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A Very Short History of Portugal
From the moment the first men set foot in the Iberian Peninsula, around 2000 b.C., until the end of the "New State" and the independence of the ex-colonies, through various kings, sea voyages to India and other destinations, these pages have a lot to tell.
The history of Portugal is long and complex, and so Oliveira Marquez, one of the most renowned Portuguese historians, began by writing it down in three volumes which became a classic of Portuguese historiography. Based on them, he also prepared this very short version, which summarises all crucial events. This rare, small-format book retains all the rigour and historical breadth of longer editions, and is as useful for scholars as it is for inquisitive people.
The history of Portugal is long and complex, and so Oliveira Marquez, one of the most renowned Portuguese historians, began by writing it down in three volumes which became a classic of Portuguese historiography. Based on them, he also prepared this very short version, which summarises all crucial events. This rare, small-format book retains all the rigour and historical breadth of longer editions, and is as useful for scholars as it is for inquisitive people.
245 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
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427 people want to read
About the author
A.H. de Oliveira Marques
132 books19 followersANTÓNIO HENRIQUE DE OLIVEIRA MARQUES nasceu no Estoril, a 23 de Agosto de 1933. Licenciou-se em Ciências Histórico-Filosóficas e doutorou-se em História na Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa. Foi Assistente daquela Faculdade e, de 1965 a 1970, Professor em diversas universidades norte-americanas. Em Novembro de 1974, foi nomeado director da Biblioteca Nacional, cargo que deixou de exercer um ano mais tarde. Em Julho de 1976, foi nomeado professor catedrático da Universidade Nova de Lisboa e, em Novembro de 1977, Presidente da Comissão Instaladora da Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da mesma Universidade, funções que desempenhou durante três anos. Posteriormente, exerceu durante vários anos o cargo de Presidente do Conselho Científico da referida instituição. Foi condecorado, pela Presidência da República, com a Grã-Cruz da Ordem da Liberdade, em 1997.
O número total das suas obras de tomo ultrapassa os 60 volumes. A colaboração com artigos, em revistas, dicionários e enciclopédias, ultrapassa o milhar. Proferiu numerosas conferências em universidades da Europa, Estados Unidos, Brasil e Argentina, sendo hoje considerado um dos grandes especialistas em História da Idade Média Portuguesa, como mostra a sua notável produção, de onde se salientam as seguintes obras: Hansa e Portugal na Idade Média (1959), Introdução histórica da agricultura em Portugal (1968), A sociedade medieval portuguesa (1964), Ensaios de história medieval portuguesa (1965), Novos ensaios de história medieval portuguesa (1988), Portugal na crise dos séculos XIV e XV (1987) e colaboração abundante no Dicionário de História de Portugal, dirigido por Joel Serrão. Deixou também uma obra vasta e fundamental sobre a República e a Maçonaria, de que destacamos: A primeira República Portuguesa (1972), A I República Portuguesa: alguns aspectos estruturais (1980), Guia de história da 1.ª República (1981), Ensaios de história da I República (1988), A Maçonaria portuguesa e o Estado Novo (1974), Dicionário de Maçonaria portuguesa (1986), História da Maçonaria em Portugal (1990-), Ensaios de Maçonaria, bem como diversas obras sobre Afonso Costa.
Faleceu em Lisboa, a 23 de Janeiro de 2007.
O número total das suas obras de tomo ultrapassa os 60 volumes. A colaboração com artigos, em revistas, dicionários e enciclopédias, ultrapassa o milhar. Proferiu numerosas conferências em universidades da Europa, Estados Unidos, Brasil e Argentina, sendo hoje considerado um dos grandes especialistas em História da Idade Média Portuguesa, como mostra a sua notável produção, de onde se salientam as seguintes obras: Hansa e Portugal na Idade Média (1959), Introdução histórica da agricultura em Portugal (1968), A sociedade medieval portuguesa (1964), Ensaios de história medieval portuguesa (1965), Novos ensaios de história medieval portuguesa (1988), Portugal na crise dos séculos XIV e XV (1987) e colaboração abundante no Dicionário de História de Portugal, dirigido por Joel Serrão. Deixou também uma obra vasta e fundamental sobre a República e a Maçonaria, de que destacamos: A primeira República Portuguesa (1972), A I República Portuguesa: alguns aspectos estruturais (1980), Guia de história da 1.ª República (1981), Ensaios de história da I República (1988), A Maçonaria portuguesa e o Estado Novo (1974), Dicionário de Maçonaria portuguesa (1986), História da Maçonaria em Portugal (1990-), Ensaios de Maçonaria, bem como diversas obras sobre Afonso Costa.
