The modern kingdom of Portugal embraces a part of, and somewhat more than, the country called Lusitania by the Romans. The etymology of the present name is involved in obscurity; for though many conjectures have been put forward, none seem worthy of confidence.

The history of Portugal commences with a story to this effect:—Alfonso VI., King of Leon and Castle, being apprehensive that his success in taking the city of Toledo would bring upon him the whole force of the Moors, sent to demand assistance from Philip I. of France, and the Duke of Burgundy, whose daughter he had married. His request was granted by both princes; and a numerous body of troops was speedily collected for his service, having at their head Raymond, Count of Burgundy, and Henry, younger brother of Hugh, Duke of Burgundy. In the year 1087 they arrived at the court of Dom Alfonso, where they were treated with all possible marks of esteem; and having, in the course of two or three years, given great proofs of their courage and conduct, the king resolved to bestow his daughter Urraca, then, at most, in her ninth year, upon Raymond, Count of Burgundy, and assigned them the province of Galicia for the support of their dignity.

About the year 1095 Dom Alfonso, being desirous to express his gratitude to Henry of Burgundy, gave him in marriage a natural daughter of his, named Theresa; and upon this marriage he conveyed in full property the frontier province he had conquered from the Moors. The new sovereign, with the title of Count, fixed his residence at Guimarães, a town to the north of the Douro, where the remains of an ancient palace belonging to his successors are still to be seen.

Henry is said to have performed great exploits against the Moors; but the accounts given of them are extremely indistinct and unsatisfactory. He died in 1112, and was succeeded by his son Dom Alfonso, then in the third year of his age. In the minority of the latter the kingdom was governed by the queen-mother, Dona Theresa, assisted by two ministers. During their administration differences took place between the queen-regent and Urraca, Queen of Castile, which were not arranged until the death of the latter.

The greatest misfortune which befell Theresa was a quarrel with her own son, Dom Alfonso Enrique. A civil war ensued, in which the queen's forces were totally defeated, and herself made prisoner, a situation in which she and the Moors continued during the remainder of her life. Enrique having thus attained to the full possession of his dominions, made several attempts upon various places in Galicia, but without success; and he was at last constrained to conclude a peace with Alfonso, King of Castile and Leon, who had assumed the title of Emperor of the Spain, more especially as his dominions happened to be at that time invaded by the Moors. The number of infidels was so great, that the Count of Portugal had but little hopes of subduing them; but a plague having broken out in the Moorish army, they were obliged to retreat, after which he reduced several places belonging to that nation. In the meantime, the Emperor Dom Alfonso having made an irruption into the Portuguese territories, destroyed everything with fire and sword. The King of Portugal surprised and cut off a considerable part of his army. At the intercession of the Pope's legate, however, a peace was concluded, and all places and prisoners taken on both sides were delivered up.

Meanwhile, the progress of the Christian arms in Spain Victory of being reported to Abu-Ali Texeiren, the chief of the Moors. In Barbary, he directed Ishmael, his lieutenant in Spain, to assemble all the forces in the southern provinces, and to drive the Christians beyond the Douro. The Moors were met by Dom Alfonso on the plains of Ourique, near the Tagus, and were totally defeated. The event was an important one in the history of Portugal. It stimulated the imagination of the people, and circumstances were attached to it, as time rolled on, which the historian is compelled to reject, as no more worthy of credit than the Portugal

It was said that the Portuguese force consisted of no more than 13,000 men, whilst the Moorish army, commanded by five kings, numbered 200,000. The count, half daunted by the superior strength of the enemy, was encouraged to engage in combat by a hermit, who told him to go forth in the morning when the bell should ring for mass, and turn to the east. He did as he was ordered, and then beheld within a circle of clouds the image of Christ crucified, and this promised him victory, with a crown, and a line of sixteen successors to inherit it. Whatever the literal fact may be, the Portuguese look upon the plains of Ourique as the birthplace of the monarchy.

After this victory, gained in the year 1139, Dom Afonso was proclaimed king by his soldiers, and ever afterwards retained that title, renouncing all kind of subjection to the crown of Spain. Being very desirous, however, of reducing the power of the emperor, he formed a league with Raymond, Count of Barcelona, and regent of the kingdom of Aragon, against that prince. In virtue of this treaty, he entered Galicia with a considerable force on one side, whilst Don Raymond simultaneously invaded it on the other. But neither of these enterprises succeeded. The Portuguese monarch met with a severe check in his expedition into Galicia, where he received a dangerous wound, whilst some of the nobility who attended him were taken prisoners. At the same time, having received intelligence that the Moors had invaded his dominions, he was obliged to retire; but his retreat was not made in sufficient time to prevent the strong fortress of Leiria from falling into their hands. This fortress they demolished, and put the garrison to the sword; but the king caused it to be re-constructed of greater strength than before, and placed in it a more numerous garrison. Yet he undertook nothing farther during this campaign. The war continued with various success till the year 1145, when the king projected an enterprise against Santarem, a strong city, 40 miles from Lisbon. In this he luckily succeeded, and thus gained a considerable tract of country, with a strong barrier to his dominions.

After this success, Dom Afonso caused himself to be crowned king of Portugal before an assembly of the states, where he also solemnly renounced all dependence upon the crown of Spain; declaring that if any of his successors should condescend to pay tribute or to do homage to that crown, he ought to be deemed unworthy of enjoying the kingdom of Portugal. The next year the king undertook to recover Lisbon from the Moors; but there are so many fables related of this expedition, that it is impossible to come at the truth. All that can be gathered from these accounts is, that he undertook the siege with a small army, and was able to make little progress in it, partly from the strength of the place, and partly also from the numerous garrison by which it was defended. At length, fortunately for Dom Afonso, a fleet of adventurers, French, English, Germans, and Flemings, who were on their way to the Holy Land, having anchored at the mouth of the Tagus, he demanded their assistance, as not altogether foreign to their design of making war upon the infidels. His request was readily granted; and, with their assistance, Lisbon was speedily reduced; a conquest which so much enhanced the reputation of this monarch, and brought such numbers to recruit his army, that before the end of the year 1147 he had reduced twelve other considerable cities.

For many years after this, Dom Afonso was successful in all his undertakings. He settled the internal government of his kingdom; procured a bull from Pope Alexander III., confirming his regal dignity; undertook many successful expeditions against the Moors; and became master of four out of the six provinces which compose the present kingdom of Portugal. He was assisted by the counsels of his queen, Matilda, a woman of great capacity, and able to govern the kingdom in her husband's absence. By her he had a numerous offspring, including three daughters, the eldest of whom, Donna Matilda, was married to the King of Aragon; the second, Urraca, to Don Ferdinand, King of Leon; and the third, Theresa, to Philip, Earl of Flanders. In 1166, however, the king thought proper to invade the dominions of his son-in-law Don Ferdinand, and to seize upon Liumnia and Turon, two cities of Galicia, in which he placed strong garrisons. The next year he marched with a numerous army towards Badajoz, which he invested. On receiving the news of this attack, Don Ferdinand, who had assembled a large army at Ciudad Rodrigo, marched to its relief; but he arrived too late, whereupon he resolved to besiege his antagonist in his newly-conquered city. Dom Afonso, perceiving his design, endeavoured to draw out his forces into the field. Though at that time upwards of seventy years of age, he placed himself on horseback, and pushing forward at the head of his horse to get out at the gate, struck his leg against one of the bolts with such violence that the bone was shattered to pieces. This accident occasioned such confusion that the Portuguese troops were easily beaten, and Dom Afonso was taken prisoner. He was, however, kindly treated by his opponent, and a peace was concluded between them. Returning to his dominions before his leg was cured, he became lame for the rest of his life; but this did not abate his military ardour. Towards the end of his reign, an opportunity seemed to present itself of obtaining once for all an entire release from the disagreeable pretensions of the King of Leon, who, it seems, had insisted on the King of Portugal doing homage for his kingdom. This was a quarrel between the King of Leon and his nephew Alonso, King of Castile. The latter solicited assistance from the King of Portugal, which was readily granted. But Ferdinand having received intelligence that the infant Dom Sancho, the king's eldest son, was advancing towards Ciudad Rodrigo, assembled his troops with such diligence on that frontier, that, being enabled to attack him unexpectedly, he entirely defeated him.

Understanding, however, that Dom Sancho was recruiting his forces with great diligence, he suggested that they might be much better employed against the infidels, who remained careless and unprepared, expecting the issue of the contest. Dom Sancho did not fail to profit by this advice; and after some movements intended to amuse the enemy, he made a sudden irruption into Andalusia, penetrating as far as Triana, one of the suburbs of Seville. The Moors assembled their forces, in order to attack him on his retreat, but were entirely defeated; and Dom Sancho returned to Portugal loaded with spoil. In 1184 the King of Morocco having already transported multitudes of men from Barbary, at length followed in person with a prodigious army, and carried all before him as far as the Tagus. He appeared before Santarem; but having exhausted and reduced his army by unsuccessful assaults on that place, he was attacked by the Portuguese, assisted by Ferdinand of Leon, and entirely defeated and slain. By this victory the Portuguese were left at liberty to improve the interior of their country, and to fortify their frontiers; but not long afterwards, that is, in the year 1185, the king died, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.

Dom Afonso was succeeded by his son Dom Sancho I., Sancho I., who, by steadily applying himself to the work of restoration, in a short time quite changed the appearance of his territories, and acquired the glorious titles of The Restorer of Cities and Father of his Country. In the year 1189, a fleet, composed for the most part of English vessels, but having on board a great number of adventurers of other nations bound for the Holy Land, entered the river Tagus. Dom Sancho solicited them to assist him in a design he had formed of attacking the city of Silvas in Algarve, to which they readily assented. Having joined them with a squadron of his own galleys, and marched a body of troops by land, the place was reduced, and the English, according to agreement, were rewarded with the plunder. But in a short time, the Moors from Africa having once more invaded Portugal, the town was several times taken and retaken, until at last Dom Sancho, sensible of the difficulties of retaining it, caused it to be demolished. His last enterprise was the reduction of Elvas; soon after which he died, leaving the reputation of being the best economist that ever sat on the throne of Portugal. With the character of being rather liberal than avaricious, he had amassed a treasure of more than seven hundred thousand crowns in ready money, besides fourteen hundred merks of silver, and one hundred of gold plate, which he disposed of some time before his death. He was interred, by his own command, in the cathedral of Coimbra; and when his body was taken up four hundred years afterwards, that it might be laid in a new tomb, it was found uncorrupted.

The history of Portugal presents scarcely any event of importance till the year 1289; when, in the reign of Don Diniz, a difference commenced with Castile which subsisted for a long period. Frequent reconciliations took place; but these were either of short duration, or never sincere. At length, in the reign of John I., Don Juan of Castile, who had also pretensions to the crown of Portugal, invaded that kingdom at the head of the whole force of his dominions, and with the flower of the Castilian nobility entered the province of Alentejo. He besieged Elvas, but without effect; a disappointment which enraged him to such a degree, that he determined the following year to invade Portugal a second time, and lay waste the country before him. Accordingly, having collected an army of thirty thousand men, he invaded Portugal, and took and ruined several places; but the Portuguese in the end were victorious, although with an inferior force, and the Castilians consented to a truce of three years, which was soon afterwards improved into a lasting peace.

In 1414 King John undertook a successful expedition against the Moors in Barbary, where he commanded in person, his queen, Philippa, the daughter of John, Duke of Lancaster, having died shortly before. The city of Ceuta was taken from the Moors almost at the first assault. Scarcely had the king left the country, when the princes of Barbary formed a league for the recovery of the place; but they were defeated by the young princes of Portugal. John strengthened the fortifications and augmented his forces there.

Madeira was discovered in 1420, and the Azores in 1432. King John died in 1433, and was succeeded by his eldest son Edward. The latter undertook an expedition against Tangier in Barbary, but the event proved very unfortunate; the Portuguese being so shut up by the Moors that, to obtain leave to return to Portugal, they were obliged to give up Ceuta. Although the king's son Ferdinand was left as a hostage for the delivery of Ceuta, the king and council of Portugal constantly refused to deliver up the place. Preparations were made for recovering the prince by force; but before anything could be accomplished, the king died in 1438.

However, the war with Barbary continued at intervals for many years, but with little success on the part of the Portuguese. In the reign of Affonso V., a civil war broke out, the two parties being headed by the king, and Pedro, the recent duke of Coimbra, who was finally defeated and killed at the battle of Alfarrobeira, 1449. The year 1497 was remarkable for the discovery of the passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. The enterprising spirit of the Portuguese had, for a considerable time before, prompted them to undertake voyages along the coast of Africa, and when they found in the torrid zone, which the ancients had pronounced to be uninhabitable, fertile countries, occupied by numerous nations, and perceived that the continent of Africa, instead of extending in breadth towards the west, according to the opinion of Ptolemy, appeared to contract itself, and to bend eastwards, they were inspired with hopes of reaching India by continuing to hold the course they had so long pursued. After several unsuccessful attempts to accomplish what they had in view, a small squadron sailed from Belem, on the Tagus, under the command of Vasco de Gama, an officer of rank, whose abilities and courage fitted him to conduct this difficult and arduous enterprise. From ignorance, however, of the proper season and route of navigation in that vast ocean through which he had to steer his course, his voyage was long and dangerous. At length he doubted that promontory which had been described by Bartolomeo Diaz in 1487, and which, for several years, had been the object of terror and of hope to his countrymen. After a prosperous navigation along the south-east coast of Africa, he arrived at the city of Melinda, and had the satisfaction of discovering there, as well as at other places where he touched, people of a race very different from the rude inhabitants of the western shore of that continent, which alone the Portuguese had hitherto visited. These he found to be so far advanced in civilization and acquaintance with the various arts of life, that they carried on an active commerce not only with the nations on their own coast, but with remote countries of Asia. Conducted by their pilots, who held a course with which experience had rendered them well acquainted, he sailed across the Indian Ocean, and landed at Calicut, on the coast of Malabar, on the 22d of May 1498, ten months and two days after his departure from the port of Lisbon. (See the article GAMA.)

The monarch of the country received them at first with that fond admiration which is often excited by novelty; but in a short time he formed various schemes to cut off Gama and his followers. The Portuguese admiral, however, was not to be overreached by such politics as his. From every danger to which he was exposed he extricated himself with singular prudence and dexterity, and at last sailed from Calicut with his ships, loaded not only with the commodities peculiar to that coast, but with many rich productions of the eastern parts of India. He returned to Portugal in two years after his sailing from the Tagus, but with a great loss of men; for out of one hundred and forty-eight persons who sailed with him, only fifty-five returned. The king received him with all possible testimonies of respect and kindness; created him a count; and not only declared him admiral of the Indics, but also made that office hereditary in his family.

