An essential timeline of Portuguese history. For the full story see the short history of Portugal and, for recent decades, modern history.
From antiquity to the kingdom
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2nd century BC | Roman conquest; resistance of the Lusitanians led by Viriathus |
| Late 1st century BC | Augustus creates the province of Lusitania |
| 5th century AD | Invasions of Suebi and Visigoths |
| 711 | Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula begins |
| 868 | Vímara Peres retakes Porto: the County of Portucale is born |
| 1064 | Ferdinand I of Castile and León takes Coimbra |
| 1096-1097 | The County of Portugal is entrusted to Henry of Burgundy |
| 1128 | Afonso Henriques wins the battle of São Mamede and takes power |
| 1139 | After the victory at Ourique, Afonso Henriques becomes the first king, Afonso I |
| 1143 | Treaty of Zamora: Castile recognises the kingdom |
| 1147 | Conquest of Lisbon |
| 1249 | Afonso III takes the Algarve, completing the Reconquista |
| 1290 | King Dinis founds the university |
| 1297 | Treaty of Alcañices: borders with Castile fixed |
Avis, discoveries and union with Spain
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1383-1385 | Dynastic crisis; John I founds the Avis dynasty and wins at Aljubarrota |
| 1386 | Treaty of Windsor: alliance with England |
| 1415 | Conquest of Ceuta, in Morocco |
| 1418-1427 | Madeira and the Azores reached and settled |
| 1488 | Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope |
| 1494 | Treaty of Tordesillas with Spain |
| 1497-1499 | Vasco da Gama's first voyage to India |
| 1500 | Pedro Álvares Cabral reaches Brazil |
| 1578 | King Sebastian dies at the battle of Alcácer Quibir, in Morocco |
| 1580 | Philip II of Spain becomes King of Portugal as Philip I: end of the Avis dynasty |
| 1640 | Independence restored: John IV, first king of the Braganza dynasty |
| 1668 | Spain recognises independence |
From the earthquake to the Republic
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1703 | Methuen Treaty with England |
| 1755 | The earthquake destroys Lisbon; rebuilt by the Marquis of Pombal |
| 1807 | French invasion; the royal family flees to Brazil |
| 1811 | End of French occupation; the royals stay in Brazil |
| 1820 | Liberal revolution in Porto |
| 1821 | John VI returns to Portugal |
| 1822 | First constitution; Brazil declares independence |
| 1832-1834 | Civil war between liberals and absolutists |
| 1890 | British Ultimatum over the African colonies |
| 1908 | Assassination of King Carlos I and the crown prince |
| 1910 | Revolution of 5 October: Manuel II deposed and the Republic proclaimed |
| 1916 | Portugal enters the First World War |
| 1926 | Military coup of 28 May: end of the First Republic |
| 1928 | Carmona elected president as sole candidate; Salazar becomes finance minister |
| 1932-1933 | Salazar Prime Minister; the 1933 constitution creates the Estado Novo |
| 1936-1939 | Portugal supports Franco in the Spanish Civil War |
| 1949 | Portugal is a founding member of NATO |
| 1961 | Colonial war begins in Angola; India annexes Goa |
| 1968 | Marcelo Caetano replaces the ailing Salazar, but the regime continues |
Democracy
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1974 | 25 April: the Carnation Revolution ends the dictatorship |
| 1975 | Independence of Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe |
| 1976 | New Constitution; Mário Soares Prime Minister, Ramalho Eanes President |
| 1986 | Portugal joins the European Economic Community; Soares President |
| 1995-1996 | António Guterres Prime Minister, Jorge Sampaio President, both Socialists |
| 1998 | Expo 98 in Lisbon; José Saramago wins the Nobel Prize in Literature |
| 1999 | Portugal adopts the euro; Macau returns to China |
| 2001 | Guterres resigns after his party's defeat in local elections |
| 2002 | José Manuel Durão Barroso's PSD wins the snap election |
| 2004 | Durão Barroso becomes President of the European Commission |
| 2005 | José Sócrates's Socialists win; severe fires after an exceptional drought |
| 2006 | Aníbal Cavaco Silva elected President |
| 2007 | Abortion legalised after a referendum; Treaty of Lisbon signed |
| 2010 | Same-sex marriage approved |
| 2011 | Cavaco Silva re-elected; Sócrates resigns and the country requests a bailout; Pedro Passos Coelho's PSD wins |
| 2014 | Portugal exits the aid programme |
| 2015 | António Costa's Socialist government with left-wing support |
| 2016 | Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa President; Portugal wins the European football championship; Guterres elected UN Secretary-General |
| 2017 | Pedrógão Grande and October wildfires, with more than a hundred victims |
| 2022 | Socialist absolute majority |
| 2023 | Lisbon hosts World Youth Day; Costa resigns |
| 2024 | 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution; Luís Montenegro's Democratic Alliance wins |
| 2025 | Snap election: Montenegro wins again, Chega becomes the second party |
| 2026 | António José Seguro elected President |