of the Roman Empire, the region was subjected to several Germanic peoples, most notably the Suebs and the Visigoths. In the early eighth century, Muslims conquered these Germanic kingdoms and took control of most of the Iberian Peninsula.

During the fall of Andalusia, Portugal settled as part of the Kingdom of Galicia. The establishment of the kingdom was recognized in 1143 and its borders were stabilized by 1249, thereby claiming to be the oldest European nation-state.

 In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as a result of marine exploration, Portugal expanded into a global empire whose possessions included lands in Africa, Asia and South America, and became a major global power economically, politically and militarily.

The Portuguese Empire was the first and longest-running world empires. In 1580 after the succession crisis on the throne it united with Spain for a period known as the Ibero Union, but in 1640 it gained full independence during the Portuguese War of Restoration which led to the creation of a new dynasty and the return to the previous separation between the two empires.

The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Spanish and French invasions, which were followed by the loss of Portugal's major colonies in Brazil, all led to a deterioration of political stability and economic growth as well as a decline in Portugal's international position as a world power during the nineteenth century.

After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1910, an unstable democratic republic emerged, which was replaced by the dictatorship of Estado Novo. After the Portuguese colonial war and the carnation revolution in 1974, the country recovered and ceded the remaining overseas provinces (most notably Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea in Africa) and Macau was extradited to China in 1999.

Portugal is a developed country and ranks 19th in the world in terms of quality of life, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. It also ranks the 13th most peaceful and 8th most globalized country. It is a member of the European Union (it joined the European Common Market in 1986.

She left the European Free Trade Association where she was a founding member in 1960) and the United Nations, as well as a founding member of the Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, the Eurozone, and also the Schengen states.

Portugal has a Mediterranean climate (Csa) in the south and (Csb) in the north according to the Cuban climate classification. Portugal is one of the hottest European countries with average temperatures in the Portuguese mainland ranging from 13 ° C (55.4 ° F) in the northern mountainous regions to more than 18 ° C (64.4 ° F) in the south and on the Gaadiana Basin. In some areas, such as in the Gaudiana Basin, annual average temperatures may reach 20 ° C (68 ° F).

Portugal has only one National Natural Park (Parque Nacional), 12 natural parks (Parque Natural), 9 nature reserves (Reserva Natural), 5 natural monuments (Monumento Natural) and 7 protected landscapes (Baisagem Protigida); Tramp between Parque Nacional da Pineda Gerais to Parque Natural Da Serra da Estrella to Paul de Arzilla. Climate and geographical diversity constitute the plant diversity in Portugal.

In the forests of Portugal, for economic reasons, there are pine trees (especially sea pine and ripe pine), chestnut, cork oak, holm oak, Portuguese oak and eucalyptus.