The Portuguese entered upon the new career opened to them with activity and ardour, and made exertions both commercial and military, far beyond what could have been expected from a kingdom of such inconsiderable extent, in India. All these were directed by an intelligent monarch, Dom Manoel the Fortunate, who happily selected a succession of excellent officers to take the supreme command in India, amongst whom Affonso Albuquerque was eminent. Within twenty-four years after the voyage of Gama the Portuguese had rendered themselves masters of the city of Malacca, in which the great staple of trade carried on with the East Indies was then first established. This conquest secured to them great influence over the interior commerce of India, whilst, at the same time, by their settlements at Goa and Diu, they were enabled to engross the trade of the Malabar coast and to obstruct greatly the long-established intercourse of Egypt with India by the Red Sea. In every part of the East they were received with respect; in many they had acquired the absolute command. They carried on trade there without rivalry or control; they prescribed to the natives the terms of their mutual intercourse; they History, often fixed what price they pleased on the goods which they purchased; and they were thus enabled to import from Hindustan, and the regions beyond it, whatever was useful, rare, or agreeable, in greater abundance, and of more various kinds, than had been formerly known in Europe.

Not satisfied with this ascendancy which they had acquired in India, the Portuguese sought to exclude all other nations from participating in the advantages of commerce with the East; and they accomplished one-half of what their ambition had planned. In consequence of this the Venetians soon began to feel that decrease of their own Indian trade, which they had dreaded. In order to prevent the farther progress of this evil, they incited the Soldan of the Mamlukes to fit out a fleet in the Red Sea, and to attack those unexpected invaders of a gainful monopoly, of which he and his predecessors had long enjoyed undisturbed possession. The Portuguese, however, entirely defeated this formidable squadron, and remained masters of the Indian Ocean. They continued their progress in the East almost without obstruction, until they established there a commercial empire; to which, whether we consider its extent, its opulence, the slender power by which it was surmounted, or the splendour with which the government of it was conducted, there had hitherto been nothing comparable in the history of nations. Every part of Europe was supplied by the Portuguese with the productions of the East; and if we except an inconsiderable quantity which the Venetians still continued to receive by the ancient channels of conveyance, our quarter of the globe had no longer any commercial intercourse with India and the regions of Asia beyond it except by the Cape of Good Hope.

In September 1521 Manuel died of a fever, and was succeeded by his son John III. The most remarkable transaction of this prince's reign was the introduction of the Inquisition into his dominions in the year 1535, or, as some say, in 1536. A famine happening to cease in a short time after the Holy Office was introduced, the priests persuaded the ignorant multitude that it was a blessing from heaven on account of erecting such a tribunal.

In the meantime Solyman the Magnificent, the most enlightened monarch of the Ottoman race, observing the rising power and opulence of the Portuguese, and eager to supplant them, sent orders to the Pasha of Egypt to employ his whole strength against the Christians in the East Indies. The pasha, in obedience to these orders, sailed from the Red Sea with a greater naval force than ever the Mohammedans had employed before, having 4000 Janizaries and 16,000 other troops on board. Yet, by the courage and conduct of the Portuguese officers and soldiers, all this mighty armament was defeated, and their East India possessions were saved from the danger which threatened them.

In Africa, likewise, the King of Fez was baffled before the town of Safi; whilst fresh quarrels breaking out amongst the native princes, gave great relief to the Christians, who had long been obliged to carry on a defensive war, and had more than once been on the very brink of ruin. The Moors became more and more formidable; the Portuguese king had reason to deem that the conquest of Barbary was impossible, and therefore limited his ambition to keeping those few fortresses which he had already acquired; a necessary and prudent measure which nevertheless displeased the majority of his subjects.

King John exerted himself greatly in the settlement of Brazil, which had been discovered by Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1501. He caused several strong towns to be erected there, and took all possible methods to encourage the conversion of the natives to Christianity. He also introduced many regulations for the welfare and happiness of his subjects at home. The disputes of the nobility about precedence were frequently attended with disagreeable consequences, which made the king resolve to establish definitive rules. His death happened in June 1557; and he was succeeded by his son Dom Sebastian, an infant of three years of age.

The administration of affairs was undertaken by the queen grandmother of Sebastian. The Moors, however, supposing of the fact that they might be able to dispossess the Christians of young king such places as they held in Barbary, laid close siege to Mazagan. But the queen-regent speedily sending succour, the Moors, although they brought 80,000 men into the field, were obliged to abandon the enterprise. This was at first extolled as a conspicuous instance of the queen's capacity and wisdom; but, in a short time, the aversion which the Portuguese had to the government of women, together with the prejudice they had against her country, for she was a Castilian, appeared so plainly, and gave her so much uneasiness, that of her own accord she resigned her authority into the hands of the Cardinal Dom Henry, the king's brother.

After the king had grown up to man's estate, his desire Sebastian was to distinguish himself against the infidels. He himself intended to conduct an expedition to the East Indies; but taken as the prime minister Alcoveva induced him to direct his attention to Africa. This expedition the king entered into in the most inconsiderate and absurd manner. He first sent for a prior, with some hundreds of soldiers; next he carried his principal courtiers with him from a hunting match, and without equipages; he then sent for the Duke of Aveyro, who brought with him such troops as he could collect on so short a warning; and when all these were assembled, the king spent his time in hunting, and slight excursions against the enemy, without doing anything of consequence, except exposing his person upon all occasions.

He returned to Portugal, but only for the purpose of arranging another expedition, and it seemed to him that he had a pretence for commencing another campaign in the state of affairs in Morocco. Muley Hamet, King of Fez and Morocco, had been dispossessed of his dominions by his uncle Muley Moloch. At the beginning of this war Dom Sebastian had offered him the Portuguese troops in Africa, a tender which was rejected with contempt; but now being a fugitive, and having in vain solicited assistance from Philip of Spain, Muley Hamet applied to the King of Portugal; and, that he might the more easily succeed, he caused the fortress of Arzila, which his father had recovered, to be restored to the Portuguese. The king was in rapture at this event, and fancied that his glory would exceed that of all his predecessors. The queen-dowager, the cardinal, and all his friends united in their endeavours to divert him from this unfortunate enterprise. Even Philip of Spain, his uncle, attempted to convince him of the absurdity of his proceedings. Muley Moloch himself explained in a letter his own right to the crown of Fez, and showed that he had only dispossessed a tyrant and a murderer, who had therefore no right to his friendship or assistance. The Moorish prince next assured him that he had no reason to fear either the power or the neighbourhood of the Portuguese; and as a proof of this, as well as a mark of his esteem, he was content to make him a present of some 10 miles of arable ground round each of the fortresses he possessed in Africa, viz., Tangier, Ceuta, Mazagan, and Arzila. But the King of Portugal was deaf to all salutary advice, and disregarded all remonstrances.

On the 24th of June 1577 he set sail from the bar of Lisbon with a fleet of fifty ships and five galleys, twelve pieces of cannon, and many transports and tenders, making in all nearly a thousand sail. His troops consisted of 9000 Portuguese infantry, 3000 Germans, 700 Italians, commanded by Sir Thomas Stukeley, an English exile, remarkable for his bravery; 2000 Castilians, and 300 volunteers, commanded by Christoval de Tuvara, master of the horse, a man of courage, but without either conduct or experience. He touched first at Lagos Bay, where he remained for four days, and thence he proceeded to Cadiz, where he was feasted for a week by the Duke de Medina Sidonia, who fruitlessly endeavoured to dissuade him from proceeding further in person.

Soon after landing in Africa the king was met by Muley Hamet, who delivered him his son, a boy of twelve years of age, as a hostage, and brought a reinforcement of three hundred Moors. Here it was resolved in a council of war to reduce the town of Larache, but it was disputed whether the troops should proceed thither by land or by sea. Dom Sebastian, who espoused the former opinion, finding himself opposed by Muley Hamet, answered him so rudely that he left his presence in disgust.

Muley Moloch, having received intelligence of this formidable invasion, took the field with 40,000 foot and 60,000 horse, and conducted every thing with the greatest prudence, notwithstanding he was so enfeebled by fever that he could not sit upon horseback. He advanced against the Portuguese army with such celerity that he came in sight of them on the 3rd of August at Alcacer Quibir. Finding his disease increase to such a degree that he had no hopes of recovery, he resolved to lose no time in bringing on the battle, that his antagonist might not avail himself of his death. The disposition of the Christian army was, through the care of some old officers in Dom Sebastian's service, regular and correct.

The Christians advanced with resolution, broke the first line of the Moorish infantry, and disordered the second. On this Muley Moloch drew his sword, and would have advanced to encourage his troops, but his guards prevented him, on which his agitation became so great that he fell from his horse. One of his guards caught him in his arms, and conveyed him to his litter, where he immediately expired, having only time to lay his finger on his lips by way of enjoining them to conceal his death. But by this time the Moorish cavalry had wheeled quite round, and attacked the Christian army in the rear; the Portuguese right was broken, and at this time Muley Hamet in passing a river was drowned. In this emergency the Germans, Italians, and Castilians performed prodigies; but the Portuguese, according to their own historians, behaved indifferently. Attacked on all sides, however, they were unable to resist; and the whole army, except about fifty men, were killed or taken prisoners. The fate of the king is variously related. According to some, he had two horses killed under him, and then mounted a third. His bravest officers were killed in his defence; after which the Moors surrounded him, seized his person, stripped him of his sword and arms, and secured him. They immediately began to quarrel about the prisoner, upon which one of the generals rode in amongst them, crying, "What, you dogs, when God has given you so glorious a victory, would you cut one another's throats about a prisoner?" At the same time, discharging a blow at Sebastian, he brought the king to the ground, when the rest of the Moors soon dispatched him. Others affirm that one Louis de Brito meeting the king with the standard wrapped round him, Sebastian cried out, "Hold it fast; let us die upon it;" upon which charging the Moors, he was seized, but rescued by Brito, who was himself taken with the standard, and carried to Fez. The latter affirmed, that after he was taken he saw the king at a distance, and unpursued. Dom Louis de Lima met him afterwards making towards the river; and this is the last account of his being seen alive.

Immediately after the battle, the brother of Muley Moloch was proclaimed king by the Moors. The next day, having ordered all the prisoners to be brought before him, the new sovereign gave orders to search for the body of Dom Sebastian. The king's valet-de-chambre brought back a body, which he said was that of his master, but so disfigured with wounds that it could not well be known; and, notwithstanding the most diligent search, this monarch's death could never be properly authenticated. This body, however, was delivered up as the body of the unfortunate Dom Sebastian to Philip, King of Spain. By the latter it was sent to Ceuta, thence transported to Portugal, and buried amongst his ancestors in the monastery at Belem, with all possible solemnity.

By this disaster, the kingdom of Portugal sunk at once into the lowest rank of European states. All the young nobility were cut off or carried into slavery, and the kingdom was exhausted of men, money, and reputation; so that Dom Henry, who assumed the government after the death of his brother Sebastian, found himself in a very disagreeable situation. At his death the crown of Portugal was claimed by three different competitors,—viz., the Prince of Parma, the Duchess of Braganza, and Philip of Spain. Whatever might have been the merits of their respective claims, the power of Philip quickly decided the contest in his favour. He found his schemes facilitated by the treachery of the regents.

Philip finding everything in his favour, commanded the Duke of Alva to invade Portugal at the head of 20,000 conquerors; whereupon, after a feeble defence made by Dom Antonio, prior of Crato, who had been placed on the throne by the Portuguese, the whole kingdom submitted.

Philip made his entry into Lisbon as soon as the kingdom had been totally reduced, and endeavoured to conciliate the affections of the people by confirming the terms he had before offered to the States. These terms were, that he would take a solemn oath to maintain the privileges and liberties of the people; that the States should be assembled within the realm, and nothing proposed in any other States that related to Portugal; that the viceroy or chief governor should be a native, unless the king should give that charge to one of the royal family; that the household should be kept on the same footing; that the post of first president, and all offices, civil, military, and judicial, should be filled by Portuguese; all dignitaries in the church and in the orders of knighthood confined to the same; the commerce of Ethiopia, Africa, and the Indies reserved also to them, and to be carried on only by their merchants and vessels; that he would remit all imposts on ecclesiastical revenues; that he would make no grant of any city, town, or jurisdiction royal, to any but Portuguese; that estates resulting from forfeitures should not be united to the domain, but go to the relations of the last possessor, or be given to other Portuguese in recompense of services; that when the king came to Portugal, where he should reside as much as possible, he should not take the houses of private persons for his officers' lodgings, but keep to the custom of Portugal; that wherever his majesty resided, he should have an ecclesiastic, a treasurer, a chancellor, two masters of requests, with inferior officers, all of them Portuguese, who should despatch everything relating to the kingdom; that Portugal should ever continue a distinct kingdom, and its revenue be consumed within itself; that all matters of justice should be decided within the realm; that the Portuguese should be admitted to charges in the households of the King and Queen of Spain; that all duties on the frontiers should be taken away; and lastly, that Philip should give three hundred thousand ducats to redeem prisoners, repair cities, and relieve the miseries which the plague and other calamities had brought upon the people.

All these concessions, however, failed to answer the purpose; nay, although Philip was to the last degree lavish of honours and employments, the Portuguese were still dissatisfied. Dom Antonio, the exiled prince, still styled himself "King of Portugal." At first he retired to France, where he found so much countenance that, with a fleet of nearly sixty sail, and a considerable body of troops on board, he made an attempt upon Terceira, where his fleet was beaten by the Spaniards. Dom Antonio was constrained to retire, which he did with some difficulty, and going to England, he was well received there. After Philip had ruined the naval power of Portugal, as well as that of Spain, by equipping the Armada, Queen Elizabeth assisted Dom Antonio, and sent Sir John Norris and Sir Francis Drake with a strong fleet and a considerable army to restore him. Upon this occasion Dom Antonio sent his son Dom Christoval a hostage to Muley Hamet, King of Fez and Morocco, who was to lend him 200,000 ducats. But Philip prevented this by surrendering Arzila; which, with the unseasonable enterprise against Coruña, and the disputes that arose between Norris and Drake, rendered the expedition abortive; so that, except carrying the plague into England, it was attended with no consequences worthy of notice. Dom Antonio remained some time afterwards in England; but finding himself disregarded, he withdrew once more into France, where he fell into great poverty and distress; and having at length died in the sixty-fourth year of his age, an inscription was placed on his tomb, in which he was styled "king." He left behind him several children, who, on account of his being a knight of Malta, and having made a vow of chastity at his entrance into the order, were looked upon as illegitimate.

