Portugal

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Portugal fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇮🇹 Roman Republic155 BC to 139 BC

   The Lusitanians fought Roman expansion for decades. Their leader Viriathus, a former shepherd, defeated several Roman armies from 147 BC until he was murdered in 139 BC by his own envoys, bribed by Rome.

2. Umayyad Caliphate and al-Andalus711 to 1031

   Muslim armies conquered the region from 711. For three centuries the south belonged to al-Andalus, ruled from Cordoba, while Christian kingdoms pushed down from the north, taking Porto in 868 and Coimbra in 878. Al-Mansur's raids reversed the advance before the caliphate collapsed in 1031.

3. 🇪🇸 Kingdom of Leon1128 to 1143

   Afonso Henriques took control of the County of Portugal after beating his mother's party at Sao Mamede in 1128, then fought his cousin Alfonso VII of Leon. The Treaty of Zamora in 1143 accepted him as king.

4. 🇲🇦 Almoravids and Almohads1139 to 1249

   North African dynasties defended the Muslim south. Afonso Henriques won at Ourique in 1139 and took Lisbon in 1147. Almohad armies struck back, besieging Santarem in 1184, before Portugal completed its conquest with the Algarve and Faro in 1249.

5. 🇪🇸 Crown of Castile1383 to 1411

   Castile tried to absorb Portugal after King Ferdinand I died without a male heir. Defeat at Aljubarrota in 1385 ended the attempt, and a lasting peace was signed in 1411.

6. 🇳🇱 Dutch Republic1602 to 1663

   The Dutch attacked Portugal's empire while it was joined to Spain. They seized Malacca, coastal Ceylon and much of north east Brazil. Portugal won back Angola and Brazil, and peace treaties in 1661 and 1663 confirmed the losses in Asia.

7. 🇪🇸 Habsburg Spain1640 to 1668

   After sixty years under Spanish kings, Portugal rebelled on 1 December 1640 and crowned John IV of Braganza. Victories at the Lines of Elvas, Ameixial and Montes Claros wore Spain down, and the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668 recognised independence.

8. 🇪🇸 Kingdom of SpainSince 1801Still open

   In the War of the Oranges of 1801 Spain took the border town of Olivenza. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 called for its return, but Spain kept it. Portugal has never formally accepted Spanish sovereignty there, though the dispute is calm today.

9. 🇫🇷 First French Empire1807 to 1814

   Napoleon's armies invaded three times between 1807 and 1811 to close Portugal to British trade. Anglo-Portuguese forces under Wellington drove them out, and the war ended with Napoleon's fall in 1814.

10. 🇮🇳 Republic of India1954 to 1961

    India demanded Portugal's enclaves on its coast. Activists took Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1954, and in December 1961 the Indian army invaded Goa, Daman and Diu, ending 451 years of Portuguese rule in Goa.

11. African liberation movements1961 to 1974

    Wars of independence broke out in Angola in 1961, Guinea-Bissau in 1963 and Mozambique in 1964. Thirteen years of colonial war drained Portugal and led army officers to overthrow the regime in the Carnation Revolution of April 1974.

Today

Portugal now

A global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822. A revolution deposed the monarchy in 1910, and for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup ushered in broad democratic reforms.

Capital

Lisbon

Government

semi-presidential republic

Head of government

Luís Montenegro

Head of state

António José Seguro

Languages

Portuguese

Area

92,230 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population10.4 million2023 · 8.4 million in 1950
• Life expectancy82.4 years2023 · 58.5 years in 1950
• GDP per person$28,9922022 · $3,325 in 1950
• Living in cities62%2025 · 28% in 1950
• Literacy95%2011 · 58% in 1950
• Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950
• Military spending1.7% of GDP2025 · 2.3% of GDP in 1950
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.