Portugal
POPULATION 10,084,245
ROMAN CATHOLIC 89 percent
PROTESTANT 4 percent
OTHER CHRISTIAN 3 percent
OTHER 1 percent
NONE 3 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
The Portuguese Republic, located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the south and west and by Spain on the north and east. The archipelagos of the Azores and of Madeira, in the Atlantic, are part of Portugal. The capital and largest city is Lisbon.
Portugal shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain, and the early histories of the countries were parallel. The Romans conquered the peninsula in 202 B.C.E., and Christianity was introduced in the first century C.E. Roman control collapsed during the early fifth century when the Visigoths, Germanic invaders from central and northern Europe, overran the area. In 711 armies of Muslims (Moors) from North Africa conquered most of the peninsula. Portugal established its independence during the Reconquista (Reconquest), as Christian armies retook the peninsula from the Moors. In 1139 Henry of Burgundy, who became known as Afonso Henriques, was appointed count of Portucalense (Portugal), a vassal of the Castilian king. Portugal won independence from Castile, and Spain recognized Portugal's independence in 1143. The Moors were driven from Lisbon in 1147, and the armies of Afonso III drove them from the southern province of Algarve in 1249, thereby consolidating Portugal as a Roman Catholic country.
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