[pawr-chuh-guh
l, pohr-; Port. pawr-too-gahl] 
| a republic in SW Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, W of Spain. (Including the Azores and the Madeira Islands) 9,867,654; 35,414 sq. mi. (91,720 sq. km). Capital: Lisbon. |
Por·tu·gal (pôr'chə-gəl, pōr'-)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of southwest Europe on the western Iberian Peninsula. It includes the Madeira Islands and the Azores in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Originally inhabited by the Lusitanians, a Celtiberian people, the mainland area was subjugated by the Romans in the second century B.C. and was later conquered by the Visigoths and Moors. Spain recognized Portugal as an independent kingdom in 1143, and it soon flourished as a maritime and colonial power with holdings stretching from Africa to the Far East and Brazil in the New World. Much of its empire was lost to the British and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the remaining colonies in Africa became independent in the 20th century. Lisbon is the capital and the largest city. Population: 10,600,000. |