Faleceu em Lisboa, a 23 de Janeiro de 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
April 30, 2019
This has to be the most boring interesting book I've ever read. Or the most interesting boring book? I am interested in Portuguese history, which I knew next to nothing about, so the contents of the book are interesting for me, but man, the style is the most boring possible. I read it all, without skipping any parts, mostly out of stubornness. Do I regret reading this - no, because now I do know a little about Portuguese history! Did I enjoy reading this - no, or only inasmuch as I enjoyed feeling strong and stubborn, making it through another chapter listing various heads of state.
June 4, 2019
Apesar de constituir um notável e meritório esforço de síntese, esta pequena história sofre de alguns problemas estruturais, sendo por vezes difícil seguir o encadeamento cronológico.
April 9, 2018
Visão colonialista de um português que claramente ainda lamenta a dissolução do Império. O escravagismo, os massacres dos povos indígenas, a violência da imposição cultural e religiosa - tudo isso é relativizado, justificado ou descaradamente escamoteado no texto. Escolhas vocabulares infelizes ou perversas, como dizer que os portugueses foram "ajudados" pelos escravos africanos no trabalho de construção do Império, ou que "civilizaram" os indígenas (quando estavam basicamente invadindo seu território), deixam claro qual é o programa deste autor. Isso além de ser um texto enfadonho, mal escrito e mal organizado, truncado pelo excesso de informações desarticuladas, sem nenhuma sensibilidade do que pode realmente interessar a uma pessoa leiga no assunto. Ganho mais lendo a Wikipedia.
May 16, 2019

Li este livro durante um projecto que estou a fazer sobre a história portuguesa. Lê-se muito bem, e traz pormenores suficientes para um iniciante, tal como eu, e vamos ser honestos: escrever a história dum país inteiro de modo interessante e informativo ao mesmo tempo não é nada fácil! Dá para entender os factos básicos, e colorir a imagem preta e branca que eu obtive do livro escolar que li recentemente.
Como já disse (ontem, na opinião de "É de Noite que Faço as Perguntas") o projecto está a ajudar-me entender a cronologia do país. Ajudou-me arrumar os factos que já sabia num ordem, ou seja, atou-os num fio: as batalhas, os reis, o terremoto, os motivos pela revolução dos cravos. Compreendi melhor o enredo da banda desenhada sobre a primeira republica, e a placa que já vi no Porto em Março, que comemora a perseguição do MUD.
Claro, existem ainda muitas, mas mesmo muitas coisas que não sei mas acho que vou parar, ou pelo menos fazer uma pausa porque não estou pronto para mergulhar-me dentro dos pormenores do declínio do império, o desenvolvimento de socialismo ou o pequeno almoço preferido do Infante Dom Henrique. Se calhar, no ano seguinte...
Li este livro durante um projecto que estou a fazer sobre a história portuguesa. Lê-se muito bem, e traz pormenores suficientes para um iniciante, tal como eu, e vamos ser honestos: escrever a história dum país inteiro de modo interessante e informativo ao mesmo tempo não é nada fácil! Dá para entender os factos básicos, e colorir a imagem preta e branca que eu obtive do livro escolar que li recentemente.
Como já disse (ontem, na opinião de "É de Noite que Faço as Perguntas") o projecto está a ajudar-me entender a cronologia do país. Ajudou-me arrumar os factos que já sabia num ordem, ou seja, atou-os num fio: as batalhas, os reis, o terremoto, os motivos pela revolução dos cravos. Compreendi melhor o enredo da banda desenhada sobre a primeira republica, e a placa que já vi no Porto em Março, que comemora a perseguição do MUD.