But Dom Antonio was not the only pretender to the crown of Portugal. The people, partly from love of their prince, and partly from their hatred to the Castilians, were continually feeding themselves with the hopes that Dom Sebastian would appear and deliver them; and in this respect such a spirit of credulity reigned, that they would probably have taken a Negro for Dom Sebastian. This humour induced the son of a tiler at Alcobaca, who had led a profligate life, and at length turned hermit, to give himself out as that prince; and having with him two companions, one of whom styled himself Dom Christoval de Tavora, and the other the Bishop of Guarda, they began to collect money, and were in a fair way of creating much disturbance. But the cardinal archduke caused them to be apprehended, and after leading them ignominiously through the streets of Lisbon, he who took the name of Sebastian was sent to the galleys for life, and the pretended bishop was hanged. Not long afterwards, Gonsalo Alvarez, the son of a mason, gave himself out as the same king, and having promised marriage to the daughter of Pedro Alonso, a rich yeoman, whom he created count of Torres Novas, he assembled a body of about 800 men, and some blood was spilt before he was apprehended. At length, being clearly proved to be an impostor, this person and his intended father-in-law were publicly hanged and quartered at Lisbon. The punishment, however, instead of extinguishing public credulity, served only to increase it.

About twenty years after the fatal defeat of Sebastian, there appeared at Venice a person who created much more trouble. He assumed the name of Dom Sebastian, and gave a very distinct account of the manner in which he had passed his time since that defeat. He affirmed that he had preserved his life and liberty by hiding himself amongst the slain; that, after wandering in disguise for some time in Africa, he returned with two of his friends into the kingdom of Algarve; that he gave notice of this to the king Don Henry; that finding his life sought, and being unwilling to disturb the peace of the kingdom, he returned again amongst the Moors, and passed freely from one place to another in Barbary, in the habit of a penitent; and that after this he became a hermit in Sicily, but at length resolved to go to Rome, and discover himself to the Pope. On the road he was robbed by his domestics, and came almost naked to Venice, where he was known and acknowledged by some Portuguese. Complaint, however, being made to the Senate, he was obliged to retire to Padua. But as the governor of that city also ordered him to depart, he, not knowing what to do, returned to Venice, where, at the request of the Spanish ambassador, who charged him not only with being an impostor, but also with many black and atrocious crimes, he was seized and thrown into prison. In the examinations he underwent, he not only acquitted himself of the crimes which had been laid to his charge, but entered into so minute a detail of the transactions which had passed between himself and the republic, that the commissioners were perfectly astonished; and, moved by his behaviour, they showed no disposition to declare him an impostor. The noise of this was diffused throughout Europe, and the enemies of Spain endeavoured everywhere to give it credit.

The State however refused to discuss the point, whether he was or was not an impostor, unless they were requested so to do by some prince or state in alliance with them. Upon this the Prince of Orange sent Dom Christoval, the son of the late Dom Antonio, to make that demand; and at his request an examination was instituted with great solemnity. But no decision followed; only the Senate set him at liberty, and ordered him to depart from their dominions. By the advice of his friends, therefore, he proceeded to Padua in the disguise of a monk, and from thence to Florence, where he was arrested by the command of the grand duke, who delivered him up to the viceroy of Naples. He remained several years prisoner in the castle Del Ovo. At length he was brought forth, led with infamy through the streets of the city, and declared to be an impostor who assumed the name of Sebastian; at which words he said gravely, "And so I am." In the same proclamation it was affirmed that he was in truth a Calabrian; but as soon as he heard this he said, "It is false." He was next shipped on board a galley as a slave, and carried to San Lucar, whence, after being for some time confined there, he was transferred to a castle in the heart of Castile, and never heard of more. Some persons were executed at Lisbon for their endeavours to raise an insurrection in his behalf.

The administration of affairs in Portugal, during the reign of Philip, was certainly detrimental to the nation; yet it does not appear that this proceeded so much the Spaniard from any ill intention in that monarch, as from errors in his administration. His prodigious preparations for the invasion of England impoverished all his European dominions; but it absolutely exhausted Portugal. Yet the government of Philip was so much better than that of his immediate successors that his death was justly regretted, and the Portuguese were taught by experience to confess that, of bad masters, he was the best.

His son Philip, the second of Portugal and the third of Spain, sat twenty years upon the throne before he paid a visit to Portugal, where the people put themselves to a most enormous expense to receive him. He held an assembly of the States, in which his son was sworn as his successor. The reigns of Philip III. and Philip IV. were characterized by a series of bad measures and worse fortune. All their dominions suffered greatly; Portugal most of all. The loss of Ormus in the East, and of Brazil in the West, together with the shipwreck of a fleet sent to escort one of merchantmen from Goa, brought the nation incredibly low, and encouraged the Comte duke to hope that they might be entirely crushed. These are the heads only of the transactions of forty years. To enter in any degree into particulars, would only be to point out the breaches made by the Spanish ministers in the conditions granted by Philip; which, with respect to the nation, was the original contract and unalterable constitution of Portugal whilst subject to the monarchs of Castile, but which, notwithstanding, they often flagrantly violated.

The very basis and foundation of their privileges was, that the kingdom should remain separate and independent, and consequently that Lisbon should continue as much its capital as ever. But so little was this observed, that neither promotion nor justice was to be obtained without journeys to Madrid, which was not more the capital of Castile than it was that of Portugal. The general assembly of estates was to be held frequently, and they were only held thrice in the space of sixty years; two of them being held within the first three years. The king was to reside in this realm as often and as long as possible. Philip I., however, was there but once; Philip II. resided only four months; and Philip III. never at all. The household establishment was suppressed during all these reigns. The viceroy was to be a native of Portugal, or a prince or princess of the blood; yet when any of the royal family bore the title, the power was in reality in the hands of a Spaniard. Thus, when the Princess of Mantua was vice-queen, the Marquis de la Puebla was sent to assist her in council, and she could do nothing without his advice. The council of Portugal, which was to be composed entirely of natives, was filled with Castilians, as the garrisons also were, though the contrary had been provided. The presidents of provinces, or corregidores, were to be natives; but, by keeping those offices in his own hands, the king eluded this article. No city, town, or district was to be given to any except Portuguese; yet the Duke of Lerma had Beja, Serpa, and other parts of the demesnes of the crown, which were formerly appendages of the princes of the blood. None but natives were capable of offices in the courts of justices, in the revenue, in the fleet, or of holding any post civil or military; yet these were given promiscuously to foreigners, or sold to the highest bidder, not excepting the government of castles, cities, and provinces. The natives were so far from having an equal chance in such cases, that no situations in the presidios were ever given to them, and scarcely any in garrisons; and whenever it occurred, in the case of a person of extraordinary merit, whose pretensions could not be rejected, he was either removed, or not allowed to exercise his charge, as happened to the Marquis of Marialva and others.

The forms of proceeding, the jurisdiction, the ministers, the secretaries, were all changed in the council of Portugal, being reduced from five to three, then two, and at last to a single person.

By reason of these and other grievances, the detestation of the Spanish government became universal; and in 1640 a revolution soon took place, in which John, Duke of Braganza was declared king, by the title of John IV. This revolution, as being determined by the almost unanimous voice of the nation, was attended with very little effusion of blood. Several vain attempts were made by the King of Spain to regain his authority. The first battle was fought at Montijo in 1644, between a Portuguese army of 6000 foot and 1100 horse, and a Spanish army of nearly the same number. The latter were entirely defeated; and this contributed greatly to establish the affairs of Portugal on a firm basis. The Portuguese king carried on a defensive war during the remainder of his life; and after his death, which happened in 1655, the war was renewed with great vigour.

This was what the Spaniards did not expect. It would not, indeed, be easy to conceive a kingdom left in more perilous circumstances than Portugal was at this time. The king, Dom Affonso Enrique, was a child not more than thirteen years of age, reputed of unsound constitution both of body and mind; the regency was in a woman, and that woman a Castilian; the nation was involved in a war respecting the title to the crown; and the nobility, some of them secretly disaffected to the reigning family, were almost all of them embarked in feuds and contentions with each other; so that the queen scarcely knew whom to trust or how she should be obeyed. She acted, however, with great vigour and prudence. By marrying her only daughter, the Princess Catherine, to Charles II., King of Great Britain, she procured for Portugal the protection of the English fleets, with reinforcements of some thousands of horse and foot; and at last, in 1665, the war was terminated by the glorious victory of Montesclaros. This decisive action broke the power of the Spaniards, and fixed the fate of the kingdom, though not that of the King of Portugal. Affonso was a prince whose education had been neglected in his youth, who was devoted to vulgar amusements and mean company, and whom the queen for these reasons wished to deprive of the crown, that she might place it on the head of his younger brother Dom Pedro. The Portuguese, however, would not consent to set aside the rights of primogeniture, and involve the kingdom in all the miseries attending a disputed succession.

Affonso was compelled to sign a resignation of the kingship; and his brother, after governing a few months with so obliged out any legal authority, was in a meeting of the States to resign unanimously proclaimed regent, and vested with all the powers of royalty. Soon after this revolution, for such it may be called, the marriage of the king and queen was declared null by the chapter of Lisbon; and the regent, by a pontifical dispensation, and with the consent of the States, immediately espoused the divorced lady. He governed, under the title of regent, fifteen years, when, upon the death of the king, he mounted the throne by the title of Dom Pedro II.; and after a long reign, during which he conducted the affairs of the kingdom with great prudence and vigour, he died in 1706.

Dom John V. succeeded his father; and though he was Dom John then little more than seventeen years of age, he acted with such wisdom and resolution, adhered so steadily to the grand alliance formed against France and Spain, and showed so great resources in his own mind, that though he suffered severe losses during the war, he obtained such terms of peace at Utrecht, that Portugal was in all respects a gainer by the treaty. The two crowns of Spain and Portugal were not, however, thoroughly reconciled until the year 1737. In 1750 a treaty was concluded with the court of Madrid, by which Nova Colonia, on the river Plata, was ceded to his Catholic majesty, to the great regret of the Portuguese, as well on account of the value of that settlement, as because they apprehended that their possession of the Brazils would by this cession be rendered precarious. The king died in 1750, worn out by infirmities.

He was succeeded by his son Joseph I., who ascended Dom Joseph the throne of Portugal under very favourable circumstances; but his reign, although short, was marked by great national calamities. The most remarkable event which occurred was the memorable earthquake, which, in November 1755, destroyed one half of the city of Lisbon, and buried thirty thousand people under the ruins. Two hours had scarcely elapsed after this terrible convulsion, when, to aggravate its horrors, flames burst forth from different quarters of the city, and the conflagration raging with terrific violence for three days, Lisbon was completely desolated. The royal family were fortunate enough to escape; but amongst the victims were the Spanish ambassador, and many other persons of distinction. Britain promptly afforded relief to the sufferers; an act of generosity the more honourable to her, as she had every reason to be dissatisfied with the conduct of the King of Portugal. From the commencement of his reign, he had thrown great obstructions in the way of our commerce, evading treaties, and imposing vexatious imposts; and it seemed perfectly clear that his object was to annihilate the commercial intercourse which had for so many ages subsisted between the two countries. The same spirit of humanity was evinced by Spain; but both nations received an unworthy return, although Britain had most to complain of.

Scarcely had the agitation which this calamity gave rise History, to subsided, when Portugal was again thrown into commotion by an attempt to assassinate the king (3rd Sept. 1758), who was wounded one night near his palace at Belem. Suspicion fell on various classes of persons, particularly on certain ecclesiastics, who were said to have been incensed at the reform introduced by Dom Joseph; on the creatures of Spain, who aspired to the reunion of the two kingdoms under one sceptre; on the Jesuits, who were represented as insidious at the restriction of their ancient privileges; and on a prince of the royal family.

All that is known with certainty is, that the scaffold flowed with noble blood; and that the Jesuits were stripped of their possessions, whilst their expulsion was decreed by the crown. Another occurrence of this reign was a rupture with the see of Rome, every servant of the Pope being expelled from Portugal, and all intercourse between the two courts suspended for about two years. A more important event was the invasion of the country by Spain. This aggression originated in the refusal of the king to join the alliance of France and Spain against England. War was immediately declared against him, and troops marched to the frontiers of his kingdom. The ally whom he had so long neglected, and even deliberately ill-used, was appealed to, and not in vain. Troops, arms, and all necessary munitions of war, arrived from Britain; and although the invaders succeeded in capturing Miranda, Braganza, and Almeida, their triumphs were speedily put a stop to by the combined forces of Britain and Portugal. At the instance of the British cabinet, the Count de Lippe was brought from Germany to assume the command of the whole army. This commander was ably assisted in his operations by General Burgoyne, and they had soon the glory of freeing the country from the Spanish army. The consequence of this triumph was a peace, solicited and obtained by the two hostile courts, now hopeless of success, and in apprehension of fresh disasters.

The remainder of this king's reign, extending from the year 1763 to 1777, was occupied by the introduction of measures for social, agricultural, and commercial improvement. He laboured to improve the police and judicial administration, and not without success. He founded schools in the large towns, and improved the system of study in the university of Coimbra. He encouraged agriculture, the fisheries, and trade with the colonies; but in attempting to give a stimulus to home manufactures, by laying such duties on articles of British produce as amounted to an almost total exclusion of them from the Portuguese market, he acted with equal short-sightedness and ingratitude. One monument to his honour, more noble than the statue of bronze which his grateful subjects erected to him in Lisbon during his lifetime, remains to be mentioned. This was a decree by which the grandsons of slaves, and all who should be born after the date thereof, were declared free. Although this benefit was confined to Portugal alone, yet, considering the state of matters at the time it was conferred, it must be regarded as an amazing stride in the career of improvement. Joseph I died in 1777, and was mourned by his people as the best monarch who had swayed the sceptre of Portugal since the days of Philip I. The prosperity of his reign was owing in great measure to the ability of his minister, the Marquis of Pombal, who, from his antipathy to the Jesuits and ecclesiastical tyranny, has been vigorously decried by the papal party ever since. Pombal's diplomatic correspondence and papers relating to the period 1738-47 were obtained for the British Museum in 1855.

