Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
elections in 1995 brought new faces to power, with the socialist António Guterres taking
over power. Despite hopes for a different and less conservative administration, it was
business as usual, with Guterres maintaining the budgetary rigour that qualified Portugal
for the European Economic & Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998. Indeed, for a while Por-
tugal was a star EMU performer producing steady economic growth that helped Guterres
win a second term. But it didn't last. Corruption scandals, rising inflation and a faltering
economy soon spelt disaster. Portugal slipped into economic stagnation by the dawn of the
21st century. The next 10 years were ones of hardship for the Portuguese economy, which
saw little or negative GDP growth, and rising unemployment from 2001 to 2010. As else-
where in Europe, Portugal took a massive hit during the global financial crisis. Ultimat-
ums from the EU governing body to rein in its debt (to avoid a Greece-style meltdown)
have meant that the Portuguese government has had to institute unpopular austerity meas-
ures - pension reform, raising taxes, public sector hiring freezes - which have led to
protests and strikes.
For more on the latest in Portugal, see Portugal Today ( Click here ) .
TIMELINE
5000 BC
Little-understood Neolithic peoples build protected hilltop settlements in the lower Tejo valley. They
leave behind stone monuments, including megaliths scattered around Évora in present-day Alentejo.
700 BC
Celtic peoples, migrating across the Pyrenees with their families and flocks, sweep through the Iberi-
an Peninsula. They settle in fortified villages, known as citânias, and intermarry with local tribes.
197 BC
After defeating Carthage in the Second Punic Wars, the Romans invade Iberia, expanding their em-
pire west. They face fierce resistance from local tribes, including the Lusitani, but eventually conquer
them.
AD 100
Romans collect taxes to build roads, bridges and other public works. They cultivate vineyards, teach
the natives to preserve fish by salting and drying, and grant local communities much autonomy.
400
Rome crumbles as German tribes run riot in southern Europe. The Suevi, peasant farmers from the
Elbe, settle in present-day Porto. Christian Visigoths follow suit, conquering the land in 469.
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