History of Portugal (1415–1578)
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The history of the Kingdom of Portugal from the Illustrious Generation of the early 15th century to the fall of the House of Aviz in the late 16th century has been named the "Portuguese golden age" (Portuguese: Século de Ouro; "golden century") and the "Portuguese Renaissance".[1][2] During this period, Portugal was the first European power to begin building a colonial empire as during the Age of Exploration Portuguese sailors and explorers discovered an eastern route to India (that rounded the Cape of Good Hope) as well as several Atlantic archipelagos (like the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde) and colonized the African coast and Brazil. They also explored the Indian Ocean and established trading routes throughout most of southern Asia, sending the first direct European maritime trade and diplomatic missions to Ming China and to Japan, at the same time installing trading posts and the most important colony: Portuguese Macau (Only in East Asia).[3] The Portuguese Renaissance produced a plethora of poets, historians, critics, theologians, and moralists. The Cancioneiro Geral by Garcia de Resende (printed 1516) is taken to mark the transition from Old Portuguese to the modern Portuguese language.
Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves Reyno de Portugal et dos Algarues (Old Modern Portuguese) | |||||||||
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1415–1580 | |||||||||
Flag (1485–1495) | |||||||||
Capital | Lisbon | ||||||||
Common languages | Galician-Portuguese, Old Modern Portuguese | ||||||||
Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||
Demonym(s) | Portuguese | ||||||||
Government | Absolute Monarchy | ||||||||
Monarch | |||||||||
• 1415–1433 | João I (first) | ||||||||
• 1578–1580 | Henrique I (last) | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
14 August 1415 | |||||||||
4 August 1578 | |||||||||
31 January 1580 | |||||||||
Currency | Portuguese dinheiro, Portuguese real | ||||||||
ISO 3166 code | PT | ||||||||
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