A Very Short History of Portugal - A.H. de Oliveira Marques
Updated by João José Alves Dias
Originally published in 2018 by Tinta Da China, Lisbon, Portugal
7th edition published in 2024
245 pages
ISBN: 978-989-671-420-8
While wandering through the streets of Porto on my first trip to Portugal, I stumbled upon a small bookstore. Red art deco-styled lettering adorned the exterior of this corner building, serving as a stunning contrast to the black and white mosaic tiles on the floor outside. Venturing inside, I was immediately surrounded by the comforting familiarity of books as wooden bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Most of the books were various works written in Portuguese, but there was a small section near the front with English titles. Most of them were either classic pieces of literature, general works written by Portuguese writers, or local guidebooks and travelogues.
Earlier in the day, I had also visited the famous Livararia Lello, known as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. While the stained glass ceiling, spiraled staircase, and ornate woodwork throughout the store were unparalleled in their beauty, there was something about this small, unassuming bookstore that charmed me so much more. Instead of being forced to wait in line with tickets and being herded through the store with an immense crowd at Livararia Lello, this small bookstore was completely unoccupied, allowing ample time to browse the shelves and rest among the stacks of books.
Standing prominently among the English-language books sat a small, almost square volume. Adorned in teal-green text and a minimalist image of a sailboat, this attractive book called out to me. Not wanting to make an impulsive decision, I left the bookstore empty-handed, only to return about an hour later. After mulling it over, I decided to make the purchase, justifying to myself that I was supporting a local bookstore. This book, titled A Very Short History of Portugal, provides a brief overview of Portugal’s history, beginning from the first humans on the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 B.C.E to the present day. Written as a condensed version of the three-volume magnum opus of renowned Portuguese historian Oliveira Marques, this brief volume summarizes the key events that have shaped Portugal into the nation it is today.
Overview:
Marques' slim book provides a broad yet succinct overview of the pivotal periods in Portuguese history, from its origins to our contemporary moment. Throughout just over 200 pages, this work offers insights into Portugal's enduring influence on world history and its complex political evolution. As such, A Very Short History of Portugal (as the name suggests) provides readers with a compact narrative that covers the key political, social, economic, and cultural developments in the country's long history.
In the first section, Marques examines the early history of the Iberian Peninsula. Before the 12th century, various peoples settled on the peninsula, including the Celts, Romans, Visigoths, and the Moors. However, the foundation of the modern nation-state of Portugal can be directly traced to the Christian Reconquista, which sought to drive out the Muslim Moors from the Peninsula and establish Christian rule. As such, the nation of Portugal was formed in the 12th century as a part of the Kingdom of León.
In the following section, Marques traces the development of the Kingdom of Portugal from the 12th to the 15th century. In 1139, Portugal became a kingdom under King Afonso I, who consolidated his rule over the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula. During this period, the borders of Portugal were established, and have largely remained unchanged today. The 14th and 15th centuries, however, saw Portugal expand its influence not through the contestation of its border with Spain, but rather through the expansion of trade relations. Portugal invested heavily in maritime exploration, and figures such as Henry the Navigator led efforts to discover new territories and established trade routes to the African continent, India, and even Brazil.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal became a leading maritime power, expanding its reach and building a vast colonial empire. Explorers such as Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan established sea routes to India and the West Indies, further amassing wealth for the Portuguese empire. The trade of gold, spices, slaves, sugar, rubber, and cocoa filled the Portuguese empire's coffers and made it a dominant European power in the 16th century.
This age of prosperity, however, was not to last. Portugal’s power and influence in global affairs gradually began to decline in the 17th century, as resources became increasingly scarce and other colonial powers challenged Portugal’s monopoly in Asia. There were also internal crises on the Iberian Peninsula, as Spain occupied Portugal from 1580 to 1640 after a long series of dynastic struggles and invasions.
In the 18th century, efforts were made to reform the economy and modernize the country, but Portugal continued to struggle with external pressures and internal instability. The early 19th century saw the effects of the Napoleonic Wars, which brought further turmoil to Portugal and led to its occupation. The royal family fled to Brazil in 1807, established the court, and governed Portuguese affairs from across the Atlantic. After Napoleon’s defeat, Portugal underwent further political and social unrest, as liberals and conservatives jockeyed for power, leading to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy alongside a growing republican movement.
In 1910, Portugal officially became a republic after the revolutionary overthrow of the monarchy. There was further political and economic instability during the 20s and 30s during the global financial crisis, leading to the rise of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime under António de Oliveira Salazar. During this period, political censorship, detaining political opponents, and quelling popular dissent became some of the defining features of Salazar’s dictatorship. On April 25, 1974, a military coup overthrew the Estado Novo regime, ending four decades of authoritarianism in Portugal. The radical government that the Carnation Revolution instantiated restored democracy into the hands of the povo (people), and lasted for around a year and a half before being subsumed by liberal democracy.
Over the past half-century, Portugal has significantly changed its political, economic, and social standing. While Portugal was a founding member of NATO during its dictatorial regime in 1949, it was integrated into the European Union in 1986, thus becoming a modern, democratic nation in the eyes of Western powers. There is still a wide range of economic and social issues that continue to challenge the country, but the authors emphasize Portugal's gradual growth and development and its importance on the world stage.
Commendations:
There are a few notable strengths to this compact volume. First, as its title implies, this book is a brief overview of Portuguese history, making it an ideal choice for readers who want to gain a quick snapshot of the nation’s history. The book is organized chronologically and summarizes the key events that occurred throughout the history of Portugal. While Marques spent a long time going over various kingships during the Middle Ages and early Modern period, it is still relatively accessible to anyone vaguely interested in Portuguese history.
