The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BCE lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provinces of Lusitania in the south and Gallaecia in the north. Following the fall of Rome, Germanic tribes controlled the territory between the 5th and 8th centuries, including the Kingdom of the Suebi centred in Braga and the Visigothic Kingdom in the south. The 711–716 invasion by the Islamic <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Umayyad-Caliphate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Umayyad Caliphate</a> conquered the Visigoth Kingdom and founded the Islamic State of Al-Andalus, gradually advancing through Iberia. In 1095, Portugal broke away from the Kingdom of Galicia. Henry's son Afonso Henriques proclaimed himself king of Portugal in 1139. The Algarve was conquered from the Moors in 1249, and in 1255 Lisbon became the capital. Portugal's land boundaries have remained almost unchanged since then. During the reign of King John I, the Portuguese defeated the Castilians in a war over the throne (1385) and established a political alliance with <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-England" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">England</a> (by the Treaty of Windsor in 1386). From the late Middle Ages, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal ascended to the status of a world power during Europe's "Age of Discovery" as it built up a vast empire. Signs of military decline began with the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in Morocco in 1578 and Spain's attempt to conquer England in 1588 by means of the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Spain#Spanish-Armada" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish Armada</a> – Portugal was then in a dynastic union with Spain and had contributed ships to the Spanish fleet. Further setbacks included the destruction of much of its capital city in an earthquake in 1755, occupation during the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Peninsular-War" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Napoleonic Wars</a> and the loss of its largest colony, Brazil, in 1822. From the middle of the 19th century to the late 1950s, nearly two million Portuguese left Portugal to live in <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Brazil" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brazil</a> and the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-United-States" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United States</a>. In 1910, a revolution deposed the monarchy. A military coup in 1926 installed a dictatorship that remained until another coup in 1974. The new government instituted sweeping democratic reforms and granted independence to all of Portugal's African colonies in 1975. Portugal is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). It entered the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1986.

Visual Timelines

History of Portugal Timeline

History of Portugal Timeline

Prologue

Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula

Germanic Invasions: Suebi

Al Andalus

Umayyad conquest of Hispania

Reconquista

County of Portugal

County of Portugal absorbed by Galicia

Second County of Portugal

Kingdom of Portugal

Battle of Ourique

Lisbon recaptured

Lisbon becomes the capital

Portuguese Interregnum

Battle of Aljubarrota

Treaty of Windsor

Naval exploration & Portuguese Empire

Portuguese Conquest of Ceuta

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese Exploration of Africa

Portuguese Feitorias established

Portuguese captures Tangier

Exploration of the Cape of Good Hope

Spain and Portugal divide the New World

Discovery of the sea route to India

Discovery of Brazil

Battle of Diu

Portuguese Conquest of Goa

Capture of Malacca

Ottoman–Portuguese Wars

Portuguese arrive in Japan

Iberian Union

War of the Portuguese Succession

Portuguese Restoration War

Gold discovered in Minas Gerais

Lisbon Earthquake

Pombaline Era

Spanish invasion of Portugal

Portuguese court to Brazil

Peninsular War

United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves

Liberal Revolution of 1820

Independence of Brazil

War of the Two Brothers

Portuguese Africa

1890 British Ultimatum

First Republic

October Revolution

First Portuguese Republic

Portugal during World War I

28 May Revolution

Ditadura Nacional

Estado Novo

Estado Novo

Portugal during World War II

Portuguese Colonial War

Third Republic

Carnation Revolution

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Art of War of the Byzantine Empire

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