Joseph was succeeded by his daughter Maria, whom the necessities of state had induced her father to give in marriage to his own brother. Such revolting connections are unhappily far from rare in the modern history of Portugal. Some attempts were made to exclude her in favour of a nephew, but they proved completely abortive. Though the abilities of this queen were limited, yet she was actuated by good intentions. Her administration was feeble, but upon the whole beneficial. She followed the example of her father in encouraging national industry and reforming the administration of justice. She founded the Academy of Sciences, introduced into the convents of friars a compulsory form of general education, endowed several admirable charitable institutions, and went so far in judicial reform as to abolish the law of imprisonment for debt. In short, had her foreign policy resembled her domestic administration, Portugal would have had no reason to complain of her. Maria was forced into a family compact by her powerful neighbours of France and Spain, by which the influence of the latter was strengthened and confirmed, whilst in the same degree that of England was weakened. This alliance was accompanied by a treaty of limits, which fixed the boundaries of Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru, the arrangement being peculiarly favourable to Spain.

In the year 1792 the queen exhibited symptoms of mental alienation, and John Maria Joseph, prince of Brazil, was appointed regent. One of the first acts of his administration was a declaration of war against the French republic, a step which he was induced to take from his connection with England. But commercial distress, the accumulating debt of the country, and the menacing language which France compelled Spain to adopt towards her neighbour, led to a peace in 1797. In 1799 the malady of the queen appearing to be incurable, the prince was confirmed in the regency, with full regal powers; but he made no change in the policy of the government. The same year he was again encouraged to arm against French aggression, in alliance with England and Russia; the victorious career of the revolutionists having received a severe, although, as it proved, only a temporary check. After Napoleon had confirmed his ascendancy, Spain was under the necessity of declaring war against Portugal in the year 1801; but it was soon terminated by the treaty of Badajoz, in consequence of which Portugal was compelled to cede Olivenza to Spain, and likewise to pay a considerable sum of money. After this the prince enjoyed but a mere shadow of power, and at considerable sacrifices maintained a nominal independence, until at last, in 1807, a hostile army under Marshal Junot invaded Portugal, and the House of Braganza was declared by Napoleon to have forfeited the throne. This bold declaration was owing to the prince having refused to seize the English property in his dominions. Having embarked with his family for Brazil, the French general immediately afterwards took possession of his capital, and Portugal sank into the condition of an appendage of France.

Junot issued a proclamation, in which he declared that justice should be duly administered, tranquillity preserved, and the future happiness of the people solicitously guarded. But these professions were far from satisfying a people of whom the lower classes were dying of absolute want, and two-thirds of the merchants were bankrupt. A British force under the Duke of Wellington (then Sir Arthur Wellesley) was promptly despatched to Portugal, where it was joined by a considerable body of national troops, now mustered in the northern provinces, and determined to maintain the struggle for freedom. A Junta was immediately established in Oporto, to conduct the government. After some sharp skirmishing between the two armies, the decisive battle of Vimeiro, which was fought on the 21st of August 1808, overthrew the power of France in Portugal. The severely-censured convention of Cintra followed, and the country was evacuated by the French troops. The immediate consequences of this evacuation were highly beneficial. The government displayed an energy which restored subordination, and was felt all over... the kingdom. A levy en masse of the whole male inhabitants, from fifteen to sixty years of age, was demanded; but it does not appear that the call was responded to with much alacrity. Towards the close of the year 1808, Madrid having surrendered, and the British army under Sir John Moore having been compelled to retreat through the mountains of Galicia to Corunna, the subjugation of Portugal was again resolved upon by the French. The intelligence of the approaching invasion at first spread consternation and dismay throughout Portugal, for it was in no condition to offer any serious resistance to the force of the enemy that menaced the frontiers. But fresh re-inforcements arrived from Britain, and General Beresford, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the armies of Portugal, having established a system of subordination and discipline amongst the troops, confidence was in a great measure restored before a blow could be struck.

Marshal Soult entered the kingdom of Portugal at the head of the French army, after dispersing the Spanish force in Galicia. He was feebly opposed by the Portuguese. Their commander, General Freyre, was opposed to a regular engagement; but his unruly troops rose in mutiny and massacred both him and his supporters, under the suspicion of treachery. They were led against the enemy by Baron Eben, a German in the British service, and a battle was fought and lost. Soult then invested Oporto, and although the city had been strongly fortified and garrisoned, it was carried by assault on the 29th of March 1809, after a feeble defence of only three days. Immediately on entering the town, the French soldiery commenced an indiscriminate slaughter of the inhabitants; and although their commander used every effort to repress their fury, the plunder and licentiousness had continued a day and a night before subordination could be restored.

The defeat of the Spanish army at Medellin opened an easy road to Lisbon; but the French force was divided into three separate bodies, under three independent commanders, Soult, Victor, and Lapisse, though, from fear of being separately committed, the whole remained inactive, or only engaged in insignificant manoeuvres. Each commander appears to have waited for intelligence as to the movements of the others, and by this delay the capital was saved. Such was the situation of affairs when Sir Arthur Wellesley landed at Lisbon on the 23rd of April, and assumed the chief command of the armies of England and Portugal. By a series of brilliant manoeuvres, the British commander compelled the French to abandon Portugal. But Napoleon being pledged to his people and the world to conquer that country, early in 1810 an army of seventy-two thousand men was assembled in the vicinity of Salamanca, and the command of it intrusted to Marshal Massena. After clearing his way to Portugal, by the capture of several strongly-fortified places, the French general advanced upon Lisbon. But his vigilant enemy had well employed the time afforded him, by preparing a secure asylum for his troops, by which he at once kept his footing in the Peninsula, and defended Lisbon against a greatly superior force. This formidable defensive position is celebrated in military annals by the name of the lines of Torres Vedras. The advance of Massena, the battle of Busaco, the stand made at Torres Vedras, the retreat of the French, and their final evacuation of Portugal, will be found described in the article BRITAIN. It is true, that in the subsequent operations of the war, some parts of the kingdom were included in the theatre of hostilities, yet they never extended much beyond the frontiers. During the remainder of the war, however, the troops of Portugal bore an active and creditable part in almost every encounter with the enemy.

On the death of Maria, John VI. ascended the throne of Portugal and Brazil. The establishment of the court of Lisbon in an American settlement, though productive of little good to the mother-country, led to important results. In the first place, it induced Brazil to withdraw itself from dependence on England; and secondly, it paved the way for that colony erecting itself into a separate state. But the influence of England in Portugal continued, and the condition of the kingdom for the present remained essentially unchanged by the transference. The peace of Paris, concluded in May 1814, which, it was believed, would place everything on a proper basis, did not realize the expectations of the nation. Spain evaded the restitution of Olivenza, which had been provided for by the congress of Vienna; whilst, at the same time, Portugal was required to restore French Guiana to France. The court of Rio therefore took possession of the Banda Oriental; but an account of these transactions has been given in another part of this work (see BRAZIL). These circumstances rendered the condition of Portugal far from tranquil. The country felt that the order of things had been inverted, and the parent state had become a dependent on her colony. A conspiracy of a very extensive nature was discovered in the army, and its progress checked; but the spirit which generated it was not extinguished. In short, everything was ripening for a fundamental change in the administration and constitution of government; and the Portuguese people were soon afforded an opportunity of showing their dislike of the absence of the court, and the predominance of English influence. The continual bickerings between the commander of the forces and the regency induced Marshal Beresford to repair to Rio de Janeiro to obtain fresh instructions, and, it might be, fresh powers from the king; but during his absence that revolution burst forth which completely changed the whole political aspect of the kingdom.

The first symptoms of this revolution were exhibited at Oporto on the 24th of August 1820, both the citizens and the army acting in concert. The soldiers swore fealty to the king, the Cortes, and the constitution which might be adopted, and the civil authorities declared in favour of the measure. A junta of thirteen members was chosen by acclamation; and a declaration was addressed to the nation, stating, that the assembling of the Cortes and the adoption of a new constitution were the only means of saving the state. On the 15th of September, the day on which it was usual to celebrate the deliverance of Portugal from France, the regency in Lisbon, fearing to assemble such a multitude of people as generally met on that day, resolved to omit the ceremony. But the troops and the citizens met and deposed the government, declared for the king, the Cortes, and the constitution, and installed a temporary council as a provisional government. Thus a complete revolution was effected without either violence or bloodshed. The provisional government formed a union with the Junta of Oporto on the 1st of October; and one of the earliest acts of this united body was to despatch Count Palmella, the head of the royal regency, to Brazil, with an account of the transactions which had just taken place, and a petition that either the king or the prince-royal would return to Europe and assume the sovereignty of Portugal. One deputy was chosen for every thirty thousand inhabitants. Clergymen, lawyers, and officers were the sorts of persons who were chiefly elected, few men of wealth or family being chosen. On the 26th of January 1821, the Cortes met and named a regency and ministry, declared the late insurrections legal and necessary, and abolished the Inquisition. On the 9th of March the articles of the new constitution were adopted almost unanimously. By these, freedom of person and property was guaranteed, and the liberty of the press, legal equality, the abolition of privileges, the admission of all citizens to all offices, and the sovereignty of the nation, were secured. One chamber John VI. returned from America, leaving his eldest son, Dom Pedro, regent of Brazil. He was under the necessity of acceding to certain restrictions on his power, imposed by the Cortes, before he was permitted to disembark. On landing, he swore to observe the new constitution, and concurred in all the succeeding acts of the Cortes. In May 1822, Dom Pedro accepted the dignity of constitutional emperor of Brazil, and a complete separation took place between the two countries. The constitution of Portugal was finally completed and sworn to by the king on the 1st of October 1822; and, shortly afterwards, the session of this extraordinary Cortes closed. A plot, however, was formed for abolishing the new constitution, at the head of which was the queen, a Spanish Infanta; and several of the nobility and clergy were likewise engaged in it. Dom Miguel violated the promise which he had solemnly given to his father by becoming the leader of the counter-revolutionists, and inviting the nation to rise under the royal standard against the anarchical policy of the Cortes. The greater part of the troops declared for the Infant, and John VI., yielding to the force of circumstances, named a new ministry, and declared the constitution of 1822 null and void. Sixty members of the Cortes protested against this proceeding; but the king, a mere puppet in the hands of his son, was borne along by the force of the current, without being able to give any effectual check to its course.

The object of the queen and the Infant was to induce the king to resume absolute power; but John VI. firmly declared his resolution not to comply. The counter-revolutionists, however, began to act independently of his authority, and various steps were taken to carry out their views. Dom Miguel being appointed commander-in-chief of the army, called the troops to arms, and issued proclamations, in which he declared it to be his intention to emancipate the king from the control of free-masons and others by whom he was surrounded. The ministers and other civil officers, to the number of one hundred persons, were on the same day put under arrest; but when the king ascertained what had occurred, he declared that the whole had been done without his orders. As an excuse for his conduct, the Infant said that he had taken these steps for the purpose of frustrating a conspiracy which had been formed against the king's life. On the representations of the foreign ambassadors, the individuals imprisoned were released; and the king issued a decree commanding an immediate investigation of the pretended treason. John, finding himself in danger of falling a victim to the intrigues of his son, contrived to escape on board of an English vessel which lay in the Tagus. He deprived the Infant of his command, but pardoned him and gave him permission to travel. Portugal and Brazil assumed a hostile attitude, but at length the independence of the latter country was acknowledged. This weak, good-natured monarch died in March 1826, having previously appointed his daughter Isabella regent of Portugal.

Isabella for a short time governed Portugal in the name of the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro, who was the legitimate successor to both the European and American possessions of the House of Braganza. On the 23rd of April 1826 he granted a constitution to Portugal, which established two chambers, and in some other respects resembled the French charter. Not long afterwards, he surrendered Portugal to his daughter, Donna Maria, as an independent queen, on condition of her marrying her uncle, Dom Miguel. An unsuccessful attempt was then made by the absolutists to overthrow the constitution, and proclaim Dom Miguel absolute king of Portugal. In July 1827 Dom Miguel was appointed by his brother lieutenant and regent of the kingdom. The prince immediately returned to Portugal, having pledged himself to abide by the terms required by Pedro. He arrived in Lisbon in February 1828, and immediately assumed the administration of the government, at the same time taking the oath to maintain the constitution. But oaths were in his eyes a mere formality of state, involving no moral obligation. He assumed the sceptre as absolute king, and took his measures accordingly. But the military in general were unfavourable to his projects. The garrison of Oporto declared for Dom Pedro and the charter; other bodies of troops followed their example, and a corps of 6000 men advanced towards the capital; but they were defeated by a superior force, and the efforts of the constitutionalists were for the present baffled.

The object of Dom Miguel was now to consolidate his power, and get himself proclaimed king. The Cortes met, and all who were likely to oppose him having been imprisoned or exiled, this body unanimously declared Dom Miguel lawful king of Portugal. The pretext by which the Cortes endeavoured to vindicate its conduct was, that as Dom Pedro had become a foreigner, he had neither a right to succeed himself nor to appoint a successor. On the 4th of July 1828, Dom Miguel confirmed the decree of the Cortes, and assumed the title, as he had already done the powers, of royalty. The punishment of those implicated in the Oporto insurrection followed as a matter of course. An expedition was likewise sent against the refractory islands which had refused to acknowledge the usurper; and Madeira and the Azores were, with one exception, reduced.

In the meanwhile, Donna Maria had set sail from Brazil for Europe; but on arriving before Gibraltar, she found that, under actual circumstances, it would be injudicious, if not dangerous, to land at Lisbon, and accordingly steered for the English shores. She remained sometime in London, and during her stay was entertained as queen of Portugal. In August 1829 she returned to Brazil, in which a revolution suddenly deprived her father of his American empire. Having abdicated a crown which he could no longer retain, in favour of his infant son, the ex-emperor sailed for Europe with his daughter, to assert her claims to the throne of Portugal. The usurper still pursued the same course of oppression, and, not content with confining and degrading his own countrymen, he extended his outrages to British and French subjects. In the year 1830 it was calculated that 40,000 individuals were under arrest for political causes alone; and that 5000 persons were concealed in hiding-places in different parts of the country. How many had been devoted to destruction by being sent to the fatal shores of Africa, and how many had voluntarily exiled themselves, it is impossible to estimate. The British government demanded redress for the acts of violence committed against its subjects, and on this being refused, a British fleet entered the Tagus, and terrified the tyrant into compliance. France acted in a similar manner, and with even more success, demanding an indemnity for the expenses incurred by the expedition. Even the United States despatched a fleet to Lisbon to obtain satisfaction for injuries done to American commerce. But these repeated humiliations wrought no change in the policy of Dom Miguel. But his finances were now falling into inextricable confusion. The revenue scarcely sufficing for the household expenses and the maintenance of the troops, the usurper was driven to all manner of expedients to relieve his necessities. The island of Terceira, one of the Azores, resisted his claims; and here a regency was formally installed, with the Marquis of Palmella at its head. From this spot Dom Pedro issued a decree in favour of his daughter Donna Maria.

