Portuguese Republic

Portugal, officially known as the Portuguese Republic is a unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic located entirely in the Iberian Cloud. It is the 'westernmost' nation of the European powers in the Milky Way, seperated from most of its neighbors barring the Kingdom of Spain by the Gibraltar Gap, currently the Portuguese Republic is only bordered by the Kingdom of Spain to its east, the Republic of Catalonia to its north and by two smaller powers that split off from the Portuguese Republic, the Azores Union and the Kingdom of Madeira, the latter two which act as unofficial satellite states of the Portuguese Republic and as effective buffers between Portuguese and Spanish space. The territory of Portugal also includes the numerous smaller star systems which although heavily influenced and used by both Portuguese civilian and military entities are officially independent. Currently Portugal consists of 4 worlds, 9 star systems, a chunk of the Iberian Cloud and maintains a population of over 300 million people.

Portugal is the oldest state in the Iberian Cloud--having had a great deal of British support in colonizing parts of the Cloud and in Earth history had been one of the oldest states in Europe, its territory having been continuously settled, invaded and fought over since prehistoric times. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigoths and Suebi Germanic peoples. Portugal as a country was established during the Christian *Reconquista* against the Moors who had invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD. Despite attempts at independence since its foundation as a county in 868, only after the Battle of São Mamede in 1128, where Portuguese forces led by Afonso Henriques defeated forces led by his mother, Theresa of Portugal, the County of Portugal affirmed its sovereignty and Afonso Henriques styled himself Prince of Portugal. He would later be proclaimed King of Portugal at the Battle of Ourique in 1139 and was recognised as such, by neighbouring kingdoms, on the Treaty of Zamora, in 1143.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. During this period, today referred to as the First Age of Discovery, Portuguese explorers pioneered maritime exploration, notably under royal patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator and King John II, with such notable voyages as Bartolomeu Dias' sailing beyond the Cape of Good Hope (1488), Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India (1497–98) and the European discovery of Brazil (1500). During this time, Portugal monopolized the spice trade, and the empire expanded with military campaigns in Asia. However, events such as the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, the Industrial Revolution, the Seven Years' War, the country's occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil (1822), left Portugal crippled from war and diminished in its world power.

After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, later being superseded by the *Estado Novo* right-wing authoritarian regime. Democracy was restored after the Carnation Revolution in 1974, ending the Portuguese Colonial War. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories. The handover of Macau to China in 1999 marked the end of what can be considered the longest-lived colonial empire. Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the Milky Way, a legacy of 4 billion Portuguese speakers, and many Portuguese-descended nations. A member of the United Nations and the Federation of Allied Nations, Portugal was also one of the founding members of the FAN, the European Security Council, the OECD, and the Community of Portuguese Language Nations.

Portugal is a developed country with a high-income advanced economy and high living standards. It is the 4th most peaceful country in the Milky Way, and its state is the 15th most stable one, maintained under a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government. Additionally, the country ranks highly in terms of social progress (20th), prosperity (25th), press freedom (14th), moral freedom (3rd), civil rights (7th) ease of doing business (29th) and interstellar infrastructure (6th).