Portugal is the oldest nation state on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in Europe, its territory having been continuously settled, invaded and fought over since prehistoric times. It was inhabited by pre-Calticand Caltic peoples, visited by Phoenicians-Carthaginians, Anicient Greeks and ruled by the Romans, who were followed by the invasions of the Suebi and Visigothic Germanic peoples. After the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors, most of its territory was part of Al-Andalus. Portugal as a country was established during the early Christian Reconquista. Founded in 868, the County of Portugal gained prominence after the Battle of Sao Mamede(1128). The Kingdom of Portugali was later proclaimed following the Battle of Ourqiue(1139), and independence from Leon was recognized by the Treaty of Zamora(1143).

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global maritime and commercial empire, becoming one of the world’s major economic, political and military powers. During this period, today referred to as the  Age of Discovery, Portuguese explorers pioneered maritime exploration with the discovery of what would become Brazil (1500). During this time Portugal monopolized the spice trade, divided the world into hemispheres of dominion with Castile, and the empire expanded with military campaigns in Asia. However, events such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the country’s occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of brazil (1822) erased to a great extent Portugal’s prior opulence. A civil war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession lasted from 1828 to 1834.