Additionally, the book is incredibly broad in its scope. Marques covers a myriad of topics, including the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions that shifted throughout Portugal’s long history. Marques highlights Portugal’s pivotal role in maritime exploration, as well as its role in expanding its colonial empire across the globe. As such, Marques attempts to offer a balanced, nuanced, and holistic account of Portuguese history, praising its accomplishments while also acknowledging the injustices it perpetuated.
Finally, Marques utilizes accessible, jargon-free language when recounting the key events that have shaped and defined Portugal’s history. His neutral tone allows him to present complex historical events in a way that’s easy to understand for readers with varying levels of prior knowledge. This makes the work an ideal choice for those who want a cut-and-dry, chronologically structured account of Portugal’s history. It also offers the reader a great starting point for further exploration of the topics he covers throughout the text.
Critique:
There are, however, several key weaknesses to this slim volume. It is important to note at the outset that this book is meant to be a shortened, condensed version of Marques’ much longer and more detailed three-volume history of Portugal. Accordingly, while this book is concise, this brevity can also be a limitation for readers looking for more in-depth analysis. This volume is incredibly wide in its scope, and as such, key historical events or periods, such as the Age of Exploration or the Estado Novo dictatorship, are summarized rather than explored in any significant detail.
Accordingly, important nuances are inherently lost in this simplified account. Marques focuses primarily on political history, primarily recounting the lines of monarchs/rulers/political parties and who replaced them. There is little to no analysis of the events described within the book. For example, the book doesn’t delve deeply into the intricacies of the Portuguese Empire or the reasons behind the decline of Portuguese power in the 17th century. These omissions leave behind the why of historical development, and Marques simply gives us the cut-and-dry what of historical events.
Relatedly, while the reader will acquire the basic names and dates of the key events in Portuguese history, it is recounted in the most dry manner possible. As mentioned above, Marques primarily recounts the bare-bones events of what happened in a particular period, most often simply recounting the various heads of state. By trying to cram over 1000 years of history into just over 200 small pages with medium-sized text, A Very Short History of Portugal leaves out anything that would give any flavor to the historical narrative. There is no biographical information, nor any personal accounts or quotations from any of the historical actors that he mentions throughout the text. Thus, the reader obtains a list of dates and names, but not much substance that ties everything together.
Additionally, there are a lot of translation issues that plague the text. For example, “wich” is often used instead of “which,” sometimes “de” is left untranslated instead of “of,” and, most curiously, “chilli” is occasionally among a list of goods that were traded along with gold, slaves, and ivory (I assume that it was supposed to be “spices”). This book has been translated from the original Portuguese into several languages, but there is no record of who translated it. The sentence structures can also feel awkward and sometimes simply do not make sense, which makes the book seem as if it was run through a simple AI or Google translator and then printed without any editing.
Furthermore, as it is a condensed version of a 1972 work, it is severely dated in certain regards. Notwithstanding the classic old-school historical writing (thus another factor in its dry writing style), Marques tends to underplay Portugal’s role as a colonizing force that perpetuated slavery and injustice across the globe. Like many historical surveys of the era, this work largely centers European perspectives and doesn’t address perspectives from the periphery of the Portuguese empire, such as the Azores, India, Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique. The effects of Portugal’s colonialism on these regions are not fully explored, which could be a limitation for readers interested in a global or post-colonial perspective.
The book also suffers from a lack of maps, illustrations, or other forms of visual representations to supplement the text. While this is not a necessity for many texts, Marques details many wars, conflicts, and colonial trade routes/exploits throughout the text. Having maps readily available would have greatly aided in understanding Portugal's geography, colonial territories, and the relationships between key historical events and regions.
Finally, there is a significant lack of explication on modern Portuguese history, especially post-Carnation Revolution. While the book briefly addresses Portugal’s modern history and its integration into the European Union, it doesn’t go into great depth about the economic and political challenges of the 21st century, such as the 2008 financial crisis or ongoing social issues like unemployment and inequality. This is primarily because Marques passed away in 2007, and would thus not have the ability to comment on such matters. The book is frustratingly opaque as to who takes over writing the last portion of the book. They describe recent events in brief, choppy sentences, and it is clear that it was quickly composed. The version I read is the 7th edition of the book, so there is a new version released every year since its original publication in 2018. It is likely that each edition just adds another sentence or two regarding contemporary events, so the reader shouldn’t expect much revision, updating, or improvements between editions.
Conclusion:
Overall, A Very Short History of Portugal is a brief, yet incredibly dry overview of Portuguese history. While it may be beneficial for anyone looking for a quick introduction to Portugal’s long history, its stilted language, excessive typos, oversimplifications, and dated historical methods make it difficult to recommend, especially to those looking for deep, nuanced analysis. The book could serve as a starting point for further study or for those with limited time or prior knowledge. However, those seeking a more comprehensive or critical account may find it severely lacking in depth, and will likely struggle to finish it, despite its small size.
Essentially, this book is a simplified summary of Marques’ three-volume work, quickly translated without any editing, and slapped together with an attractive cover. At worst, it can feel like a simple cash grab targeted to non-Portuguese tourists who simply want to get a better understanding of Portuguese history and are duped by clever marketing. Unfortunately, I was among those who fell for it.
While the book is physically small and cute and it promises to deliver a succinct and easily digestible history of the beautiful country of Portugal, it falls short in its delivery. This is unfortunate, especially since Portuguese history is genuinely vibrant and well worth studying. In the end, this book is overly dry and too condensed, thus leading to an unsatisfying and slogging read. The lack of a bibliography further limits its use for those who are looking for resources for further study. Briefly skimming through this book in the bookstore will likely be more than enough for most readers. For anyone searching for something deeper or for further research, you will need to look elsewhere.