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Portuguese ethnicity indicates genetic origins in Portugal. The Portuguese people are a broad mix of different groups which historically migrated into the Iberian Peninsula. These include the Celts and Lusitanians in the first millennium BCE, the Romans from the third century BCE onwards, then Germanic groups such as the Visigoths and Suebi that arrived as the Western Roman Empire was collapsing in the fifth century CE, and the Muslim Berbers and Arabs who arrived in the early eighth century and conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula. Other historically significant groups are the Sephardic Jews of Portugal who lived here in significant numbers in medieval times, as well as a significant minority of Brazilian people, the latter of which constitute over 200,000 of the country’s ten million people.[1] Because of the country’s extensive tourism sector there is also a significant British expatriate community who live in Portugal today. Owing to Portugal once having a vast overseas empire that included parts of Africa, India, the East Indies, Macau in China, the Cape Verde Islands and Brazil in South America, Portuguese people have migrated substantially around the world and have influenced the ethnic makeup of many countries, especially Brazil [2] and Venezuela, where Portuguese people and their descendants are the largest Portuguese community in the Spanish-speaking world, being around 4.5% of the population.[3]
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The state of Portugal itself began to emerge in the ninth century as one of the numerous Christian kingdoms and principalities which were created as the Reconquista of the country from the Muslims progressed. Others included Asturias, Leon, Castile and Aragon, however, where these other states eventually united over time to become the Kingdom of Spain, Portugal hewed its own path. In the ninth century, it was known as the County of 'Portus Cale', which eventually became the Kingdom of Portugal under King Afonso I in the middle of the twelfth century. Lisbon was conquered and amalgamated into the new kingdom in 1147 as part of the Second Crusade. A century later when Afonso III completed the conquest of the Algarve the modern country of Portugal had come into existence.[4]
Portugal’s modern history has been one of highs and lows. In the fifteenth century, this small Atlantic nation led the European exploration of the world, discovering the sea route around Africa to Asia. An empire followed which included parts of Africa, India, the East Indies and Brazil. As a consequence, the Portuguese language and Portuguese spread around the world, most especially to Brazil. Yet at home Portugal remained an economically and politically undeveloped country and when Brazil became an independent nation in 1822 Portugal was left as a second-rate European power.[5]
In modern times Portugal’s political history mirrored that of its near neighbor. Political crises in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries eventually resulted in the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar and the Estado Novo from 1932 onwards. This only ended in 1974 with the Carnation Revolution, following which Portugal granted independence to its remaining colonies in Africa (Angola and Mozambique) and the East Indies (East Timor). Today Portugal has one of the most stable and successful small economies in Europe, based heavily on tourism and benefiting immensely from membership in the European Union and free travel.[6]
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Portuguese culture
Many elements of Portuguese culture are well-known worldwide. Fado music and the use of Portuguese guitars have been prominent features of the musical culture of Portugal since the early nineteenth century. It is widely believed to constitute the oldest urban folk music in the world and has a number of regional variations in Lisbon and other parts of the country.[7] In other respects a great many of Portugal’s cultural characteristics have been determined by the country’s historic attachments to the Roman Catholic Church and life in Portugal even today is often centered around religious festivals, while the most prominent buildings in many towns and villages remain the local church. The architecture of Portugal more broadly is notable and the country has a large concentration of UNESCO World Heritage sites for such a small country. These include the Monastery of Batalha, the Belem Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery.[8] Portuguese cuisine is amongst the most celebrated in Europe, with a strong emphasis on wine, fish, shellfish and pork.[9]
Portuguese languages
Portuguese is the official language of Portugal and is spoken by over 95% of people in the country as their first language. Owing to its geographical proximity and the extensive and open border, many people also speak Spanish as a second language. English is also widely spoken as a second or third language, in large part owing to the tourism industry. It is particularly prevalent in Lisbon and in the Algarve in the south, which are the hubs of the tourism sector. A small though notable number of people also speak French or German. Because of the presence in Portugal of a large Brazilian community, there are several dialects of Portuguese spoken. Another unusual feature of the lingual landscape of Portugal is the survival of Mirandese, an Astur-Leonese language that is recognized as the official language of Portugal. It has survived the medieval period as a version of improper Latin. Knowledge of it is almost entirely confined to the north-eastern corner of Portugal where approximately 15,000 people still speak Mirandese.[10]
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Notable Portuguese record collections on MyHeritage
| Name of collection | Number of records | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal, Madeira, Index of Baptisms, 1738-1910 | 1,676,377 | ||
| Portugal, Baptisms, 1570-1910 | 1,216,220 | ||
| Portugal, Madeira, Index of Marriages, 1574-1940 | 871,318 | ||
| Portugal, Porto, Catholic Church Baptisms | 491,215 | ||
| Portugal, Marriages, 1670-1910 | 310,931 | ||
| Portugal, Madeira Court Records | 257,902 | ||
| Portugal Deaths, 1640-1910 | 250,837 |
Explore more about ethnicity estimates
- MyHeritage DNA at MyHeritage
- Ethnicities around the world at MyHeritage
- What Is My Ethnicity? How MyHeritage Estimates Ethnicities at MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Where's My Ethnicity?!: Why An Ethnicity Might Not Show Up In Your DNA (and How To Find Evidence Of It Anyway) at MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- What are Genetic Groups? on the MyHeritage Help Center
- What additional information can I get for each Genetic Group? on the MyHeritage Help Center
References
- ↑ Brazilians living in Portugal at all-time high. The Portugal News
- ↑ Portuguese speaking countries. WorldData
- ↑ Maior comunidade portuguesa da América Latina esperançada numa nova Venezuela Jornal de Notícias/ref>
Portuguese history
Portugal is a country that has experienced extensive migration and changes to its ethnic makeup over the millennia. In ancient times it was inhabited by the Lusitanians and Celts. Some small amount of colonization of the southern coastline was undertaken by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians in the first millennium BCE, but the region was only properly drawn into the ambit of Mediterranean civilization when the Romans conquered Iberia between the third and first centuries BCE. Thereafter half a millennium of Roman rule occurred, but it came to a shuddering halt in the fifth century CE when Portugal was overrun by Germanic and Asiatic tribes such as the Visigoths and Suebi. The Suebi, in particular, established a large presence in the north of what is now Portugal. Finally, the arrival of the Muslim Berbers and Arabs, or Moors as they later became known, in the early eighth century added a further component to the ethnic landscape of the country. Portuguese ethnicity, such as we know it today, is a mixture of these ancient and medieval influences.<ref>Suevi (Suebi) (Germanic). The History Files
- ↑ HOW TO UNDERSTAND PORTUGAL. Portugal.com
- ↑ Portuguese Empire. World History Encyclopedia
- ↑ Portugal’s Carnation Revolution. Tribune
- ↑ Fado – The Soul of Portuguese Music. Portugal Online
- ↑ Portugal. UNESCO World Heritage Convention
- ↑ 20 tasty ways to eat your way through Portugal. CNN Travel
- ↑ What Languages Are Spoken In Portugal? World Atlas