Background: Following its heyday as a world 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 in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.
April 24th 2008Europe » Portugal » Azores » São Miguel Today we got up at 7am, got breakfast and got ready to go on land. We arrived at the Ponta Delgada Port in the Açores on Sal Miguel Island (Green Island) at about 8am. We got off the ship with a mai ... [full story]
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