Is Portugal the oldest country in Europe?

John of Gaunt’s daughter, Dª Filipa de Lencastre, as she’s called by the Portuguese, married El Rei D. João I and their third child was the Infante D. Henrique (Henry the Navigator). So, an illustrious alliance gave rise to what is still known as the “Illustrious Generation”. On an ever more positive note, from all accounts theirs was a happy marriage, allying romance to the glamour of historical fact. Lets not forget the finest mango of the finest fruit on Earth, the Alfonso cultivated by Alfono de Albuquerque in Maharashtra India.

The Portuguese colony of Goa was to the south of Maharastra and Albuquerque put India at the forefront of this loveley tropical fruit: once tasted never forgotten and never would one stray to tge lesser varieties. Although it is true that the Alliance with England, which became Britain in the 18th century played a role in Portuguese independence, one cannot really believe that it was the sole or the main cause. The Portuguese elite was better off being independent form Spain because they could profit much more, being an atlantic nation (like Britain and the Netherlands), unlike continental nations like France, Germany or Spain. Also, Portugal had always had a good army, at least one that could easily defeat the Spanish who really do not hold a very good record when it comes to their battles and wars against the Portuguese.

Fascinating post. I knew we had been allied with Portugal for a long time but not all these details- such as the help during Falklands.

On a personal note I have always found the Portugese to give a very friendly reception to British visitors and English is fairly widely spoken.

I am still hoping to get out there to a lovely yoga centre in the Northern Algarve in the Autumn. Portugal deserves to get its tourist trade back quickly once hopefully things settle down on the virus front across Europe.

One major reason is because they have had a friend in Europe ever since 1147:

As I recall, and this is from memory, Salazar did in fact offer to enter WWII on the side of the allies. However, if Portugal had done so then Spain would certainly have joined forces with the Axis, opening a new front on the Iberian peninsula, as you say. There were not sufficient resources available to fight on another front, so it was thought better if Portugal remained neutral, and the offer was politely turned down. I don’t think so Alun. Salazar wanted to keep Portugal neutral during the WWII. It was of his interest to do so because he wanted to be able to still trade with both sides and protect the Portuguese Colonies in Africa and Asia. It has also been said that the British wanted Portugal to be neutral to allow them to have a safe place for spying activities (Ian Fleming os one of those spies). There are many movies , documentaries and biographies that described the informal gatherings of both sides in the high class hotels near the coast (Cascais, Sintra, Estoril). It was also a safe harbor for many Jews that gathered here waiting for visas to go to the US.

Now, back in 1147, it was just the St. George’s Cross in the middle, since the rest of the UK hadn’t united yet, but you get the idea.

During the Second Crusade, a force that included several thousand Englishmen came to the aid of King Afonso I of Portugal and helped him capture Lisbon from the Moors in 1147. (They haven’t actually had the same borders since 1139.) This was the beginning of friendly relations between the two nations. England and Portugal signed a treaty of friendship in 1373 and made a formal alliance at the Treaty of Windsor in 1386.

Anglo-Portuguese Alliance - Wikipedia

Since then, the two nations have never been at war with one another. Portugal was forced to side with Spain when the Spanish crown held Portugal between 1580 and 1640, but even then, many Portuguese never accepted Spanish rule and went into exile in England. When the Portuguese overthrew their unwanted Spanish overlords, guess who was there to assist? When the country regained its independence, the 1386 treaty was still considered to be in force.

When Napoleon and his satellite government in Spain invaded Portugal, the Portuguese maintained their independence with British help. The French occupied the country in 1807, but Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington, showed up in 1808, and with the help of the Portuguese people, gave the French the boot.

There was a low point in relations between the two countries when the British strong-armed Portugal over a colonial dispute in 1890, but the Portuguese still kept to the alliance, eventually entering WW1 on the Allied side and granting facilities to the Royal Navy in the Azores during WW2. (Portugal was officially neutral, but favored the Allies as much as Franco favored the Axis. Not wanting a conflict in the Iberian Peninsula, the British never asked Salazar to enter the war.) Portugal again made the Azores available to the British during the 1982 Falklands War.

When Churchill asked for the use of the Azores in 1943, he addressed Parliament about the matter and made a point of stressing that he was invoking agreements that dated back almost six centuries:

"I have an announcement", I said, "to make to the House arising out of the treaty signed between this country and Portugal in the year 1373 between His Majesty King Edward III and King Ferdinand and Queen Eleanor of Portugal."

I spoke in a level voice, and made a pause to allow the House to take in the date, 1373. As this soaked in there was something like a gasp. I do not suppose any such continuity of relations between two Powers has ever been, or will ever be, set forth in the ordinary day-to-day work of British diplomacy.

Portugal has chosen its friends well…