Mediterranean Pirates
Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary HistoryPORTUGAL: ° Aveiro ° Azores ° Leisues ° Lisboa (Lisbon)
° Madeira Islands ° Oporto ° Ponta
° Ponta Delgada
° Portimao ° Setubal ° Sines
By the time they recovered their independence the Portuguese had lost the bulk of their empire, including most of the valuable East Indies territories which had been occupied by the Dutch, followed by the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake and occupation by Napoleon's troops during the Napoleonic Wars in 1807.
Trade choices were to travel overland—crossing lands occupied by Castilians and Aragons—or travelling by sea.
Grain was imported from Morocco while specialised crops occupied former grain-growing areas: vineyards, olives, or the sugar factories of the Algarve, later to be reproduced in Brazil.
Also, due to close connections with several Islamic kingdoms, mathematicians and experts in naval technology appeared in Portugal, as it became the scientific centre of that time.
The Portuguese government impelled this even further by taking full advantage of this and by creating several important research centres in Portugal, among them was the Institute of Sagres, where Portuguese researchers made several breakthroughs in the fields of mathematics and naval technology.
Until the 15th century, the Portuguese were limited to coastal navigation using small, fragile barques and barinels (ancient cargo vessels used in the Mediterranean) with but one mast. These craft lacked the capabilities to overcome the navigational difficulties associated with extended exploration across seas.
They are associated with the earliest discoveries, such as the Madeira Islands, the Azores, the Canaries, and to the early exploration of the north west African coast as far south as Arguim in the current Mauritania.
A Portuguese caravel ship that truly launched the first phase of the Portuguese discoveries along the African coast, was the caravel. The caravel benefited from a greater capacity to tack. However its small cargo capacity and relatively large crew complement were a significant encumbrance to it’s exploration abilities. Despite this, its successes were considerable.
For astronomical navigation the Portuguese, as did other Europeans, used Arab invented instruments of navigation, such as the astrolabe and the quadrant. They also made use of a home grown instrument known as the cross-staff, or cane of Jacob.
In the period of discoveries (1415-1542), Portugal discovered an eastern route to India that rounded the Cape of Good Hope. The Portuguese established trading routes throughout most of southern Asia and colonized selected areas of Africa. Portugal's government was in conflict with many of the governors of overseas provinces because they kept the fortunes that they made.
The effort to colonize and maintain territories scattered around the entire coast of Africa and its surrounding islands, Brazil, the Indies and Indic territories such as in Malaysia, Japan, China, Indonesia and Timor was a challenge for a population of only one million. Combined with constant competition from the Spanish this led to a desire for secrecy about every trade route and every colony. As a consequence, many documents that could reach other European countries were in fact fake documents with fake dates and faked facts, to mislead any other nation's possible efforts.
The Portuguese and their dogs
For 20,000 years, man has bonded with dogs; in the 5th Century B.C.E., Greeks utilized dogs as guards. Fifty dogs protected the fortresses of Corinth and when attacked, saved the town. Celtic dogs were used for hunting.
Portuguese fisherman also had their dog: the Portuguese Water Dog can be traced back to remote times. Evidence exists which indicates that in pre-Christian times, the water dog was nearly sacred, and severe penalties were exacted on those who killed one. The first written description of the Portuguese Water Dog is dated to 1297, and concerns a monk's report of a dying sailor who had been brought out of the sea by a dog which had a "black coat of rough hair, cut to the first rib and with a tuft on the tip of his tail." Due to the historical clip still in use, many writings describe the breed as a "Lion Dog."
It is said that the current day Poodle, Kerry Blue Terrier, and Irish Water Spaniel are possibly ancestors of the water dog, which is quite possible given that the Romans took their dogs with them during their conquests of European nations, thereby spreading bloodlines across the land. This well-balanced working dog was prized by the fishermen as a companion and guard dog. He lived on the working boats where he was taught to herd fish into nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as a courier from ship to ship, or ship to shore.