Although neither the government of France nor that of England gave open assistance to Dom Pedro, both abstained from opposing any obstacles to his measures of recruiting. Many officers of each nation enlisted in his ranks; and towards the end of December 300 half-pay officers and volunteers sailed for Belleisle on the coast of France, which had been fixed upon as the place of rendezvous. Insurrections took place in Portugal, but were ultimately suppressed. Meanwhile the island of St Michael's was captured by a force from Terceira, under Villa Flor, one of the members of the regency. Afraid that Madeira would be the next object of attack, Dom Miguel sent a small armament for its defence. Dom Pedro now resolved to hazard a descent upon Portugal with the undisciplined troops he had collected together. The expedition sailed from the island of St Michael on the 27th of June 1832. It consisted of two frigates, three corvettes, three armed brigs, and four schooners, besides transports and a number of gun-boats, to cover the landing. An officer who held a commission in the British army undertook the command of the naval department, with the rank of admiral. The whole army on board did not amount to 10,000 men, scantily provided with artillery, and still more scantily with cavalry.

Dom Miguel made every preparation in his power to repulse the threatened attack. On the 8th of July Dom Pedro appeared before Oporto, landed his troops, and took possession of the town, without the loss of a single man. Miguel immediately menaced Oporto from two points. On the 22d of July an action took place, in which his troops were repulsed, and compelled to fall back.

The operations of the naval squadron were attended with little success. Several partial engagements took place between the two fleets, but no advantage was gained on either side. Dom Pedro continued to fortify Oporto; whilst Miguel, with equal industry, was increasing his army, the greater part of which lay on the north side of the Douro. The Miguelites made an attack upon a suburb of Oporto, which they carried; and the possession of this place enabled them to harass the city greatly. Dom Miguel then made a general but unsuccessful assault upon the works with which Oporto was surrounded. Finding that it was impossible to carry Oporto by storm, Miguel determined to cut off the supplies. By this step Dom Pedro found himself reduced to great difficulties.

The contention continued through 1833. In this year Admiral Napier, then commanding Dom Pedro's fleet, utterly annihilated the enemy's in the neighbourhood of Cape St Vincent. Previously to this achievement, a body of queen's troops had landed at another point of the coast, and in a few days the whole of the Algarves declared for Donna Maria. This small army, under the command of Villa Flor, now Duke of Terceira, marched upon Lisbon, and on the way completely routed a greatly superior force. The capital was deserted by the garrison; the inhabitants rose en masse, and declared Donna Maria their lawful sovereign; and the Duke of Terceira, entering Lisbon in triumph, hoisted the queen's colours on the citadel. Dom Pedro instantly set sail from Oporto to assume the government, and no sooner had the intelligence reached France and England, than both immediately acknowledged Donna Maria as queen of Portugal.

Great preparations were made for the defence of Lisbon against the Miguelite army, 18,000 strong, which, under Marshal Bourmont, an experienced general, was now advancing towards the capital. Several attacks were made on the defences during the rest of the year 1833, but the results were unimportant. The first military operation of importance which took place in 1834 was the capture of Leiria, an important town between Lisbon and Coimbra, which capitulated to the queen's troops in February. A battle was lost by the Miguelites near Almoster, where Saldanha was posted; and towns and provinces began to declare for the queen so rapidly that the cause of the usurper became desperate. He shut himself up at Santarem, with a view of keeping up his communications with the frontiers of Spain, whence he expected aid. It was a singular coincidence, that in Spain as well as in Portugal, an infant queen was supporting her cause by favouring popular privileges, with an uncle for her rival, as a representative of more despotic principles of government. The cause of the two queens being so far the same, a community of interest led to an alliance, to which the courts of Britain and France became parties. Each was recognised as lawful successor to the throne to which she aspired, and they both agreed to employ their arms jointly against their two rivals. Don Carlos was compelled to fly from Spain into Portugal, and thither he was pursued by a Spanish army, which proved even more fatal to Dom Miguel than to Don Carlos. The Miguelites, seeing all hope lost, rapidly disbanded, and only the miserable remnant of an army remained attached to the usurper. A suspension of arms was agreed to; and on the 26th of May a convention was entered into, by which Miguel formally consented to abandon the country. The terms granted him were, that he should never again set foot either in Portugal or Spain, nor in any way concur in disturbing these kingdoms; that he should leave the country within fifteen days; that he should have a pension of about L.15,000, and be permitted to dispose of his personal property, after restoring the crown jewels and other articles; and, finally, that, by his command, the troops still adhering to his cause should instantly lay down their arms, and the fortresses surrender to the queen. On the 2d of June he embarked for Genoa, where he had no sooner arrived than he issued a declaration declaring that he had acted under compulsion in relinquishing the throne, and that the transaction was null and void.

The civil war being thus terminated, an extraordinary Cortes was assembled on the 14th of August. The regency was ultimately conferred on Dom Pedro, but he expired on the 22d of September 1834, having, during the latter years of his life, acted a part which the earlier stages of his career gave the world little reason to expect. The queen's marriage with the Duke of Leuchtenberg, the son of Eugene Beauharnois, and the brother of Dom Pedro's wife, was soon afterwards resolved upon. A bill to exclude Dom Miguel and his descendants from the throne of Portugal was passed without one dissentient voice. The budget for the year 1834 showed a considerable deficit, and this formed an excuse for treating the British auxiliaries, to whom they owed so much, with shameful ingratitude.

Prince Augustus of Leuchtenberg, the husband of the young queen, having arrived in Portugal in the beginning of the year 1835, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, a nomination which gave rise to much contention. But death soon cut short the discussion, for the young prince expired on the 28th of March. The chambers, however, did not allow the queen to indulge long in the sorrows of widowhood. The constitutional system depended greatly on a direct succession to the throne, and before the end of the year the queen's second marriage was arranged. The bridegroom selected was Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg, a nephew of the King of the Belgians.

The prince arrived at Lisbon in April 1836. Government now became extremely annoyed by the question, whether the king should be appointed to the command of the army, when it turned out that this was one of the special conditions of the marriage treaty. The proceeding proved very unpopular, and materially hastened a revolution, in which the ministry and the constitution were shipwrecked together. It does not appear, however, that the government anticipated any serious changes, as the country, although a good deal irritated, exhibited no dangerous symptoms of discontent. Yet the revolutionary plot must have been arranged beforehand, for even the troops of the The queen was compelled to declare the political constitution of the 23rd of September 1822 to be in vigour; but it was at the same time agreed that it should undergo such modifications as circumstances had rendered necessary. A new ministry was immediately appointed, and Prince Ferdinand was deprived of his military commission. But neither the great body of the people nor the more influential classes showed any indications of accordance with the remodelers of government. Almost all the nobility, the superior clergy, and many persons holding official situations of greater or of less importance, refused peremptorily to take the oath to the new constitution. The peers, whose existence as a separate legislative assembly was thus abolished, protested to the queen against the measure. The queen, however, was obliged to accede to most of the demands of the liberal party, and thereupon dismissed her ministers.

The principal events which followed these changes were, the economizing of the expenditure, the imposition of a tax for the support of the priesthood, the introduction of a uniform system of duties on vessels sailing from Portuguese harbours, the abolition of the slave trade, and other measures of more or less moment. During the years 1837 and 1838 some provinces of Portugal were kept in constant terror, and, to a certain extent, ravaged by rebel banditti, whose ostensible object was to excite a rising in favour of Dom Miguel. The most noted of these guerilla chiefs, Remechido, was at length taken and shot.

To trace the tangled thread of Portuguese politics, to narrate all the changes of ministry, all the outbreaks of the people, during the last few years, would be tedious and uninteresting. It will be sufficient to mention the principal events. On the 4th April 1838, the nineteenth anniversary of the queen's birthday, she and her husband solemnly swore to maintain the new constitution; and an amnesty was granted towards all political offenders in respect of events that had taken place since the 10th September 1836. Viscount Sa da Bandeira was placed at the head of the new cabinet; and the general election of deputies was proceeded with. On the 31st October the queen was delivered of son, who received the title of Duke of Oporto, and is now the reigning king. During the year 1839 there were two changes of ministry; in the latter Costa Cabral came into power. Early in 1840 the Cortes were suddenly dissolved, and a new Cortes summoned to meet in May. As the year wore away dissatisfaction showed itself in a part of the army, but the insurrectionary spirit was soon put down. About this time a quarrel broke out between the governments of Spain and Portugal as to the navigation of the Douro, which had been declared free to both nations throughout its course by a convention signed in 1835, leaving certain regulations to be settled afterwards. The Portuguese government appearing to hold back, that of Spain threatened to enforce the treaty ré et armis, whereupon the former gave way, and the dispute was adjusted.

In January 1842 Costa Cabral, who then held the portfolio of justice, suddenly left Lisbon for Oporto; and there, along with the military commander, proclaimed Dom Pedro's charter of 1822; forming, at the same time, a provisional government in the name of the queen, in the presence of the municipal authorities and the troops of the garrison. It was strongly suspected that the court connived with this proceeding; however the government compelled the queen to dismiss Cabral from his office, and to issue a proclamation against the insurrection. A new cabinet was formed, at the head of which was placed the Duke of Palmella; but the troops at Lisbon and the populace broke out into open revolt, demanding the restoration of the charter, whereupon the newly-appointed ministers resigned, and a royal decree issued proclaiming the charter to be the law of the land. Of the next cabinet the Duke of Terceira was nominal chief, and Costa Cabral came in as minister for home affairs. The Cortes met in July, and the queen told them, with reference to the charter, that their mission was to consolidate it. Matters went on pretty quietly until February 1844, when a regiment mutinied, and the insurrectionary spirit spreading, the Count de Bomfin put himself at the head of about 700 men, and retired to Almeida, where he was besieged by the government forces. The alleged object of the insurgents was to procure the dismissal of the ministers. They made, however, a feeble resistance; the place was surrendered, and the leaders allowed to escape into Spain. After the close of the session ministers did several arbitrary acts under the shelter of royal decrees, for which, however, they were afterwards indemnified by the Cortes. In April or May 1846, the standard of revolt was once more raised. The insurrection commenced in the Upper Minho, the immediate cause being, the imposition of a new tax. Great dissatisfaction with the ministry had existed throughout the nation for some time; the conduct of Costa Cabral especially had excited indignation and disgust, his rapacity and venality being notorious, and his increasing wealth evident. A great part of Portugal was up in arms, and the ministers resigned; whereupon a new ministry was formed, with the Duke of Palmella at its head, and the Marquis of Saldanha and the queen issued a proclamation promising a redress of grievances, including a restoration of the liberty of the press. Cabral (who had been ennobled the previous year by the title of Count Thomar) made his escape into Spain. A royal decree authorized the Bank of Portugal to suspend its cash payments. The Chamber of Deputies was dissolved, and the Cortes assembled for the ensuing 1st of September. At the commencement of October the queen abruptly dismissed her ministry, and at once entrusted Saldanha with the task of forming a new one. The suddenness of the proceeding, and the names of some of the ministers, led a large section of the nation to believe that the crown wished to replace the Cabralista party in power. A considerable body of troops revolted, and placed themselves under the leadership of the Conde das Antas and the Conde da Bomfin; whilst a revolutionary Junta was organized at Oporto. Affairs being in a very alarming position, the British government despatched a special agent to watch the proceedings, and endeavour to effect a reconciliation between the parties; and a British fleet was ordered into the Tagus. In the confusion that ensued, an attempt was made to excite a movement in favour of Dom Miguel, but this utterly failed. Cabral wished to return to Portugal, but the ministers prevented him; giving him, however, the appointment of ambassador at Madrid. On the 23rd December an engagement took place at Torres Vedras between the queen's troops, under Saldanha, and the insurgents, under Bomfin, about 4000 men being engaged on each side. Bomfin was completely routed; 1300 of his men were taken prisoners along with the commanders, at a loss to the queen's army of nearly 400 killed and wounded. Saldanha (now a duke) then marched into the north, a small force having been stationed at Estremoz, in the east. He remained inactive for some time in the neighbourhood of Oporto, but being too weak to besiege or attack the place, the insurgents gathered strength and organized their plans. In April 1847, several steamers having fallen into the hands of the insurgents, about 1200 troops under Sa da Bandeira were transferred from the north to the south; where, being augmented by a body of the local militia, they marched in the direction of Lisbon. Troops under the Conde de Mello raised this portion of the insurgent army to about 4000. On the 1st May an engagement took place in the neighbourhood of St Ubes (Setubal), in which 500 of the Portugal, the most westerly kingdom of continental Europe, Boundaries lies between 36° 56' and 42° 13' N. Lat., and between 6° 15' and extent and 8° 55' W. Long. Its length from N. to S. is 310 geographical miles, and its extreme breadth is 132 miles. It has the figure of an irregular parallelogram, and its superficial extent is estimated at 35,400 square miles. On the N. and E. it is bounded by the Spanish provinces of Galicia, Leon, Estremadura, and Andalusia; on the S. and W. by the Atlantic Ocean, to which it presents a coast-line of nearly 500 miles in length, having only one province, Tras-os-Montes, Statistics, not washed by the sea. On the N. the coast is low at first, but it afterwards becomes rugged and steep. In Beira it again gets flat, sandy, and marshy; in Estremadura it is in one part steep, and in another almost a dead level, and very insecure; in Alemtejo it is low, being full of rocks and shallows; and although at Cape St Vincent it is high and rocky, as we proceed towards the Spanish frontier the country sinks into low sandy downs. The promontories most worthy of notice are Mondego in Beira, Carvoeiro de Rochea and Espichel in Estremadura, Sines in Alemtejo and San Vicente, and Santa Maria in Algarve. On the low coasts there are inlets of the sea, which afford opportunities for the formation of excellent harbours.

