History of Portugal

The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The oldest human fossil is the skull discovered in the Cave of Aroeira in Almonda. Later Neanderthals roamed the northern Iberian Peninsula. Homo sapiens arrived in Portugal around 35,000 years ago.

Pre-Celtic tribes such as Lusitanians, Turduli and Oestriminis lived in the centre and north. In the south the Cynetes lived in the Algarve and Lower Alentejo regions before the 6th century BC, developed the city of Tartessos and the written Tartessian language, and left many stelae in the south of the country. Early in the first millennium BC, waves of Celts from Central Europe invaded and intermarried with the local populations to form several ethnic groups and many tribes. Their presence is traceable, in broad outline, through archaeological and linguistic evidence. They dominated the northern and central area, while the south retained much of its Tartessian character, combined with the Celtici until the Roman conquest. Some small, semi-permanent trading settlements were founded by Phoenician-Carthaginians on the southern coast of the Algarve.

The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provinces of Lusitania in the south and Gallaecia in the north. Numerous Roman sites include works of engineering, baths, temples, bridges, roads, circuses, theatres, layman's homes, coins, sarcophagi, and ceramics. As elsewhere in Western Europe, there was a sharp decline in urban life during the Dark Ages following the fall of Rome. Germanic tribes controlled the territory between the 5th and 8th centuries. These included the Kingdom of the Suebi centred in Braga and the Visigothic Kingdom in the south. Eventually the Visigoths seized power in the whole of Iberia. Under the Visigoths a new class emerged, a nobility, which played a tremendous social and political role during the Middle Ages, and also began to play a very important part within the state, but since the Visigoths did not know Latin, the Catholic bishops continued the Roman system of governance. The clergy started to emerge as a high-ranking class.

[davidjsouth]

Portugal is a wonderful country but this narrator’s voice is too monotone to be sharing the history of such a magnificent country

[moiramarriott]

Love Portugal, my home now . The narrator seems like a robot, very difficult to listen to for a long period..

[jpmtlhead]

how can such a small country, could be able to control, of the first global, trade empire of the world.
bloody hell, they were tht first europeans.to gey to japan....its just crazy. One of the great nations, of the story of the world.
Very, very brave Men, the Portuguese.

[samtree]

This video is just text-to-speech of "History of Portugal's" Wikipedia page. Still a good listen.

[pbohearn]

Yes, this video is a disservice in that the visuals in no way corresponds to what does mono tone narrator is talking about. She’s talking about ancient Portugal and she is showing visuals from the 15th century and showing apparent royals who you don’t know who they even are. What a joke.😢

[v_boy_v_boy]

I'm sorry but I didn't last 3 minutes listening to that voice. That robot voice makes it impossible .

[MichaelTreadwell-jobi]

Did she mention Catherine of Braganza? Catherine was Queen of England when she married Stuart King Charles II.

[BrianJones-sfuq]

Interesting subject terrible narration

[newyorkislanders]

and to think...today Portugal is known for poverty, hunger and soups for the poor!

[anthonyhaugan]

bad Dated video. needs maps of different eras of Portuguese areas of influence. videos usesonly 10 still photos

[johnnunes]

I didn’t last 2 minutes because of this computerized voice, very annoying

[tazkrebbeks]

After 37 seconds of the CGV I stopped listening. I'll bet it was a good 🎥.
To bad they didn't use a real human.
Is this what the Entitled Generation is becoming? Computerized?
Smh.