Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-07-21
REPUBLIC OF PORTUGAL.
Once Powerful Absolute Monarchy,
Now Experimenting With Self Gov

ernment.
Portugal was once the leading mar
itime nation of the world. Today 1t is
10y republic in swaddling clothes.
and as fretful as babies usually are.
Whether or not it will get through the
perils of it's second summer and begin
a healthy growth is question OF
more interest to Christendom than
importance to Europe. While con-
sldering Portugal as it now is, it is in
, teresting to glance at it's past.
Ethnologically the section Of the
Iberian peninsula that is now Portu-
gal, and was once the greater part OF
Lusitania, is very ancient. The stu
dent of European races finds that the
aboriginal cave dwellers of Portugal
were fiourishing when the first Aryans
overran Europe. But politically the
history Of Portugal spans but brief
nine centuries.
Portugal was subjugated by the Ro-
mans in the time of Augustus, and in
vaded by the Alans and Visigoths In
the fifth century, when the Roman su-
premacy was overthrown. Three CEN
turies later it was overrun by Arabs
and Berbers, who held 1t for 4OO
years before the Christian Kingdoms
of Spain coalesced and drove the Mos
lens back to their former stamping
ground in North Africa. But during
these stirring times Portugal had no
national entity. 1t was not until the
last decade Of the 18th century, when
Alfonso VI of CASTLE gave Henry OF
Burgundy the hand Of his daughter
and rulership over such territory be-
yond the Tagus as he could capture
from the Moors, that Portugal assum-
ed importance separate from Spain.
1t began it's career as an indepen-
dent country when Alfonso, son OF
the Burgundian prince and Theresa or
Castle, arranged a tournament, In ll4S,
between Portuguese knights and
Spaniards to settle the question OF his
right to rule as a king In his own
right The Burgundian house showed
its mettle by holding the crown Of
Portugal for more than four centuries
and developing the country as mil
itary power and maritime nation.
After a century of war with Mos
lens, and brawls between the clergy
and the mobiles when there was no
battle with Moors to be fought, Portu-
gal found itself on the high road to
wealth and prosperity. Diniz, son Of
Alfonso Ill, was the first statesman
like ruler Of Portugal His predeces-
sors had been warriors. DaniZ en-
couraged agriculture, commerce, in
dustry, the arts and education. He
founded a university at Lisbon, and
became known as the Father of His
Country" He was also affectionately
called Farmer" DiniZ, a distinction
unique among the titles of European
kings. Re Iavrador-The Labor
er-was also a popular title for him.
He earned it by various activities. He
avoided foreign wars, laid the founda-
tions for prosperity, and set an exam
pie as a home builder by marrying
Donna Isabel an Aragonese princess,
canonized in later years for the purity
and unselfishneSS of her life.
Agricultural schools were numerous
in the reign of Farmer" DiniZ, Mod
el farms were titled, and farmers were
made members Of the nobility because
of their diligence as agriculturalist.
This monarch was q conServationistS.
He reclaimed arid lands and planted
great pine forest. He built and
beautified cities, reformed the courts,
wrote pastoral poems and surrounded
himself with writers who transformed
rude dialect into a flexible literary
language.
During the reigns of John the Great,
John III and Emmanuel, covering a
period Of a hundred years beginning
in the last quarter &c the IA century,
Portugal moved .. ward toward po-
sition of prominence among Euro
pean nations. The treaty Of Windsor,
the genesis Of which might be traced
back to the teachings of Farmer"
Diniz, who advocated alliance with
England, declared the kingdom OF
Portugal and the Island Empire
bound by the closest bonds. Portu-
guese navigators, in cockleshell boats,
felt their way down the west coast OF
Africa, to find their way to conquest
in India and Ceylon, and the establish
ment of a Chinese station at Macao,
opposite the island Of Hong Kong.
Peace with England and non-interfer-
ence with Spain became the policy or
the nation. Capture of Ceuta, North
African stronghold of the Moors, in
l4l5, was the beginning Of the Portu-
guese conQuests beyond the sea. A
few years later King Edward Of Por-
tugal died Of a broken heart because
of the failure Of an expedition that set
out TO take Tangiers.
Prince Henry the Navigator collect
ed about him all of the daring seamen
and brilliant scientists he could find
and spent forty years trying to solve
the problem of sailing from Lisbon to
the Indian ports, to make an all-sea
route for trade then coming to Europe
by land, through the Levant, or North
Africa. He died without achieving his
object, but Vasco da Cana, who found
this allwater route, was imbued with
his ideas.
King John the Perfect was an ar
dent explorer who made the mistake
of dismissing Christopher Columbus as
visionary because of his advocacy Of
sailing across the Atlantic instead of
around Africa TO ind India by water.
But If he erred in his estimate of Co.
lumbus he did nothing more than the
majority of navigators, AMI while he
turned down the greatest explorer he
surrounded himself with many others
who were to become famous. Among
th"m was AlfOI SO d'Albuquerque, who
became the viceroy of the Indies AL
buquerque landed on the Malabar
coast conquered Goa and founded a
seat "t Portuguese government on the
Indian peninsula. Ceylon, the land
of Ophir," from which Hiram, king OF
Tyre, brought Ivory, apes and pea
cocks" to Solomon, and which is be-
lieved by some investigators to have
been the Garden of Eden, fell into the
hands of the Portuguese, together
with the Sunda isles, the Isle of Or
muz and the Peninsula of Malacca.
When the shah of Persia sent to the
prince of OrmuZ for his customary
tribute his ambassadors were present
ed with bullets and swords by Albu-
querque and his hardy Portuguese, and
told that this was the coin in which
Portugal paid tribute. The kings of