Portugal is not separated from Spain by any natural boundaries, and hence in all its physical relations it is to be considered as a westerly continuation of that country. The principal chains of mountains are prolongations of those which traverse Spain. In the N., between the Minho and Douro, the country is intersected in various directions by the southerly and westerly procession of the Galician and Austrian mountain ranges, which terminate at the sea in a steep and broken coast. The provinces situated in this quarter are alternating mountain and high table-land, a continuation of the lofty table-land of Old Castile and Leon. The Serra de Montezinho, near the northern frontier, is a lofty range, on the summit of which snow lies for many months of the year; and indeed the peak of Gaviarra, 7850 feet, which forms part of the Serra de Sunjo, is said to be crowned with perpetual snow. This range runs between the rivers Lima and Minho, terminating at the sea under the name of the Serra d'Estrica. On the left bank of the Lima extends the Serra de Gerez, a branch of the last-mentioned range, and declining towards the lower Douro, receives the name of the Serra de Sant Catarina. The highest point of this range attains the altitude of 7360 feet. In the province of Traz-os-Montes is also the Serra de Marão, on the left bank of the Tamega, and stretching down almost to the Douro. To the E. of it is the plateau of Guardo, between 2000 and 3000 feet in height, and which on the N.E. is bounded by the Serra de Montezinho. In the province of Beira, between the rivers Mondego and Zezere, extends the Serra d'Estrella, a continuation of a chain which traverses Leon and Castile. The mountain ridge consists of granite and layers of sandstone. It presents a shattered and savage aspect, is covered with snow during the greater portion of the year, and in its ramifications incloses the river Mondego. Its highest summits are those of Cantaro Delgado and the Malao da Serra. Northwards it declines gently towards the Vouga, and stretches in a westerly direction to the gates of Coimbra, under the name of the Serra de Alcoba. The southerly branch runs through the province of Estremadura, to the mouth of the Tagus, forming the granite mountains of Cintra, which terminate in the sea at the Cabo de Roca (Rock of Lisbon). To the S. of the mouth of the Tagus stretches the Serra d'Arabida, an inferior range. Between the Tagus and the Guadiana the country is elevated, but gradually sinking towards the Spanish province of Estremadura, is bounded on the S. by a continuation of the Sierra Morena of Spain, which mountain chain is here penetrated by the river Guadiana. The Serra de Caldeirao, which afterwards bears the name of the Serra de Monchique, a ramification of the gigantic Sierra Morena, extends in a westerly direction to the sea, where it terminates in Cape St Vincent, and completely incloses Algarve. Its loftiest peaks are Foya (3840 feet) and Picota (3720 feet), near the western extremity of the chain. From this account it will be seen that Portugal is a land of mountains intersected by valleys, many of which contain scenery of great beauty. There are, however, two plains of some extent; one to the S. of the Tagus, of which that of Santarem forms a continuation, and one at the mouth of the Vouga.

Portugal receives its principal rivers from Spain. The Rivers largest are the Tagus, the Guadiana, the Douro, the Lima, and the Minho. The Tagus originates in the Sierra d'Albaracin, on the borders of Cuenca and Aragon, flows at first in a northerly direction, and then turns to the S., but during the most part of its course its general bearing is westerly. After traversing several Spanish provinces, it enters the Portuguese territory near the point where it receives the Sever, separates the provinces of Beira and Alemtejo, and after dividing Portuguese Estremadura into two unequal parts, falls into the Atlantic. It receives the waters collected between two parallel ranges of mountains, flows through a mountainous country, and its current is much broken by rocks and cataracts. Its waters are turbid, and annually overflow and fertilize the extensive plains in the environs of Santarem and Villa Franca. Lower down it forms many marshes of considerable extent, which yield a large revenue. The length of its course is 450 miles. It is affected by the tide a considerable distance above Lisbon, but it is only navigable to Abrantes. Its width is so great near its mouth as to make it resemble a vast lake or arm of the sea; and at Lisbon it forms one of the finest and safest harbours in the world. The tributaries which it receives on the N. are the Elga, the Ponsal, and the Zezere; and those from the S. are the Sever, the Sorraya, erroneously called Zatas in most maps, and the Canha; but none of these are navigable. The rivers worthy of notice which have their source in Portugal are the Cavado, Ave, Vouga, Mondego, Sado, Odemira, Portimão, and Rio Quarteira. The Cavado rises in the Serra de Gerez, and after traversing the province of Minho, discharges itself near Esposende, being only navigable for 7 miles. The Vouga has its source in Beira, and after traversing this province, enters the ocean below Aveira. The Mondego issues in the Estrella, crosses Beira and the plains of Coimbra, and finally joins the ocean near Figueira and Buarcos. This is the largest of the rivers belonging exclusively to Portugal, and it is navigable for 60 miles, except in summer, when its waters considerably diminish. Its sands occasionally yield particles of gold. The Sado has its source in Alemtejo in the Serra de Monchique, and flows with a north-westerly course towards Estremadura. It becomes navigable from Porto de Rey, and enters the ocean by a large bay to the S. of Setubal. The same serra gives rise to the Odemira and Portimão, the former being navigable to the town of the same name, and the latter as far up as Silves. The Rio Quarteira has its source in the Serra de Caldeirão, and forms at its mouth the small port which bears its name. These rivers, when swollen by the winter rains, overflow their banks, much to the advantage of the country, for the waters leave a rich deposit behind them. In summer they are very low, and many of the smaller rivers of Portugal are dried up during that season. They are in general much obstructed by rocks and bars of sand at their mouths, by which navigation is greatly impeded.

Portugal possesses no navigable canals worthy of notice. Lakes and morasses, lakes, and inferior inland seas, none of them being of great circumference. Several mountain lakes on the Serra d'Estrella are tepid, and throw up bubbles. Portugal is rich in medicinal springs, some of which are used for baths. They consist of gaseous and saline mineral waters, and of sulphurous and chalybeate springs. Thirty-four hot springs are known to exist, and lead to the supposition that volcanic action is still proceeding below the whole country. The most celebrated sulphur and warm baths are the Caldas de Gerez in Minho, those of Rainha and Oeiras in Estremadura, those of Chaves and Anciães in Traz-os- Montes, of San Pedro do Sul and Penagarcia in Beira, and of Monchique in Algarve. The best chalybeates are at Torro de Moncorvo in Traz-os-Montes, those of Amanha and Guimarães in Minho, and of Villas in Estremadura.

More than half Spanish Galicia—that is to say, all the western and middle parts of the province—consists of granite, gneiss, mica, schist, and other crystalline rocks; the eastern side being chiefly formed of slate, graywacke, &c., which probably belong to the Silurian and Devonian formations. The mean strike of the slates is about N.N.W. Small patches of secondary red sandstones, and marls of unascertained age, are scattered over the province; whilst now and then a small tertiary deposit occurs; and the bottoms of many valleys contain thick deposits of gravel. The same formations are found in the N. of Portugal. Great part of Minho and the western side of Traz-os-Montes are formed chiefly of crystalline rocks; but the rest of the latter province consists of slates, continuous with those in the E. of Galicia. The crystalline rocks extend, with some interruptions of slate and other rocks towards the S. or S.S.E., in a band of 40 or 50 miles wide, through the whole extent of Portugal, from the province of Minho to the Guadiana. The great mountainous districts of the Serra d'Estrela are included in their range. The granites gradually slope away from the Atlantic, and approach the Spanish frontier; while the slates on their eastern flank slope into Spain. The wine district of the Upper Douro is formed of slate rocks belonging to the Silurian system, being of precisely the same mineral type as those of France and Spain, and including the same fossils. These rise up in highly-inclined and vertical strata, and are nearly surrounded by granitic and syenitic mountains. They are quarried for roofing-slates. In this district is the coal-field of Vallongo, which supplies Oporto with anthracite coal, and geologists with a difficult puzzle. By mineral structure and fossil remains it belongs to the carboniferous era, and yet it is seen to dip under lower Silurian schists with their characteristic fossils. Murchison's explanation of the anomaly is, that the trough containing coal of true carboniferous date, deposited upon Silurian strata, has been dislocated and changed by subterranean movements, so that the original relative position of the beds has been inverted. The great granitic band is flanked on its western side by slaty and schistose rocks. The schists run S.E. from the mouth of the Vouga, keeping on the N. of the river; then turning southward, they run along the Serra de Busaco, pass about 4 miles to the E. of Coimbra, and continue along the small river Deuça; and then down the lower part of the Zêzere to the Tagus near Abrantes. The district lying between the schists alluded to and the Atlantic is composed of sandstones of undetermined age, at the base above which are a series of Jurassic beds, a subcretaceous series, and a hippuritic limestone which is equivalent to our chalk. Southward of Abrantes is a great tertiary basin, with an area of between 2000 and 3000 square miles, through which the Tagus and the Sado cut their way to the sea. Lisbon stands in this basin. The most important part of this series is marine, belonging to the miocene period; but there occur some beds of lacustrine limestone. The upper part of this tertiary basin forms a marshy district, consisting probably of quite modern lacustrine and fluviatile deposits. To the N. of Lisbon, basalt, covering a considerable area, sharply separates the secondary and tertiary deposits. To the S. of that basin secondary beds make their appearance in the middle of Alemtejo, and these are probably older than those on the N. of the Tagus. On the S. is a lofty chain of hills, separating Alemtejo from Algarve, and consisting of schists and slates. A little granite, however, occurs at the Cabeça de Monchique. Schists are met with along part of the Alemtejo coast, and syenite at the Cape of Sines. In Algarve a band of secondary rocks lies to the S. of the schistose chain, and these are overlaid by tertiary deposits on the S. coast. Trap has burst forth near Cape St Vincent. Very little is known as to the geology of Portugal, except in regard to the neighbourhood of Lisbon and Oporto. The reader is referred, for further information, to Mr D. Sharp's Memoirs in the Transactions of the Geological Society for 1841; and to the Journal of the Geological Society, vols. v. vi. and ix.

Tin mines appear to have been wrought by the Carthagenians in this part of the Peninsula; and it is affirmed that mines of tin-stone existed in some granitic mountains of Beira. Mines of gold and silver were wrought in this country by the Romans. There are lead mines near Coimbra, a mine of plumbago near Mogaiouro, and iron mines near Figueira and Torre de Moncorvo. In Estremadura there are two very old establishments of the same kind, one in the district of Thomar, and the other in that of Figuero dos Vinhos. On the frontier of that province, and of its neighbour Beira, are situated the mines of red oxide of iron by which they are supplied. Iron indeed is one of the most abundant minerals in the country. There is a mine of antimony near Oporto, and the mountains in that neighbourhood everywhere give indications of copper and other ores. All the mines, however, are worked to a very small extent; the mineral riches of the country are great, but capital and enterprise are required to turn them to account. In Portugal there are also mines of tin, mercury, bismuth, and arsenic. Some of the rivers of this country, as well as those of Spain, are washed for the gold which they contain; and it is said that in this way large quantities of the precious metal were formerly collected. The river Tagus was anciently celebrated for the particles of gold which were found mingled with its sands; but its greatest riches are now borne on its bosom. Indeed, none of the streams yields a quantity worth much above the labour of collecting it. There is only one gold-mine in Portugal, situated in a place called Adissa, in the district of Setubal; but its annual produce is a mere trifle, not reaching 20 lb. weight at an average. Two coal-mines exist: one near Figueira, and the other near Oporto; but the coal is of inferior quality, and large importations consequently are made from England. The country abounds with beautiful marbles, but they are comparatively little wrought, from the expenses required to bring them to market. Precious stones are found in Portugal, and also quarries of limestone, gypsum, slate, freestone, millstone, black agate, together with immense beds of pyrites and marcasites, potter's and porcelain clay, and pits of common salt. In 1853, 60,000,000 bushels of salt were produced, of which about seven-twelfths were exported.

Various causes conspire to produce great differences in the climate of Portugal in different situations, such as inequality of soil, vicinity to the ocean and to mountain ranges, &c. The mountain chains in the northern part of the country are very rugged and cold, the limits of perpetual snow being in this latitude under 8000 feet. This cold region comprises a considerable portion of the provinces of Traz-os-Montes and Beira, and the whole of the northern frontiers of Minho. The sea-coast of Portugal is very warm, the heat of summer, however, being tempered by the sea-breezes. The elevated plains and mountains are sterile, and destitute of wood; but the valleys and other low situations have a mild and agreeable climate, and are for the most part fruitful. A great part of Minho possesses a delightful climate. Estremadura, on the other hand, is very hot in summer and very cold in winter; but the high lands throughout the whole southern portion of Portugal have an agreeable temperature, equally removed from excessive heat in summer and severe cold in winter. Algarve alone has an African climate, but the The warmer parts of Portugal have a short winter and a double spring. The first, which commences in February, is a delightful season. The succeeding months are variable, being in some years hot and dry, and in others cold and rainy. Harvest is gathered in June. Summer commences in the last week of July, and continues till the beginning of September. The heat is then very great, parching up all the vegetation on the plains and sea-coast, so that it is necessary to water plants to preserve them from destruction. Rain begins to fall early in October, and the vegetation of spring immediately succeeds to that of autumn. Winter lasts from the end of November till February, but the cold is seldom excessive, except in very elevated situations. In December heavy rains descend, accompanied by strong winds; it is during this period that the rivers are so liable to overflow their banks.

The climate of Portugal, in general, may be pronounced salubrious, particularly along the coasts and on the table-lands. Fevers of various kinds appear to be the diseases most prevalent, but there are disorders peculiar to different localities. In many districts, in the country around Lisbon for instance, earthquakes are not unfrequently felt in harvest and winter. Portugal is rarely visited by violent storms, and thunder is seldom heard except during autumn and winter.

Birds are not numerous; vultures and the gray eagle haunt some of the serras, and the red-legged partridge is common. Of wolves, wild cats, wild goats, wild boars, stags, and some other species of large game, there are a few in certain localities. Hares are rare, and rabbits are not so numerous as in Spain. Amphibious reptiles are not common, but vipers and venomous serpents abound in the mountains; the other parts of the country, however, appear to be free from them. There are several species of lizards. The rivers are amply stocked with fish, and the coasts literally swarm with them; but the fisheries are much neglected, and large quantities of salted fish are imported.

The indigenous flora is very much the same as that of the rest of the Peninsula. Besides the British species of elm, ash, maple, sycamore, poplar, alder, hazel, and arbutus, there are found species of oak, willow, rhamnus, juniper, and heath, which are not indigenous in our islands, in addition to the species that are. Amongst the oaks, the cork-tree and the kermes oak may be noticed. Here grow also the bay tree, Portugal laurel, Spanish chestnut, two species of Pistacia, three species of Phillyrea, the sumach, carob-tree, Celtis australis, Pinus maritima, and P. pinea. The myrtle, pomegranate, rosemary, lavender, liquorice-plant, as well as Viburnum Tinus, Daphne Gnidium, Smilax mauritanica. Thirty species of Cistus, and many members of the genera Genista, Spartium, and Cytisus, are natives. In the south large plains are covered by Cistus ladaniferus, with patches of the dwarf-palm (Chamaerops humilis). Amongst the flicées it is curious that Davallia canariensis, a fern only found elsewhere in the Atlantic islands, should grow at Cintra and the neighbourhood of Oporto. Turning to plants which have been introduced, we may mention that, at the latter place, the camellia flourishes in the open air; whilst at Lisbon there grow, unprotected in gardens, the date-palm, the dragon-tree, coral-trees, acacias, and Photolacca dioica. The Agave americana has become wild; and this is the case in the extreme south of Portugal with a cactus, the castor-oil plant, and the oleander. Groves of fruitful orange trees and fields of rice also attest the mildness of the climate; and, contrasted with the alpine plants on the mountains of the north, give some idea of its range. Much needs to be done to work out the flora of Portugal, for scarcely anything has been published respecting it since Brotero's Flora Lusitanica, which appeared in 1804. In Algarve the carob-tree and fig-tree yield fruits that are not only consumed on the spot, but are largely exported. From the fruit of the arbutus a spirit is extracted; almonds are produced in considerable quantities. The leaves of the dwarf-palm are applied to many useful purposes; and the grass known as Esparto (Stipa tenacissima, L.) is made into mats and cordage. There are large forests of Spanish chestnut on the mountains, but the kermes of the Quercus cocifera is no longer gathered, its use having been superseded by cochineal. A cactus (Opuntia) yields a fruit on the lower grounds which is much esteemed on the spot.

According to the census of 1854, the population of the several provinces of Portugal was as follows:

| Province | Area in sq. miles | Population | |-------------------|-------------------|------------| | Entre Minho e Douro | 3,144 | 851,266 | | Trás-os-Montes | 4,044 | 314,524 | | Beira | 8,712 | 1,155,275 | | Estremadura | 7,294 | 730,629 | | Alentejo | 10,056 | 301,062 | | Algarve | 2,169 | 148,383 | | **Total** | **35,400** | **3,499,121** |

The cities and towns having more than 10,000 inhabitants are—

| City | Population | |--------------------|------------| | Lisbon | 275,000 | | Coimbra | 15,000 | | Oporto | 90,000 | | Elvas | 12,000 | | Setubal | 17,000 | | Ovar | 12,000 | | Braga | 16,000 | | Évora | 10,000 |

The government, once one of the most absolute kind, is now a limited monarchy, altered by an additional act dated 5th July 1852. The existing constitution bears date the 29th April 1826. The crown is hereditary, and may be worn by females as well as males. The person of the monarch is irresponsible. There are two legislative chambers,—that of the peers and that of the deputies,—which are conjunctively named the General Cortes. The peers are named for life by the crown, by whom the president and vice-president are nominated. The deputies are chosen by direct election; the electors must be of full age, and possessed of a yearly revenue of about L.22. The deputies must have an annual income of about L.89, but no property qualification is necessary in the case of the graduates of a learned profession. The number of electoral districts in continental Portugal is 37, and the number of deputies is 133. The deputies elected in Madeira, Azores, and the colonies, amount to 25. Each deputy has a remuneration of about 10s. a day during the session. The annual session lasts three months, and a fresh election must take place at the end of four years. In case of a dissolution a new Cortes must be called together within thirty days. The chamber of peers consists of about 115 members, but the crown has the power of appointing new peers without limit. A peer does not necessarily bear a title; and, in fact, many peers are without titles, as many of those who have been ennobled have no seat in the chamber. There are seven ministers of state, one for each of the departments of the interior, finance, justice, and ecclesiastical affairs; public works, commerce, and industry; naval affairs and the colonies; war and foreign affairs. The deliberations of these ministers, who form, as we would say, "the cabinet," are held in the presence of the president of the council, who is considered the prime minister. Several of the ministers are assisted by administrative boards; for instance, there is a board of public instruction under the minister of the interior.

There are six orders of knighthood in Portugal, viz.:—Knights, The military order of Christ, established in 1319; the royal titles, order of San Thiago of the sword, founded in 1283; the order of Avis, for military merit, established in 1213; the military order of the Tower and Sword, founded in 1439, and revived in 1805–8; the order of Our Lady of the Statistics. Immaculate Conception of Villa Viçosa, for civil merit, founded in 1818; and the female order of Santa Isabel, established in 1804. In 1749 the King of Portugal received from Benedict XIV. the title of rex fidelissimus; and his Most Faithful Majesty styles himself "King of Portugal and Algarve, of both sides of the sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea, and of the navigation, conquests, and commerce of Æthiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India." The heir to the throne is styled Prince-Royal; his eldest son Prince of Beira; the other royal children are called Infants and Infantinas of Portugal. The present Braganza line of princes commenced with John IV., who was proclaimed king in 1640. The national escutcheon is a silver shield, with five smaller blue shields lying crossways. On each of these are five silver pennies, placed so as to form a St Andrew's cross. There is a red border containing the armorial bearings of Algarve, which are seven golden castles with blue towers. The number of royal palaces, and that of the nobility, are in inverse proportion to the extent and wealth of the kingdom. Of the former there are eleven; and as to the latter there are, according to the Almanach de Portugal for 1856, no fewer than 7 dukes, 21 marquises, 79 counts, 102 viscounts, and 106 barons.

Finances. The finances have been in a bad state for many years. The debt is rapidly increasing, the income being never equal to the expenditure. The national credit has fallen very low, and the nation is greatly impoverished; a state of things which internal troubles, breaches of contract with creditors, unprincipled dealings, and financial blunders, have contributed to form in their several degrees. The public debt was in 1855, L2,384,538; an enormous amount for so poor a country, the interest of which presses grievously upon the springs of industry. The national revenues arise from—1. Direct imposts; 2. Customs and indirect imposts; 3. Rents and profits of national property. From the first class, consisting of a land-tax, income-tax, percentage on land sold, stamps, &c., there was produced in 1856 about L630,000. From the second class, which includes the produce of the tobacco and soap monopoly, there was raised about L1,384,000; and from the third, which includes the profits of the post-office, about L140,000 was obtained. Besides these sums, L118,000 was raised chiefly by the sale of national property. The budget for 1858-9 was—Income, L2,553,100; expenditure, L2,894,790; deficit, L341,690; two-thirds of which it was proposed to make up by various retrenchments and reductions of salaries. The king and royal family receive endowments amounting to L131,000. The members of the Cortes receive L17,000. In the budget for 1856-7, the following sums were allotted to the ministers for the expenditure of their several departments—Finance (in addition to the allowances above mentioned, and to the interest on the national debt), L160,000; home affairs, L260,000; justice and ecclesiastical affairs, L100,000; war, L64,000; marine, L186,000; foreign affairs, L33,000; public works, commerce, and industry (including railways, roads, and post-office), L231,000.

Justice. For the administration of justice, continental Portugal is divided into 105 comarcas, in each of which there is a judge called juiz de direito, the highest judicial authority in the district. From his decision there is an appeal to one of the two superior courts of appeal sitting at Lisbon and Oporto. These judges must not remain more than six years at the same place, and are never appointed to exercise their functions in the district in which they were born. To the court of each juiz de direito is attached a public prosecutor, who is appointed by the crown, like the judge himself. Inferior to the juiz de direito are three classes of judges, exercising jurisdiction within narrower limits, appointed by the people; they serve two years, and are named juizes ordinarios, juizes electos, and juizes de Statisticas paz. Criminals are tried before a jury composed of twelve persons, except in thinly-populated districts, where nine persons may form a jury. Their verdict needs not to be unanimous; it is sufficient if two-thirds are agreed. In civil cases the parties may agree to dispense with a jury, and this is very frequently done, in which case their functions are exercised by the judge. The course of law in civil matters is tedious and expensive; in criminal proceedings the accused frequently lies many months in jail before being brought to trial. The functions of police magistrates are exercised by an officer called administrator, appointed by the crown in each concelho or district of a municipal chamber.

The strength of the army for the economic year 1855-6 Army and was fixed by law at 24,000 men of all arms, exclusive of navy, the municipal guards. On the 1st of January 1855 the army actually comprised—infantry, 15,217; cavalry, 2394; artillery, 1563; and engineers, 334. In addition to these there was a militia amounting to 5000 men. The engineers consist of one battalion, the artillery of three regiments, the cavalry of eight regiments, the infantry of eighteen regiments, besides nine battalions of riflemen. Connected with the army are the royal military college at Mafra, the polytechnic school, and the military school, both at Lisbon. Continental Portugal is divided into eight military divisions; the Madeiras and Azores forming two more. At the head of the entire army is the commander-in-chief, who is by law bound to obey the orders of the crown, signified through the secretary of state for war.

The naval force for the same year was fixed by law at 2383 men, distributed amongst one man-of-war, one frigate, three corvettes, four brigs, seven schooners and cutters, and six steamers. Official documents exhibit the fleet as consisting of twenty-six armed sailing-vessels, nine disarmed, four under construction, five armed steamers, and one disarmed, the whole carrying 449 guns. The orders of the crown are communicated to naval officers through the secretary of state for naval affairs.

Continental Portugal is divided into three provinces,—viz., Clergy and Braga, Lisbon, and Evora. Under the Archbishop of Braga, ecclesiastic who has the title of primate, are six bishops; under the Patriarch of Lisbon (who is always a cardinal), are five bishops; and in addition the bishops of Angra (Azores), Funchal (Madeira), Cape Verde, St Thomas, and Angola. Under the Archbishop of Evora are three bishops. This hierarchy divides about L21,300 amongst them. Goa in India is the seat of an archbishop, who has under him seven bishops and a prelate. The number of parishes in continental Portugal is 3769. The conventual establishments were suppressed in 1834, and their property taken by the state. At that time there existed in Portugal 632 monasteries and 118 nunneries, the two classes having 18,000 inhabitants. A few convents, however, are still permitted to exist, but their inmates are in a state of great poverty, and the buildings are gradually falling to ruin. The lower ranks of the priesthood throughout Portugal are poorly educated and badly paid. Roman Catholicism is the religion of the state, but all other forms are tolerated; and there are Protestant chapels at Lisbon and Oporto.

The affairs relating to public instruction are under the Public Instruction management of the superior council of education, the nominal head of which is the secretary of state for the home department. This council holds its sittings at Coimbra. In Portugal the school is entirely separated from the control of the church; a remarkable fact in a Roman Catholic country. By a law enacted in 1844 it is compulsory on parents to send their children to a place of public instruction, but this law is far from being enforced, and only a very small fraction of the full number really attends a school. There is only one university in the kingdom, that of Com- Statistics, bra, founded in 1290. This has five faculties and forty-six professors and lecturers, who are attended by between 800 and 900 students. In 1854 there were 1136 schools devoted to primary instruction in the kingdom, attended by 33,500 scholars of both sexes; of whom only 1570 were females. The lyceums, which constituted the division of secondary instruction, were 182 in number, and the pupils were 2860. Into the section of superior instruction fall the polytechnic academies and medico-chirurgical schools of Lisbon and Oporto, besides the university of Coimbra; into that of special instruction fall the academies of fine arts at Lisbon and Oporto, and the royal conservatorio of Lisbon for music, declamation, and dancing. As to the education of the clergy, six dioceses have seminaries, and eight have halls of theology. There is a royal military college at Mafra, an army school, a navy school, and a veterinary school at Lisbon. In the building of the extinct monastery of Belem, about 900 orphan and abandoned children of both sexes are supported, educated, and taught various useful arts. Two educational institutions recently established by government at Lisbon are likely, if properly worked out, to be attended with great benefit to the nation. These are the agricultural institute and the industrial school. The first is a college where instruction on the scientific treatment of the soil, cattle, &c., is imparted. In the year 1854-5 eighty pupils matriculated. The second is an institution where various useful arts are taught, as well as the elements of mathematical and physical science. In November 1855 the pupils amounted to 458. There is also an agricultural institute at Oporto. Lisbon has two botanical gardens; Oporto and Coimbra each one. These three cities have likewise observatories, public museums and libraries, and printing establishments. At Lisbon is a national printing establishment supported by the state; but recourse is had to a foreign country when neatly-printed books are required.

Portugal is behind almost every nation of Europe in agriculture; and improvements are here very slowly introduced. The soil is neither manured nor tilled as it ought to be. The plough is composed of three pieces of wood awkwardly fastened together, and imperfectly aided by wheels. The districts best cultivated are the valleys of the Minho, the Upper Douro, and some portions of Traz-os-Montes and Beira. The total want of roads, and internal circumstances, present a very great check to every kind of production, and to native industry generally. Not one half of the area of Portugal is cultivated, and that in a very insufficient manner. Until lately grain was imported; it is now only beginning to be exported; and yet grain is a staple production, like oil and wine. Finer wheat, finer grapes, finer olives, can nowhere be produced; yet the wheaten bread is not good, the oil is inferior, and proper care is not taken in making the wines. Farmsteads, such as we are acquainted with in England, do not exist. The small occupants keep a few pigs, a goat, and poultry; but the rearing of swine, sheep, and cattle, is almost exclusively confined to the wealthier proprietors of extensive unreclaimed lands at the extremes of the kingdom, or in the vicinity of the Spanish frontier. The cattle in the north are small but fine, many of them having been reared on the fertile pastures of Galicia, and smuggled across the Minho. The southern breed is of great size, and is particularly well adapted for drawing the rude carts of very ancient form, the wheels and axles of which turn round together. The breed of pigs is not good; but as droves usually feed on acorns and chestnuts, the pork and hams are much esteemed. The best breed of sheep is reared on the frontier of Spain; but the mutton is generally very poor. The flocks of the Alentejo yield the best wool. Milch cows are rare, butter being imported. Cheese is made on the mountains from the milk of sheep and goats; but in the cities the cheese consumed is imported. The milk consumed is chiefly that of goats. The general bread of the people is made from maize, for the cultivation of which grain the climate and soil are well adapted. The straw affords sustenance through the winter to the draught oxen. Rice is grown to a considerable extent in marshy districts in the south. The vegetables chiefly cultivated are beans, gourds, cabbages, onions, garlic, and potatoes. Chestnuts are a considerable item in the food of the people. Beer is almost unknown, wine taking its place. The horses are principally imported from Spain; but the native breed of mules is fine. The quantities of agricultural produce used as food, raised in 1855, were these:—Wheat, 938,100 quarters; maize, 1,714,200 quarters; rye, 651,900 quarters; barley, 271,400 quarters; 68,100 quarters; kidney-beans, 104,700 quarters. Hemp and flax are extensively grown. The average annual production of olive oil may be given at 28,000 pipes; and of this quantity, between 6000 and 8000 pipes are annually exported. Oranges, almonds, figs, and carob-tree fruit are grown and exported. In 1853 the sheep are calculated to have numbered two and a-half millions; the wool produced amounted to nearly four millions of pounds, and the raw silk to 315,000 pounds. Cork bark to the amount of 61,500 cwt. was exported in 1853.

