Carolina Henriques

Portugal

Hi there! I'm Republica Portuguesa, or the Portuguese Republic.

Capital: Libon

Human name: Carolina Henriques (Names after Alfonso Henriques, who proclaimed himself the king of Portugal in 1143)

Age: 23 ( around 1,000 years old, being founded in the 12th Century)

Gender: female

Birthday: July 25 (The day that Portugal was declared a kingdom)

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Height: 5'5"

Appearance

Portugal is a tan woman with midlength brown hair. She has brown eyes. She usually wears a brown outfit similar to Spain's, except that her coat hangs open and she wears a black tank top underneath. She wears brown pants and dark boots. During wars and exploration she used to wear a red coat with a black hat with pinkish feathers.

Personality

Portugal is stubborn. She's a bit conceited and doesn't take to change very well. She can be quiet and kind when she feels no hostility. She likes to cook fish dishes and being on the water. Her biggest flaw is her pride. Her favorite fish is codfish. She loves to play soccer and is at her calmest when she's by the sea's edge. She's very adventurous and loves to explore new lands.

History

Portugal is located on the Western side of Spain in the Iberian Peninsula. The first settlers there were the Celts. Christians conquered the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims and the First County of Portugal was formed. In 1348 and 1349, like the rest of Europe, Portugal was devastated by the Black Death. In 1373, Portugal made an alliance with England, which is the longest-standing alliance in the world.

In 1383, the king of Castile, husband of the daughter of the Portuguese king who had died without a male heir, claimed his throne. An ensuing popular revolt led to the 1383-1385 Crisis. A faction of petty noblemen and commoners, led by John of Aviz (later John I), seconded by General Nuno Álvares Pereira defeated the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota. This celebrated battle is still a symbol of glory and the struggle for independence from neighboring Spain.

Portugal became a sea-faring power in the 1400s. Portuguese sailors reached the Medeira Islands in 1419, then the Azores in 1431. Vasco de Gama reaches India in 1498 and arrived in Brazil in 1500. Portugal's empire stretched from Africa to Brazil.
Portugal's independence was interrupted between 1580 and 1640. This occurred because the last two kings of the House of Aviz – King Sebastian, who died in the battle of Alcacer Quibir in Morocco, and his great-uncle and successor, King Henry of Portugal – both died without heirs, resulting in the extinction of that royal house. Subsequently, Philip II of Spain claimed the throne, annexing Portugal, and so became Philip I of Portugal. Although Portugal did not lose its formal independence, it was governed by the same monarch who governed Spain, briefly forming a union of kingdoms, as a personal union. Under Spain, Portugal became too weak to hold on to its empire and lost the land it held in Africa and Asia. Portugal regained independence in 1640, but never regained its former power.

In 1762 Spain invaded Portuguese territory as part of the Seven Years' War, however by 1763 the status-quo between Spain and Portugal before the war had been restored. in 1807, Napoleon invaded Portugal with his French Troops. Portugal teamed up with Britain and from 1807 to 1811, fought the French invasion of Portugal. Portugal's royal family was relocated to Brazil.

Portugal's decline of power worsened with Brazil's independence in 1822. During the invasion of the French, Portugal court was transfered to Rio de Janeiro, and was made the capital of the Portuguese empire. The king remained in Brazil until the Revolution demanded he come back. He left his son in charge of Brazil, who then declared Brazil's independence.

Portugal had lost territory in South America and Asia. Portugal focused on expanding its African territories in order to compete with other European powers. The British Ultimatum of 1890 forced the Portuguese military to retreat from Mozambique and Angola. The 1890 British Ultimatum was considered by Portuguese historians and politicians at that time to be the most outrageous and infamous action of Britain against its oldest ally.

In 1916, 40,000 Portuguese troops were sent to fight with the Allies in WWI. They weren't well trained and many were killed. Portugal then became neutral in WWII. It allowed the Allies to build naval bases on its territory. It also supplied both sides with needed items. With Germany, it made them pay immediately, but allowed England to take its time paying them back.

Portugal was lead by a dictator in 1926. It gave the economy some improvements, like women's right to vote, but it suppressed the freedom of religion. Unrest in Africa forced Portugal to give independence to all it's colonies in 1974 and 1975.

Currently, Portugal had slowly recovered from its loss of power and join the EU along with Spain. The government is much more stable and has been working hard to improve the growing economy.

Relations

Britain: Although best friends with Britain, she doesn't get along with him as well as she used to due to the British Ultimatum. They share the oldest diplomatic alliance of the world, starting with the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance in 1373, and are good friends. Each has helped the other in times of need, for example, in 1703 when they teamed up with Netherlands in the War of the Spanish Succession and in the 19th century when Portugal was invaded by Napoleon Bonaparte and once the head of England's house was married to the head of Portugal's house.

Spain: Spain and Portugal were long-standing enemies after the union and fight for independence. They were on opposite sides most of the time. Spain sided with France, while Portugal sided with Britain in the Seven Years War. During the Iberian Union, Portugal lost her grip on some of her colonies. However, they worked together when France attempted to take them both over. Currently, they are friendlier relations. They entered the EU together and are currently helping one another with things like drug trafficking.

Ukraine: Portugal is very good friends with Ukraine. She recognized her independence in 1991 and established a diplomatic relation in 1992. Both are members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.

France: Portugal still holds a grudge on France for the whole Napoleon Invasion.

Brazil: Portugal still cares about Brazil like a big sister would. She always tried to appear strong to her younger brother. She recognized his independeced and was devastated. Brazil cut ties with Portugal until 1895. Brazil bragged a bit in the 20th century about how big he'd gotten, but invested some of his money in Portugal. Together, they are the founders of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Although they aren't as close as they used to be, they are still on good terms.

United States of America: Portugal was one of the first countries to make diplomatic ties with America. Because of the 1995 Agreement on Cooperation and Defence, their defense relationship is pretty good, and Portugal's Lajes Air Base supported his military aircraft for 50 years. There is a large number of Portuguese living in America, as well as many Americans living in Portugal.

Religion

95% of Portugal's population is Roman Catholic. Protestants make up the largest minority. There are also a small number of Jews. Portugal's constitution allows freedom of religion.

Language

The main language is Portuguese. Portuguese is the third most spoken language in the world. Many people still speak Spanish and English.

Sports

The most popular sport is soccer (or football as it's known in Europe). The Portuguese love to play as much as they love to watch.

Cuisines

Seafood is a major part of the diet. Cos is the most widely used fish. It can be made into cakes or grilled. Other popular dishes include grilled sardines and tuna steak. They also eat potatoes with meals and the most identified cuisine is a custard tart called pasties de nata.

Trivia

Portugal's flag is green and red. The Green stands for hope and the red stands for the blood of those who died for their nation.

Minha Família

Minhas Irmãs


Meus Irmãos


Meus Amigos




((Hi, this is the Admin ^w^ It's nice to meet you! This is my first ask and rp account. Sorry if this is a bad account, I'm trying my best. I'm not really from Portugal, but my family started there. Anyway, ask as many questions as you'd like, I'll answer as best I can! Also, I don't have a tablet available, so everything's drawn with paper and pencil....;w; feel free to leave a question...))