Claro, existem ainda muitas, mas mesmo muitas coisas que não sei mas acho que vou parar, ou pelo menos fazer uma pausa porque não estou pronto para mergulhar-me dentro dos pormenores do declínio do império, o desenvolvimento de socialismo ou o pequeno almoço preferido do Infante Dom Henrique. Se calhar, no ano seguinte...
January 23, 2022
2⭐ e 1/2
O livro é ok, não adorei a forma como está organizado, para mim fazia mais sentido se tudo seguisse uma ordem cronológica mas compreendo o que o autor tentou fazer ao agrupar temas
A forma como é abordado o colonialismo devia ser reformulada
O livro é ok, não adorei a forma como está organizado, para mim fazia mais sentido se tudo seguisse uma ordem cronológica mas compreendo o que o autor tentou fazer ao agrupar temas
A forma como é abordado o colonialismo devia ser reformulada
July 7, 2022
Picked this up on our trip to Portugal in an effort to get up to speed on the history. Unfortunately, it was very poorly translated, extremely dry and also quite dated in terms of its explanation of Portugal's role as a colonizer of Latin America and Africa. I got the basic dates and names of all events of Portuguese history, but it was delivered with very little context or analysis - not sure if this was just somehow lost in the translation, but don't recommend the English language version.
February 10, 2019
Sem entrar no mérito acadêmico do livro... serve como uma ótima visão rápida e leve sobre o país lusitano.
November 28, 2021
Mi ar fi placut sa spun ca si a facut treaba excelent Sa ma informeze asupra istoriei Portugaliei.
Consecutiv lecturii știu mai multe decat inainte, dar stilul este extrem de sec , de plictisitor.
Faptul ca am cumparat o cu 16 euro si constiinta incarcata m au ajutat sa o termin.
Pacat. Portugalia a facut istorie la scara larga si cu consecinte pe care le resimtim si azi.
Mai caut.
Consecutiv lecturii știu mai multe decat inainte, dar stilul este extrem de sec , de plictisitor.
Faptul ca am cumparat o cu 16 euro si constiinta incarcata m au ajutat sa o termin.
Pacat. Portugalia a facut istorie la scara larga si cu consecinte pe care le resimtim si azi.
Mai caut.
February 20, 2022
Un esfuerzo increible por sintetizar siglos de densa historia. Aunque por momentos pareciera fluir entre diferentes años y momentos, retrocediendo y avanzando entre grupos y procesos, al final nos brinda un panorama "mínimo" para los no iniciados en el conocimiento de Portugal.
Pienso que pudo haber cerrado el libro con algunas reflexiones adicionales de actualidad, asi como contextualizar mejor el significado politico del gobierno de Salazar. Pero en general es bastante recomendable.
Pienso que pudo haber cerrado el libro con algunas reflexiones adicionales de actualidad, asi como contextualizar mejor el significado politico del gobierno de Salazar. Pero en general es bastante recomendable.
February 25, 2024
A história de AOM é positiva, baseada em factos e na apreciação da importância dos mesmos.
Esta brevíssima história é condensada mas, em grande medida, contém o essencial da história de Portugal e, assim, da marcante obra historiográfica do autor.
Esta brevíssima história é condensada mas, em grande medida, contém o essencial da história de Portugal e, assim, da marcante obra historiográfica do autor.
December 1, 2025
An interesting history of Portugal.
November 1, 2019
This is not an introduction to Portuguese history. This is a stripped down version of a three volume history, written probably decades ago, with some obvious biases, translated with several typos, and slapped together with a beautiful cover. It’s readable but you do need to already know a lot about world history. I like Portuguese history because it’s an interesting second perspective. It’s exotic, but not overwhelming so, because it’s still part of western history. This edited version of the history leaves out any specific example that would add flavor. (What was the inquisition actually like?) It is also stripped of any personal accounts or opinions from historical people. There is no time for biography. It’s just a boring history of an interesting people. This has added to my appreciation of good history. I suspect this book was a Chinese publishing cash grab. I will continue to look for better Portuguese histories.
