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Historical profile
Until the twelfth century, the Atlantic coastal regions of the Iberian peninsula were occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths and the Moors. Following internal struggles and an end to the Moors' rule, Afonso Henriques declared himself king and founded an independent Portugal in the late 1100s.
1383 The seventh Portuguese King, Fernando I, died. The Spanish Castillians invaded Portugal in an attempt to claim the country's throne.
1385 João I of Avis defeated the Castillians and became King.
1400s Portugal expanded its trading routes by colonising parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas.
1558 Portugal tried to colonise Morocco. After Portugal was defeated, the country went into economic and imperial decline.
1580 King Phillip II of Spain invaded Portugal. It remained under Spanish rule until a revolt in 1640.
1600s Portugal colonised Brazil and became a major gold exporter. Portugal became a major trading partner to Britain.
1793<196>1801 Portuguese and Spanish troops invaded France, but were defeated. Portugal was forced to temporarily break relations with Britain as part of a peace settlement with France.
1807<196>10 Portugal re-established relations with Britain and declared its neutrality. France and Spain invaded Portugal three times after it had refused to break relations with Britain. A joint Anglo-Portuguese Army eventually expelled the occupation forces.
1822<196>24 Brazil declared its independence in 1822. An attempt to introduce a new constitution in Portugal failed. Royalists refused to accept the constitution, which would have separated the powers of the monarchy, government and judiciary, and launched uprisings against the government. Power remained in the hands of the monarchy.
1828<196>51 Liberals rebelled against the Royalist government. Despite splitting into moderate and radical elements, the Liberals eventually gained control of the government.
1907<196>08 The Republicans, who were gaining support among the population, failed in an attempt to overthrow the government of João Franco. In 1908, Republican extremists assassinated King Carlos I. His son, Manuel II succeeded him as Portugal's last king.
1910 The army launched a coup against the monarchy and it abdicated. A Republican government was installed and Portugal was declared a republic. Teófilo Braga was appointed as Portugal's first president.
1911 A new constitution was introduced confirming Portugal's republic status and introducing a bicameral legislature.
1914<196>18 Portugal fought alongside Britain and France in the First World War.
1926 A military coup overthrew the government and replaced it with a junta. The coup leader, General Gomes da Costa, was temporarily appointed head of the junta before General Óscar Fragoso Carmona replaced him.
1928 General Carmona was appointed president and Colonel José Vicente de Freitas became prime minister.
1932 A civilian academic, António de Oliveira Salazar, was appointed prime minister. Salazar introduced a new constitution which effectively ensured that Portugal had an authoritarian government.
1939<196>45 Portugal was neutral during the Second World War, but allowed the Allies to establish military bases in the Azores.
1955 After being blocked by the Soviet Union, Portugal was allowed to join the UN.
1968 Salazar went into a coma after suffering a stroke. He died a year later. Marcello José das Neves Caetano was appointed his successor.
1974 A coup against Caetano's more liberal government and the president was carried out by the Movimento das Forças Armadasa (MFA) (Armed Forces Movement), a group of army officers led by General António de Spínola. A provisionary coalition government was established, political prisoners were freed and Portugal withdrew from its African territories, where wars against nationalist forces had long been a drain on the economy.
1975 Portugal held its first free parliamentary elections, which resulted in a victory for the Partido Socialista (PS) (Socialist Party).
1976 A new constitution was introduced, officially establishing Portugal as a parliamentary democracy. The constitution was later amended in 1982, 1989, 1992 and 1997.
1976<196>86 A period of political instability with 17 left-wing coalition governments in power.
1986 Portugal joined the forerunner of the EU, the European Community (EC). Former prime minister Mário Lopes Soares became the first civilian president for 60 years.
1987 In the general election, Partido Social Democrata (PSD) (Social Democratic Party) became the first majority party in parliament since the 1974 revolution. Anibal Cavaco Silva was elected prime minister.
1991 Mário Soares was re-elected president in January and PSD won re-election.
1995 PSD lost to the PS in the general election. António Guterres became prime minister.
1996 The presidential election was won by the PS's Jorge Sampaio.
1999 António Guterres and the PS were re-elected. Macau, Portugal's last colonial territory, was returned to China.
2001 Jorge Sampaio was re-elected as president for a second five-year term. Guterres resigned as prime minister after the PS was defeated in local elections.
2002 After parliamentary elections in which the PS government was unseated, the PSD leader, José Manuel Durão Barroso, formed a coalition government, comprising Partido Social Democrata (PSD) (Social Democratic Party) and Partido Popular (PP) (Popular Party).
2003 The last extension on the Via Infante motorway Lisbon-Algarve-Spain (known as the A22) was opened on 11 April.
2004 Prime Minister Barroso resigned on 5 July; he is to assume the presidency of the European Commission later in the year. On 9 July, the President asked Pedro Santana Lopes to form a government. On 11 December, Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes' government resigned a day after President Jorge Sampaio called early elections for 20 February 2005.
2005 The opposition Partido Socialista (PS) (Socialist Party) won the 20 February parliamentary elections. José Sócrates (PS) was chosen as prime minister-elect.
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