Such legendary explorers as Bartholomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan sailed under Portuguese masts throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, their journeys blessed by ambitious monarchs. Eighty percent of Portugal’s current population is Roman Catholic. The Discovery Age giant was thrown into economic turmoil after an earthquake ravaged the capital, Lisbon, in 1755, a fall that Portugal has never quite recovered from. Largely dependent on the success of its colonies, the nation’s strained economy was pushed into steeper decline with the independence of Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822 and the flood of emigrants returning home as other African and Asian colonies were relinquished through the next century.
Portugal is a semi-presidential republic with a head of government – the prime minister – and a head of state – the president – who has power to appoint the prime minister and other government members. The country is administratively divided into 308 municipalities, subdivided into 3,092 civil parishes. Operationally, the only legally identifiable local administrative units are the municipality and civil parish, and the national government.
