The Embassy of Portugal
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
The Portuguese chancery. Wikimedia Commons.
Portugal's modern flag, adopted in 1911, includes a simple version of the national coat of arms. The flag was traditionally white and blue and changed to green and red after the 1910 Republican revolution. Wikimedia Commons.
Portugal's capital city, Lisbon, combines the feel of the coastline and an urban city. As the only European capital on the coast, there are many activities to engage in when visiting the city.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The
Embassy of Portugal maintains diplomatic relations with the United States. The
two countries have a long history of bilateral support. Portugal was one of the
first countries to recognize the United States as an independent nation after
the Revolutionary War. Portuguese consulates are located in San Francisco, New York
City, Newark, Providence, Boston, and New Bedford, Massachusetts, with various
honorary consulates across the United States. Portuguese communities reside throughout Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, New Jersey, California, and Hawaii.
Portugal remains very enthusiastic about relations with the United States, as the US is Portugal's "closest neighbor across the ocean.” The two countries engage in peacekeeping, economic development, science, security, and military support. Since the 1995 Agreement on Cooperation and Defense, Portugal and The United States Bilateral Commission meet semi-annually to review relations and current events. In 2015, the United States became Portugal's largest trading partner.
Portugal helped found NATO in 1949 and entered the European Union in 1986. The NATO alliance has kept the United States and Portugal close allies over many years. The alliance between Portugal and NATO is very strong and continues to grow. Portugal actively participates in NATO operations and took part in operations conducted in Afghanistan, the Balkans, and Central and Eastern Europe. In fact, NATO has an office for the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) in Lisbon. STRIKFORNATO is the alliances maritime battle staff and integrates the American maritime forces into NATO.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal had a firm command of the seas; however, it lost much of its wealth after the 1755 earthquake and the resulting destruction of Lisbon. Bad luck continued with occupation during the Napoleonic Wars and the independence of Brazil, which was Portugal's wealthiest colony in 1822. On the eve of World War I in 1910, revolution devoured the country, and the monarch was overthrown and replaced with restrictive governments regimes over the next several decades. In 1974, a left-wing coup overthrew the existing government and installed democratic reforms, and the following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies.
Sources
The
World Factbook: Portugal. Central Intelligence Agency. January 12, 2017.
Accessed March 15, 2017.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html
History. Embassy of
Portugal: Washington, DC. Accessed March 15, 2017.
http://www.embassyportugal-us.org/history/.
Message from the
Ambassador. Embassy of Portugal: Washington, DC. Accessed March 15, 2017.
http://www.embassyportugal-us.org/message-from-the-ambassador/.
Vital, Domingos
Fezas. Message from the Ambassador. Embassy of Portugal: Washington DC.
Accessed March 15, 2017. http://www.embassyportugal-us.org/message-from-the-ambassador/.
U.S. Department of State. "A
Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular
Relations, by Country, since 1776: Portugal." Office of the Historian.
Accessed November 2017. https://history.state.gov/countries/portugal
U.S. Department of
State. “U.S.
Relations with Portugal.” U.S. Department of State. November 29, 2016. Accessed
March 15, 2017. https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3208.htm