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A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire
A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire 2 Volume Paperback Set: From Earliest Times to 1807
The Kingdom of Portugal was created as a by-product of the Christian Reconquest of Hispania. With no geographical raison d’être and no obvious political roots in its Roman, Germanic, or Islamic pasts, it for long remained a small, struggling realm on Europe’s outer fringe. Then, in the early fifteenth century, this unlikely springboard for Western expansion suddenly began to accumulate an empire of its own, eventually extending more than halfway around the globe. Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, drawing particularly on historical scholarship postdating the 1974 Portuguese Revolution, offers readers a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of how all this happened – the first such account to appear in English for more than a generation. Volume I concerns the history of Portugal itself from pre-Roman times to the climactic French invasion of 1807, and Volume II traces the history of the Portuguese overseas empire.
365 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2022
Very good book, concise but deep enough, about the history of overseas Portuguese empire until the independence of Brazil/Napoleonic invasion of Portugal.
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May 5, 2022Notes so I remember something from this:
Pre-Roman Times:
Ancient Iberia was actually plugged into a pretty wide-reaching Atlantic trading network, and the castros stone structures showed some level of engineering. A mingling of pre-Celtic and Celtic tribes.
Romans:
The Roman experience was touched on pretty briefly, and its legacy is surprisingly light. Of course most Portuguese cities and many roads date from this period, and the Portuguese language was inherited from Latin. But culturally and politically, the Roman Empire's influence was much less pronounced: No territory mapped cleanly to modern Portugal, and Christianity was not ascedent at the time of Rome's fall. Oh yeah, Portugal had a lot of cool mines that supplied the Empire.
Visigoth:
The was Suevi kingdom in north west Iberia. Eventually it was subsumed with the kingdom of the new-coming Visigoth's. Arians who convert to Catholicism. Martin of Braga. Catholicism to the fore.
Al-Andulus:
I was surprised how turbulent this period was, which seems stupid in hindsight. Surprised how many times power changed hands on the Muslim side. Becoming a place of escape for the Ummayads, through periods of instability and invasion/rescue from North African Berbers. Christian kingdoms arising -- Asturias, then Leon, then Castille, then... Portugal.
Burgundians:
- Afonso Henriques was the first -- major figure in the reconquest. Took over county of Portugal from mom with the help of the northern minor aristocracy. Later had himself declared king. Ruled a long time. In fact, most of the Burgundian kings ruled for healthy periods, averaging around 30 years each. Pretty remarkable stability. Military orders accrue vast wealth.
Avis:
Joao I fends off Spanish in Battle of Aljubarrota, preventing a succession crisis from swallowing Portugal up in Spain. Period of Portgual "Golden Age". Joao II and Manuel I. King Sebastian is an interesting figure: disappears in an ill-advised expedition in Morocco and is subsequently turned into a Messianic figure. Gradual decline until Habsburg Spain inherits the throne.
Habsburgs:
Don't remember much from this period except the extent to which the unification led to a more unified Iberia/Iberian-New-World Empire, at least among the bourgeoisie. Apparently 25% of Seville was Portuguese in the middle of Spain's Golden Age. Lot of families with connections across courts too, which, actually, there had been for most of this time.
Braganza:
Pretty long war of restoration (1640-1668). A bankrupt Empire is bailed out by Brazilian gold and diamonds. Heading towards being a dependency of Britain. Pombal challenges things and kicks the Jesuits out.
The end:
Portugal hopeless caught between Spanish-Franco alliance and Britain. Flees to Brazil, apparently an idea that actually had some pedigree.
Pre-Roman Times:
Ancient Iberia was actually plugged into a pretty wide-reaching Atlantic trading network, and the castros stone structures showed some level of engineering. A mingling of pre-Celtic and Celtic tribes.
Romans:
The Roman experience was touched on pretty briefly, and its legacy is surprisingly light. Of course most Portuguese cities and many roads date from this period, and the Portuguese language was inherited from Latin. But culturally and politically, the Roman Empire's influence was much less pronounced: No territory mapped cleanly to modern Portugal, and Christianity was not ascedent at the time of Rome's fall. Oh yeah, Portugal had a lot of cool mines that supplied the Empire.
Visigoth:
The was Suevi kingdom in north west Iberia. Eventually it was subsumed with the kingdom of the new-coming Visigoth's. Arians who convert to Catholicism. Martin of Braga. Catholicism to the fore.
Al-Andulus:
I was surprised how turbulent this period was, which seems stupid in hindsight. Surprised how many times power changed hands on the Muslim side. Becoming a place of escape for the Ummayads, through periods of instability and invasion/rescue from North African Berbers. Christian kingdoms arising -- Asturias, then Leon, then Castille, then... Portugal.
Burgundians:
- Afonso Henriques was the first -- major figure in the reconquest. Took over county of Portugal from mom with the help of the northern minor aristocracy. Later had himself declared king. Ruled a long time. In fact, most of the Burgundian kings ruled for healthy periods, averaging around 30 years each. Pretty remarkable stability. Military orders accrue vast wealth.
Avis:
Joao I fends off Spanish in Battle of Aljubarrota, preventing a succession crisis from swallowing Portugal up in Spain. Period of Portgual "Golden Age". Joao II and Manuel I. King Sebastian is an interesting figure: disappears in an ill-advised expedition in Morocco and is subsequently turned into a Messianic figure. Gradual decline until Habsburg Spain inherits the throne.
Habsburgs:
Don't remember much from this period except the extent to which the unification led to a more unified Iberia/Iberian-New-World Empire, at least among the bourgeoisie. Apparently 25% of Seville was Portuguese in the middle of Spain's Golden Age. Lot of families with connections across courts too, which, actually, there had been for most of this time.
Braganza:
Pretty long war of restoration (1640-1668). A bankrupt Empire is bailed out by Brazilian gold and diamonds. Heading towards being a dependency of Britain. Pombal challenges things and kicks the Jesuits out.
The end:
Portugal hopeless caught between Spanish-Franco alliance and Britain. Flees to Brazil, apparently an idea that actually had some pedigree.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2018
Link to my review of Volume One of this work:
https://flhwnotesandreviews.com/2018/...
Link to my review of Volume Two of this work:
https://flhwnotesandreviews.com/2018/...
https://flhwnotesandreviews.com/2018/...
Link to my review of Volume Two of this work:
https://flhwnotesandreviews.com/2018/...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews