Page 60 - Northern Spain & Portugal: Pilgrimage into the Past

Christianity reached Portugal near the end of the 1st century. By the 3rd century, bishoprics
had been founded at Lisbon, Braga, and other towns. With the decline of the Roman Empire,
Barbarian invaders crossed the Pyrenees into Spain in A.D. 409 and eventually made their way
to Portugal. The Visigothic empire dominated the peninsula for some two centuries. However,
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decade, they had advanced and conquered all but the mountainous reaches of the Asturias in
northern Spain.

The Moors also quickly took over Portugal, though most of their settlements were contained
to the south, where the fertile wheat belts lay. The Moors, in contrast to the Visigoths,
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were allowed freedom of worship and their own civil laws, while under Muslim law small
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Roman irrigation techniques and introduced the rotation of crops and cultivation of cotton,
rice, oranges, and lemons. Their culture and scholarship led the world—though less from
Portugal than from Cordoba and Seville in Spain—and they forged important trade links, many
of which were to continue centuries after their fall.

The Christian Reconquest—called the Reconquista— It was during the long period of the
Christian reconquest that the Portuguese nation was created (as separate from Spain).
Throughout the period of the Reconquest, many Knights from other Christian countries came
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Ferdinand the Great, king of Leon and Castille, awarded him the Territories of Portus and Cale,
as well as the hand of one of his daughters in marriage. From their union a son was born,
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After the death of Knight Henrique, who had always been very independent from the King
of Leon and Castille, his son Afonso Henriques proclaimed himself King of Portucale after a
winning battle against his mother’s army (she had remained loyal to King of Leon and Castille)
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reclaim lands from the Moors, which were followed by more battles led by his successors—
Sancho I, his son, and Afonso II, his grandson. During the reign of Afonso III (1248-1279), the
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King John I started the second Portuguese Dynasty, called Aviz, after defeating invading
Castilian forces at Aljubarrota. He ruled from 1385-1433. His union with Philippa,
granddaughter of Edward III of England, produced a son who oversaw the emergence of
Portugal as an empire—Prince Henry the Navigator. Under the aegis of Prince Henry,
Portuguese ships sailed out along the coast of Africa; the Madeira Islands and the Azores
were soon colonized; and a blueprint had been established for continued exploration during
the rest of the century. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope, proving
that Asia was accessible by sea. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached the west coast of India. By
the middle of the 16th century, the Portuguese Empire extended to West and East Africa,
Brazil, Persia, Indochina, and Malaya. In 1581, Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal and held
it for 60 years, precipitating a catastrophic decline in Portuguese commerce. By the time

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