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PORTUGAL THE COUNTRY
Fancy a little history and geography lesson …. read on, if not skip and move onto the next blog entry.(Source:www.worldmapmaker.com)
The Flag (adopted 30 June 1911)
Flag: the flag consists of 2 vertical stripes- the left stripe is green and the right stripe is red.The stripes are uneven as the green stripe takes up two fifths of the flag's length and the red the remaining three fifths.A coat of arms with the country's traditional shield is centred on the Portuguese flag where the two colours meet.
Meaning:the Red represents the Portuguese Revolution of 1910 and the Green represents hope.The white shield consists of five blue shields with five white dots.The blue shield represents the first king of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques 1, victory over five Moorish kings and the divine assistance he received to do so is represented by the five dots, which symbolises the five wounds of Christ.Arranged in a cross the shield represents Christianity.The red border featuring seven castles symbolises the extension of Portugal's territory to include the Algarve.Behind the arms there is a navigational instrument, an armillary sphere.It celebrates Prince Henry the Navigator, who initiated the maritime exploration that led to Portugal's one time colonial empire.
Background: Following its heyday as 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 its wealthiest colony of Brazil in 1822. 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.
Area: total: 92,391 sq km land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
Land boundaries: total: 1,214 km border countries: Spain 1,214 km
Climate: maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
Natural resources: fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower
Population: 10,707,924 (July 2009 est.)
Nationality: noun: Portuguese (singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese
Ethnic groups: homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal
Religions: Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)
Government type: republic; parliamentary democracy
Capital: Lisbon
Independence: 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)
National holiday: Portugal Day (Dia de Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died
Currency:Euro
Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.
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