Tasks required the dogs to be excellent swimmers and seafarers. Dogs were capable of diving underwater to retrieve fishing gear and to prevent the escape of fish from the nets. Constant swimming and working with the fishermen accounts for the remarkable muscular development of their hindquarters.
In Portugal, the breed is called Cão de Água (pronounced Kown-d'Ahgwa). 'Cão' means 'dog', 'de Água' means 'of water'. In his native land, the dog is also known as the Portuguese Fishing Dog. Cão de Água de Pelo Ondulado is the name given the long-haired variety, and Cão de Água de Pelo Encaracolado is the name for the curly-coat variety.
Guardian, February 4, 1891
London, United Kingdom
There was on Saturday a serious military revolt at Oporto, which, however, seems to have resulted in complete failure. A simultaneous revolt on behalf of a Republic had been planned at Oporto, Coimbra, Braga, and Vizen with the view of marching on Lisbon as soon as the troops were sent out of the capital. The leaders, however, found that the movement was known to the police, and the outbreak at Oporto was consequently precipitated. At 4 a.m. on Saturday some 400 soldiers of the 9th Regiment of Chasseurs, the 10th Infantry Regiment, one Company of the 18th Regiment, and a portion of the Fiscal Guards on Foot, marched out and first attempted to seize the Prefecture of Police and the Central Telegraph office, but were frustrated by the Municipal Guard, which repeatedly charged the rebels. Meanwhile, the Civil Governor had handed over his authority to the General commanding the Oporto Military Division, who immediately called out the loyal troops, which included the Municipal Guard, the artillery, a part of the 18th Regiment, a detachment of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, and the Mounted Fiscal Guards. On the advance of the troops the small number of civilians who had joined the movement dispersed, while the insurgents themselves withdrew to the town-hall, but after a feeble show of resistance were forced to surrender, owing to want of ammunition. The Municipal Guard afterwards occupied the town-hall and hauled down the flag of the Republican Federal Club, which the insurgents had hoisted. Only six or seven officers of inferior rank participated in the revolt. The civil head of the revolt is stated to be a lawyer named Alves Veiga, who had formed a Republican directory, but the persons comprised in it were not present, either because he had used their names without leave, or that they foresaw the failure of the movement. Dr. Veiga has made his escape. The number of insurgents at first arrested amounted to fifty-four, of whom eleven were civilians. Thirty more, however, subsequently gave themselves up to the police. Three soldiers and four civilians were killed, among the latter being a woman. Ten civilians and thirty-six soldiers were wounded. All the persons who were found in the offices of the Republican journals were arrested, the papers and documents in the offices were seized, and the printing rooms closed by the authorities. The Republican clubs were also closed, and their papers seized. On Sunday the arrests were continued and about 300 civilians and soldiers implicated in the revolt are in custody. Reinforcements have been sent from all parts of the country to Oporto, and the prisoners will be taken to Lisbon on a transport. The 18th Infantry Regiment will be transferred to Braga, while the 9fch Chasseurs and 10th Infantry Regiments will be disbanded. Only three commissioned officers took part in the revolt; but there were several sergeants, one of whom, named Pinto, is now lying seriously wounded. A decree has been published suspending the habeas corpus, and authorising the suppression in any part of the country of journals whose circulation is considered prejudicial to the safety of the State. The Lisbon Republican newspapers, Patria and Debates have been suppressed.
A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire
The Kingdom of Portugal was created as a by-product of the Christian Reconquest of Hispania. With no geographical raison d'être and no obvious political roots in its Roman, Germanic, or Islamic pasts, it for long remained a small, struggling realm on Europe's outer fringe. Then, in the early fifteenth century, this unlikely springboard for Western expansion suddenly began to accumulate an empire of its own, eventually extending more than halfway around the globe. The History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, drawing particularly on historical scholarship postdating the 1974 Portuguese Revolution, offers readers a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of how all this happened - the first such account to appear in English for more than a generation. Volume I concerns the history of Portugal itself from pre-Roman times to the climactic French invasion of 1807, and Volume II traces the history of the Portuguese overseas empire.
