History of Portugal

A Captivating Guide to Portuguese History from Ancient Times to the Present

By: Captivating History

Narrated by: Colin Fluxman

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Did you know modern-day Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is the first European city built with seismic safety in mind?

And there is a very good reason for that! In 1755, Portugal was hit by an earthquake that would measure nine on the future Richter scale.

Portugal, which is located in the Iberian Peninsula, has a rich history that dates to prehistoric times. The first settlers left amazing art behind in the form of rock carvings and rock monoliths. These first peoples never left their country, but were integrated into the many societies that came to Portugal over time.

Even though Portugal is probably best known for exploring the world during the Age of Discovery, the history of mainland Portugal is rarely described outside of the country. The purpose of this audiobook is to familiarize English speakers with the events and personas that built the Portuguese kingdom, its overseas empire, and the state that Portugal is today.

In this audiobook, you will learn:

• Who were the first people that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula?
• What was the early culture and religion of the peninsula?
• Which civilization first discovered the shores of Portugal?
• How did trade with the Phoenicians develop the culture of the indigenous people?
• How did the Carthaginian and Roman wars shape the Iberian Peninsula?
• Why did the Germanic tribes invade the peninsula?
• Did the Iberian Peninsula thrive under Islamic rule?
• Why did the Christian kings of the north launch the Iberian Reconquista?
• How did Afonso I form the medieval Kingdom of Portugal?
• How did the House of Avis rise to power and start the golden age of Portugal?
• Why has Portugal always struggled to preserve its independence?
• How did the empire end, and how did Portugal become a republic?

Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn all that and more!

©2022 Captivating History (P)2022 Captivating History

Great for History Buffs!

This book did a very good and detailed job of covering most of Portuguese history. The narrator especially was my favorite part of this audiobook. I would have enjoyed this book better if I were to read it more often and take notes because there is a lot of different changes that occur throughout Portuguese history which also make it interesting. definitely recommend if you're looking for a book that gives you a solid overview of Portugal's past.

Concise Presentation

Concisely presented. Excellent narrator. The ancient origins particularly informative.

Would have enjoyed an update on current status.

Good survey of Portuguese history

This is a good intro to Portuguese history. I shared it with a friend from Lisbon who agreed. It glosses over some things that Portugal people think mean more than the brief moment given in the book but they are very opinionated. That’s not the authors fault!!

more interesting than the empire one

much of this book was fairly good. I did find myself drifting, on occasion.

most major thing to note is that it appears the end of chapter 9 cuts off abruptly. I can only assume that it was the last word or words of the final sentence

Other part of the Iberian peninsula gets its due

This is a very good overview of Portuguese history and shows the complexity of its rise and fall as a world sea power. I enjoyed the contextualization of the Portugal's political situation in the greater picture of Spanish, Hapsburg, and other empires. I found the intricacies of the time when it was combined with the United Crown and how Portugal had varying degrees of autonomy throughout.

I was very happy to come to know the ancient history and various peoples that made up the cultural and political aspects that came to be the kingdom and country of Portugal.

Colin Fluxman's narration was enjoyable and engaging. (Although the ARC version I reviewed had a section missing - it has been fixed in the updated version).

Excellent

Thank you for the great summarization of an interesting and involved story. Well done! Obrigada!

Solid overview

Another reviewer commented that this is nothing more than a genealogical survey of the monarchies. I disagree. Monarchies play a big role in the history of most European countries, of course they are discussed heavily in this book. But the book is by no means focused only on monarchs and their families. It covers the significant events in Portugal's history equally well.

I had two reasons for reading this book. First, I am going to take a vacation to Portugal in 2023 (I live in the US), so I wanted an introduction to their history. Second, I am an avid reader of history books.

Most of the history books I read are giant tomes. The small size of this book makes it almost a pamphlet compared to many history books. In its 6-hour run time, however, it covers a lot of ground. It starts slowly with ancient history, but picks up steam as larger civilizations stake their claims on the Iberian Peninsula. I found the trading back and forth between the Christian and Muslim empires to be fascinating - sometimes wars were fought, and sometimes cities and regions were lost due to neglect and atrophy. Later, when Portugal was run by monarchs (both native and Spanish monarchs), there was plenty of drama to keep anyone interested in history entertained. Not to mention natural disasters, the Inquisition, and the plague. Big events, interesting stuff.

I would say the only shortcoming of this book is that it barely touched modern times. In essence, after Antonio Salazar's death (1970, he was an intellectual dictator, not a tyrant), the book says "and then there was democracy, NATO, and the UN, the end". That part felt very rushed.

If you prefer an in-depth book on Portugal, this isn't it. I don't think there is such a book on Audible. But for a quick overview, I strongly recommend it. I plan to listen to it a second time before I head to Portugal.

History of Portugal

I had no idea that the history of Portugal was so interesting. The chapter on the Reconquista was very interesting, I highly recommend this book.

Excellent

I recently visited Portugal, and this novel really helped me understand the culture and history of this fascinating nation. 

Disappointing.

More a genealogical survey of the monarchies than a treatment of the historical events or development of the country.