Four modes of cultivating the vine are adopted in Portugal,—1st, The vine is trained upon pollard or low trees, after the manner in use by the ancients Romans. 2d, In the valley of the Douro the vines are planted on terraces, and are not allowed to be higher than about 4 feet. The branches are tied to stakes as the fruit ripens, so that the grape is at least 8 inches above the ground. This is the mode generally adopted in the port wine district, where the ground is turned three times a year by hand labour, it not being possible to use the plough. 3d, The vines are planted in rows about 8 feet apart, with the view of admitting the plough between them. The plants are kept low, and resemble gooseberry bushes. 4th, In gardens near towns the vines are supported on trellises at a height of 8 or 10 feet above the ground, walks and arbours being formed beneath. In the wine district of the Douro, when the grapes are cut, they are conveyed in baskets to the press, which resembles a large stone trough. The white grapes are separated from the dark ones, but of the latter all varieties are thrown together, to make the wine we know as port. The grapes are then trodden by the feet of labourers stepping to the sound of some musical instrument; and when the first gang is tired, another takes its place. The operation is continued for about thirty-six hours. The grapes being fully crushed, fermentation commences in the "must;" and this is allowed to proceed for a longer or shorter time, according to the quality of the grape and the kind of wine proposed to be made. A "must" deficient in saccharine matter becomes wine in a much shorter time than one in which that matter is abundant. To produce a rich wine, the fermentation is checked, and brandy is added; to produce a dry wine, the fermentation is permitted to run its natural course, and only a small quantity of brandy is thrown in. Many varieties of grape are in cultivation, and the wines produced are very numerous. From the Douro district, a mountainous tract about 40 miles from Oporto, we derive port wine. The district within the control of the Oporto Wine Company produced in favourable years about 105,000 pipes; but the production for the last year or two has scarcely been one-fourth of this. A large tract of soil is devoted to the vine beyond this district; but the wine is consumed in the country. Comparatively little of the wine produced on the banks of the Tagus, known in this country as Lisbon wine, comes to England, the chief part of the exportations being taken to Brazil. Buccelas is the best known of these wines. The number of pipes of Portuguese wine annually exported previously to the appearance of the vine disease was about 60,000, more than one-third of which was taken by Britain, and about one-half by Brazil. The average total quantity of wine annually produced amounted to about 650,000 pipes. In 1853 about 16,500 pipes of brandy were produced.

The manufactures of the kingdom are of little importance, except in the coarsest fabrics. Not more than about 20,000 persons are employed in manufactures, and all the finest fabrics are imported. Small arms are made at Lisbon and Oporto; porcelain, after foreign designs, at Vila-alegre; cotton goods at Lisbon, Oporto, and Thomar; gold and silver work, iron and tin wares, at the same places; steam-engines and general foundry-work are made at Lisbon and Oporto; pottery, stearine candles, and fine soap are made at Lisboa, where there are sugar-refineries, distilleries, tanneries, &c. There are woollen manufactories at Lisbon, Port-alegre, Covilhao, and Tomé; glass manufactories at Marinha Grande, Terra de Feira, and Vista-alegre. Silk is manufactured in the Algarve; paper at Tojal and Alemquer. That Portugal is advancing, is shown by the increasing use of steam-power and machinery in manufactories, oil-mills, corn-mills, &c.

The foreign trade of the country has been much reduced by the separation of Brazil and political disturbances. The chief articles of exportation are wine, oil, salt, wool, fruits, cork-bark. The chief importations consist of the finer fabrics of silk, cotton, linen, and wool; coals, metal-work, metal ores, tar, pitch, drugs, salt fish, butter, and cheese. Heavy duties are imposed on many manufactured fabrics, and a good deal of smuggling is the consequence. For this reason, and the additional reason, that many goods were imported for the purpose of being smuggled into Spain, where still higher duties were imposed, the official returns are little to be relied on. In 1854 the total value of the imports was, according to official returns, about Ls.444,600; and the total value of exports amounted to Ls.147,500. The following table gives the particulars of imports and exports for that year:

| Imports | Exports | |---------|---------| | Cotton and cotton goods | Ls890,000 | Ls154,440 | | Linen goods | 124,500 | 23,110 | | Woollen goods | 237,500 | 31,150 | | Silk goods | 68,140 | 14,660 | | Fats and fatty goods | 144,800 | 45,330 | | Animals | 43,480 | 53,320 | | Animal products | 127,000 | 70,660 | | Fish | 148,880 | 26,660 | | Colonial produce | 419,100 | 13,330 | | Grain | 109,350 | 381,220 | | Wine, spirits, and fermented liquors | 8,880 | 1,460,440 | | Fruits, seeds, and plants | 8,440 | 248,410 | | Woods | 160,440 | 87,550 | | Crockery and glass | 22,000 | 3,600 | | Metal goods | 1,693,550 | 348,000 | | Minerals, coal, &c. | 972,440 | 17,770 | | Paper | 27,130 | 8,440 | | Chemicals and drugs | 153,110 | 139,330 |

The extent of the trade between Great Britain and Portugal may be judged of from official returns relating to the year 1854. In that year we received from Portugal produce to the amount of Ls.1,102,000, and we sent to her foreign and colonial produce to the amount of Ls.150,000, and home produce to the amount of Ls.1,370,600; there entered British ports during that year 195 Portuguese vessels with cargo; whilst in the preceding year 558 laden British vessels entered Portuguese ports. In 1854 Great Britain took from Portugal 22,800 pipes of wine; and in 1855, 52,000 qrs. of grain (principally wheat), and 10,430 cwt. of flour. Brazil is the next best customer of Portugal. In 1853 Brazil received from her goods amounting to Ls.580,000; and sent her produce of the value of Ls.190,000. There is also commercial intercourse between Portugal and the United States of America, France, Spain, Russia, Sweden, and Norway.

At Lisbon there are two joint-stock banks, and at Oporto one. At these two cities there are several insurance offices, and public companies for working mines, carrying on manufactures, &c. The nominal amount of capital embarked in public companies at the commencement of 1855 was, however, no more than Ls.3,326,000. The manufactures of tobacco and soap form government monopolies, and are farmed out to companies whose articles are much complained of. The cities of Lisbon, Oporto, and Coimbra are lighted with gas manufactured by companies. At the two former places many English have settled, who are chiefly engaged in the wine trade.

Portugal is connected with England, France, the Mediterranean ports, and Brazil, by regular lines of steamers. Small steamers also connect Oporto, Lisbon, and ports in the Algarve. The Portuguese government is endeavouring to establish a line of steamers for connecting the Azores with Lisbon, and another line for connecting their West African possessions with the mother-country. In 1852 the ships, boats, &c., of continental Portugal numbered 671, with a tonnage of 71,400, manned by 7387 persons.

Several railways have been projected, but the only one completed is a line of 22 miles connecting Lisbon with Carregado. Telegraphic lines, worked by electricity, have been established between Lisbon and the Spanish frontier, and Lisbon and Oporto.

The post-office is in the hands of government. The rate of postage has lately been reduced; and a letter not exceeding a quarter of an ounce is now carried any distance within the kingdom for 14d., which is paid by a stamp, on our own plan.

The coinage is on the decimal system, and accounts are kept in reis, 4500 of which are equal to the pound sterling. The chief silver coins are the testa=100 reis, the cruzado novo=486 reis, and the mil-rei, or dollar=1000 reis. There are gold coins of 4800 reis (the moeda, or moideiro), 5000 reis, and 9000 reis.

The Azores and the Madeiras (see these articles) are Colonies, termed adjacent isles, and are not considered colonies. The Portuguese exercise sovereignty over the islands of Cape Verde, the islands of Principe, S. Thomé, and Anno Bom, off the African coast, near the equator; have possessions on the Guinea coast; and lay claim to a great region on the west coast of Africa, south of the line known as Angola and Benguela. The area of the country claimed by them in this part amounts to 153,000 square geographical miles, and the inhabitants are said to number 53,000, chiefly Negroes.

On the east coast of Africa the Portuguese claim the territory of Mozambique, extending from the Bay of Lourenço Marques, in Lat. 26° S., to Cabo Delgado, in Lat. 10° S. The area is calculated at 216,000 square geographical miles, and the population at 300,000. In Hindustan the Portuguese have settlements at Goa, with a subject population of 350,000; a strip of land at Damão, in the Gulf of Cambay, with 34,000 inhabitants; and the fort of Diu, in Gujerat, with a piece of land inhabited by 11,000 persons. In China, Portugal claims nine square miles at Macao, with a population of 4600. She also claims the islands of Timor and Solor, lying between Australia and Java. These are said to have a population of 92,000.

The language, like the Italian, may be described as a soft bastard Latin, for the majority of Portuguese words are derived from that tongue. It has a close affinity to the Spanish; so much so, that Spaniards and Portuguese can understand each other; and yet considerable differences have been produced by the separation of the two kingdoms through a long course of years, and by the efforts of the Portuguese themselves, who have always desired to make their language diverge as much as possible from their neighbours. The Spanish tongue is more dignified, stately, and Portumna rich; the Portuguese more concise, soft, and fluent, with more conversational aptitude. In the latter tongue is embodied a large number of Teutonic and Arabic words; of words of eastern origin, chiefly Arabic, a list of 1400 has been made out. It has no guttural sounds, but possesses many strongly-marked nasal endings, chiefly em, ão (formerly written am), and ãa. J and x are soft, not guttural, as in Spanish; ch is also soft, as in French, not hard, as in Spanish; h is silent except in the middle of a word, when it has the liquid sound of y; c before e and i is soft; before the other vowels hard, unless marked with the cedilla. Adjectives change their terminal o into a for the feminine; s is the sign of the plural in nouns; and the infinitive mood of verbs ends in r. The language is easily acquired by foreigners. The best modern dictionary is P.S. Constancio's Novo Dicionario Critico e Etimologico da Lingua Portuguesa, Paris, 1836; its etymological explanations, however, are frequently unsatisfactory.

The literature of Portugal, almost ignored by the rest of Europe, contains, it must be admitted, no masterpieces, with the exception of Os Lusitadas of Camoens; and this poem is much oftener mentioned than read out of Portugal. It has, however, been translated into most European languages, there being no fewer than three into English. The language, lending itself readily to verse, poetry forms a disproportionately large section of the literature; and of this section love poems form the great bulk. Several early kings and members of the royal family composed verses, and thereby gave fashion to the occupation. In the fifteenth century romantic pastorals, the most artificial of all poetical compositions, came into vogue, and this class of poetry has ever since been much cultivated. At the close of the fifteenth century appeared Bernardino Ribeiro, one of the best of the early poets; and a little later the much-esteemed poems of Sã de Miranda saw the light, many of them, however, being written in the Castilian language. Camoens' great poem was first printed in 1572. Amongst modern poets the name of Almeida Garrett, only recently dead, is conspicuous. The first classical prose work is a romance entitled Corte na Aldca, by Rodriguez Lobo, published towards the close of the sixteenth century; and at the same period the works of Cortereal, another classic writer, saw the light. In the seventeenth century appeared several works of travel, one of which, Mendes Pinto's Perigrinacm (1620), has been translated into most European languages, and has acquired a distinguished reputation for want of veracity. In one of Congreve's plays, a dealer in fictions is thus addressed,—"Mendes Pinto was but a type of thee, thou liar of the first magnitude!"

In the department of history the writers are numerous. The national conquests in the sixteenth century are a favourite theme; and here the Decads of Barros (1553), the Livy of the Portuguese, are conspicuous. In the next century Andrade's Life of Don João de Castro, fourth viceroy of the Indies, is considered a masterpiece of biographical composition. Almost the only complete history of the kingdom by a native writer is the Historia de Portugal, by Lemos, 1785-1804, 20 vols. A valuable history of the kingdom is, however, in progress, and promises, by its critical spirit and elegant style, to form a classical work. We allude to the History of Alexandre Herculano, the royal librarian, of which four volumes have appeared. In a nation which has always boasted of its adherence to Romanism, it is only to be expected that theological and ecclesiastical writings should be numerous, and a glance at any library will show that such is the case. We shall content ourselves, however, with referring to Diniz's Das Ordens religiosas em Portugal, 1853.

As to pieces for the theatre, the early dramas of Antonio Ferreira, Camoens, and Gil Vicente, the Plautus of Portugal, were original; then came imitations of the Spanish writers; and of late years the French stage has been the main support of the Portuguese drama. The best comedy in the language is thought by the Portuguese themselves to be the Countess Vimieiro's Osmia, which was crowned by the Academy. It is founded on an event in their early history.

In the department of fiction the Portuguese of the present time rely chiefly on importations or translations from other nations, chiefly the French. With regard to periodical literature, there are between forty and fifty newspapers published in the capital, and in the principal towns; they are all of small size, and their circulation is very limited. The leading articles read like translations from the French applied to Portuguese topics. Those who wish to learn more of the literature of Portugal may consult Sismondi's History of the Literature of the South of Europe.

In this department Portugal presents us with no name of fine arts. The exception of an old painter who is known as the Gran Vasco, and who in that country takes the rank that Raphaelle takes in the rest of Europe. The events of his life are unknown; the year, even the century of his birth, is a matter of dispute; and all that can be said with certainty is, that he was born either in the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. A vast number of pictures in different parts of the country are attributed to him, the majority, no doubt, quite erroneously. The best collection of his works is said to be found in the cathedral of Viseu. The wealthier class of Portugal seems to have little taste for the fine arts; a few of the nobility, however, possess small collections. The national collection is deposited in the convent of St Francisco (at present the Academy of Fine Arts) at Lisbon; but not more than half-a-dozen pictures of real value are to be found in it. Exhibitions of the works of living artists occasionally take place here.

The following works may be consulted by those desirous of learning fuller particulars on the subject of Portugal—

Forrester's Prize Essay on Portugal, second edition, 1854; Portugal und Seine Colonien, von Dr Minutoli, 1855; Murray's Handbook for Travellers in Portugal, 1855; and the Boletin do Ministerio das Obras Publicas, an official work published at intervals.

(J.Y.J.)