To protect its seagoing interests and trade routes, Portugal established strategic garrisons in Goa (India), Malacca (East Indies), and Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Portuguese explorers then embarked upon Macau (now Macao), the Congo, and various other parts of Africa, including the Sudan. The Portuguese policy was to avoid armed strife and to develop a trade empire, rather than to conquer nations. To this end it succeeded with relatively few blood-soaked episodes in its colonial history. Adventures abroad, however, proved disastrous during the second half of the 16th century. In 1557 the 14-year-old boy-king Sebastiao ascended the throne, the beginning of a calamitous reign that was to end at the battle of Alcacer-Quiber (Morocco) in pursuit of a vain crusade. Sebastiao's untimely demise, alongside some 18,000 ill-prepared, badly led followers, set the stage for a crisis of succession. For many years afterwards, legends and rumors bizarrely insisted that the king was still alive, and imposters turned up from time to time claiming the throne; those who were plausible enough to be deemed a threat were summarily executed. In fact, the only rightful claimant to the crown was the elderly Prince Henry. But after two years of alternating between the throne and his sickbed, he died, heirless. Surveying the situation and smelling an opportunity, Spain occupied the power vacuum, and Portugal's neighbor and long-time antagonist became its master. Spanish rule dictated Portugal's inadvertent involvement in Spain's ongoing wars. In 1587 a squadron of British ships commanded by Francis Drake attacked the Algarve (now a "legitimate target" as Spanish territory) and sacked Sagres, thus depriving the world of the relics of Henry the Navigator. Nine years later Faro was torched. The 1386 Treaty of Windsor, by which Britain and Portugal had pledged eternal friendship, seemed a distant memory. Portugal's empire was gradually eroded, and many of its trading posts (with the notable exception of Brazil) were picked off by the British and Dutch. Finally, after 60 years of Spanish rule, Portuguese noblemen (aided by the French, then at war with Spain) organized a palace coup and restored independence. The Great Disaster Portugal's greatest misfortune struck on All Saint's Day, 1 November 1755.

Question: "Why was Portugal able to avoid "blood-soaked" incidents prior to 1557?"

Answer: "Treaty of Windsor"

Response: no

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived here on Tuesday night for meetings with fellow foreign ministers aimed at solidifying a second front, in Southeast Asia, in the campaign against global terrorism. But he has had to balance that goal with longstanding concerns about human rights abuses in the region. In meetings on Tuesday in Malaysia and Singapore before touching down in this oil-producing sultanate for two days of talks with members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, Powell said he repeatedly raised the issue. "We still believe strongly in human rights, and that everything we do has to be consistent with universal standards of human rights," he said. But at a news conference in Singapore, Powell hinted that the Bush administration was ready to discuss resuming military cooperation with Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a sometimes reluctant partner in the efforts to crack down on militant Islamic groups. The United States cut virtually all military links with Indonesia in 1999 after its forces were implicated in the violence that swept East Timor after that territory voted for independence. On Thursday, Powell and representatives of the nations of the Asian group, including Indonesia, are expected to sign a declaration promising cooperation to prevent terrorism by sharing information, blocking funds, tightening borders and making it hard to use forged travel papers. "We recognized that terrorism is a global threat and that the disturbing acts of terrorism and transnational crimes, which continue to threaten world peace and stability, must be tackled by the international community," the ministers said in a communique on Tuesday. Powell is among the representatives from 13 nations outside Southeast Asia, including China, Japan and Russia, that are taking part in the annual meeting of the group's regional forum. Terrorism dominates the agenda, though the possibility of a meeting here between Powell and his North Korean counterpart, Paek Nam Sun, has generated the most news. It would be the highest-level contact between the United States and North Korea since President Bush took office. Powell heads to Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, late on Thursday before finishing a weeklong trip through the region in the Philippines on Saturday. He said that when he arrives in Jakarta, he will have "some ideas and some initiatives" to present to President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Indonesia is already receiving $400,000 in the current fiscal year for civilian training programs and is to receive a like amount next year; and the United States expects to provide an additional $16 million this year to train police officers in counterterrorism. At the same time, the Pentagon is reviewing how to allocate another $17 million in "counterterrorism fellowships," some of which could go to Indonesia. But a senior State Department official also acknowledged that some in the administration and Congress are pushing for more direct military cooperation, which would require congressional approval. "I think they recognize the danger that we all face and I think they have been cooperating more fully with us as time goes by, and I'm quite sure that Mrs. Megawati is committed to this cause," Powell said in Singapore. He met there with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who endorsed the idea of renewed military ties between the United States and Indonesia as an important step in stabilizing that country.

Question: "What is the US Secretary of State going to present to Indonesia's president in Jakarta?"

Answer: "Renewed military ties"

Response: no

The French have always wanted to know what it means to be aFrenchman. Their history has been a constant quest for national identity: a conflict between strong regional loyalties and central authority. In about 2000b.c. Celtic tribes probably from eastern Europe came looking for greener pastures in the areas that are now Franche-Comte, Alsace, and Burgundy. At the same time, migrants from the Mediterranean countries were trickling into the south. The first recorded settlement was the trading post set up by Phocaean Greeks from Asia Minor at Massalia (Marseilles) around 600b.c. , followed by other ports at Hyeres, Antibes, and Nice. But the Greeks developed few contacts with the interior beyond a little commerce in olives and wine with the Celts of Burgundy. When their position was threatened by Ligurian pirates at sea and warlike tribes from inland, the merchants of Marseilles called on Rome for help. From Gaul to France In 125b.c. , the Romans came in force, conquered the "Gallic barbarians," and set up a fortress at Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence). They took advantage of this new stronghold to create Provincia (now Provence), stretching from the Alps to the Pyrenees, in order to guarantee communications between Italy and Spain. When this province was endangered by fresh attacks from the north, Julius Caesar himself took charge, conquering practically the whole of Gaul by 50b.c. Caesar drew Gaul's northeastern frontier at the Rhine, taking in present-day Belgium, and warned that the Germanic tribes across the river the Franks (after whom France is named), Alamans, and Saxons would always threaten the security of the frontier. The Romanization of Gaul sent the most energetic warriors to defend the outposts of the empire while their families settled down to work the land or build towns such as Lyon, Orange, Arles, and Nimes, and the first great highways between them. At the same time, merchants built up a thriving trade with the rest of the Roman Empire. The pattern for the peasantry and bourgeoisie of France was thus established. Christianity was introduced into Gaul in the first century a.d.

Question: "What were the Romans' first two settlements?"

Answer: "At Aquae Sextiae and Provincia"

Response:
yes