Moorish rule and the Reconquista (711-1249)Landing near Algeciras in the spring of 711, the Islamic
Moors (mainly
Berbers with some Arabs) from
North Africa invaded the
Iberian Peninsula, destroying
the Visigothic Kingdom. Many of the ousted Gothic nobles took refuge in the unconquered north Asturian highlands. From there they aimed to reconquer their lands from the Moors: this war of reconquest is known in Portuguese (and Spanish) as the
Reconquista.
In 868, Count
Vímara Peres reconquered and governed the region between the rivers Minho and Douro. The county was then known as Portucale (i.e., Portugal).
Statue of Vímara Peres in Porto, Portugal created by Barata Feyo in 1968While it had its origins as a dependency of the Kingdom of León,
Portugal occasionally gained de facto independence during weak Leonese reigns.
Portugal gained its first de jure independence (as the Kingdom of
Galicia and
Portugal) in 1065 under the rule of Garcia II. Because of feudal power struggles, Portuguese and Galician nobles rebelled. In 1072, the country rejoined León under Garcia II's brother Alfonso VI of León.
The Reconquista, 790-1300.In 1095,
Portugal separated almost completely from
the Kingdom of Galicia. Its territories consisting largely of mountain, moorland and forest were bounded on the north by the
Minho, on the south by the
Mondego River.
At the end of the 11th century, the Burgundian knight
Henry became
count of Portugal and defended his independence, merging the
County of Portucale and the
County of Coimbra.
Henry declared independence for
Portugal while a civil war raged between
León and
Castile.
Henry died without achieving his aims. His son,
Afonso Henriques, took control of the county. The city of
Braga, the unofficial Catholic centre of the Iberian Peninsula, faced new competition from other regions. Lords of the cities of
Coimbra and
Porto (then Portucale) with Braga's clergy demanded the independence of the renewed county.
Portugal traces its national origin to 24 June 1128, with the
Battle of São Mamede. Afonso proclaimed himself first Prince of Portugal and in 1139 the first
King of Portugal. By 1143, with the assistance of a representative of the Holy See at
the conference of Zamora,
Portugal was formally recognized as independent, with the prince recognized as Dux Portucalensis. In 1179
Afonso I was declared, by the
Pope, as
king. After the
Battle of São Mamede, the first capital of
Portugal was
Guimarães from which the first king ruled. Later, when Portugal was already officially independent, he ruled from
Coimbra.
Affirmation of PortugalFrom 1249 to 1250 the
Algarve, the southernmost region, was finally re-conquered by
Portugal from the
Moors. In 1255 the capital shifted to
Lisbon. Neighboring
Spain would not complete their
Reconquista until
1492 almost 250 years later.
Portugal's land-based boundaries have been notably stable in history. The border with
Spain has remained almost unchanged since the 13th century. The
Treaty of Windsor (1386) created an
alliance between Portugal and England that remains in effect to this day. Since early times, fishing and overseas commerce have been the main economic activities.
Henry the Navigator's interest in exploration together with some technological developments in navigation made
Portugal's expansion possible and led to great advances in geographic, mathematical, scientific knowledge and technology, more specifically naval technology.