What I learned: The Portuguese thought Ethiopia was the kingdom of Prestor John. Multiple trees make “dragon’s blood,” red resins with multiple purposes. Sisal is a fibre that I’m mostly familiar with as twine, it’s from a plant related to agave. The miracles at Fatima were suspiciously beneficial to the Portuguese catholic church politically. Portuguese political history in the 19th and 20th centuries was wild! The catholic missionaries were less successful in Asia and Ethiopia because they were preaching a medieval Christianity to more highly developed cultures, who saw the new faith as cruel. How inquisitions and secret police become a state within a state.
What I learned: The Portuguese thought Ethiopia was the kingdom of Prestor John. Multiple trees make “dragon’s blood,” red resins with multiple purposes. Sisal is a fibre that I’m mostly familiar with as twine, it’s from a plant related to agave. The miracles at Fatima were suspiciously beneficial to the Portuguese catholic church politically. Portuguese political history in the 19th and 20th centuries was wild! The catholic missionaries were less successful in Asia and Ethiopia because they were preaching a medieval Christianity to more highly developed cultures, who saw the new faith as cruel. How inquisitions and secret police become a state within a state.
April 26, 2025
Although its title mentions a "very short story", I was hoping for more details rather than just pointing out facts that had happened, as the author did in many of the topics brought up in this book.
The lack of maps also made it hard to understand many parts of the book (maybe it's because of my lack of knowledge).
The continuous change of timelines is often confusing..
Nevertheless, it fulfills the main objective of its title since it mentions most of Portugal's history.
As a Portuguese it was good to remember many facts regarding my country's past.
The lack of maps also made it hard to understand many parts of the book (maybe it's because of my lack of knowledge).
The continuous change of timelines is often confusing..
Nevertheless, it fulfills the main objective of its title since it mentions most of Portugal's history.
As a Portuguese it was good to remember many facts regarding my country's past.
January 31, 2024
This book was a mix of interesting and boring but mostly boring. The way it was structured made it hard to follow, I felt like it jumped forwards and backwards in time a lot. Basically a long list of names and dates with not a lot of substance, hence why I took so long to finish it, only finding time to read a chapter at a time between other books.
July 15, 2025
Even as someone who reads a lot of non fiction, I have to say that this was an extremely dry book. Could have benefited from having more maps, because unless you are already familiar with Portugal’s geography, the text can be at times really hard to follow.
April 20, 2022
This was the only English language book I found on a recent trip to Portugal. A good read while touring the country.
March 25, 2024
Embora educativo, peca pelos constantes "time jumps" e pela escrita ultra formal.
October 8, 2024
Tiivis yleisesitys Portugalin historiasta. Kun kyse on tuhannesta vuodesta jää välttämättä paljon sanomatta. Mutta perusasiat kunnossa.
July 22, 2024
Its a shame I must say it again. Where. Are. The. Maps.
How am I supposed to understand the wars between Iberian kingdoms in the 12th century without a map to look at. Or the achievements of the Portuguese explorers. So stupid. MAPS. 1000 years of history and only 4 maps.... unbelievable
How am I supposed to understand the wars between Iberian kingdoms in the 12th century without a map to look at. Or the achievements of the Portuguese explorers. So stupid. MAPS. 1000 years of history and only 4 maps.... unbelievable
June 30, 2019
I bought this book from the famous Livraria Lello bookshop in Porto while on a short break, as I like to get a book that has some connection to the place I’m visiting.
Physically it’s very cute, lovely graphics and texture to the cover.
The contents was interesting. Taking on the whole history of a country in less than 300 pages is a huge task, and the author crams a lot into a short space. This is mostly about the history of territories, kings and queens and other rulers, constitutions, legislation etc, so if your primary interest is social history (like mine) this may not be for you. I found it a bit hard to follow in places, but I believe that’s a result of fitting so much into a short space, so I won’t critique too harshly based on that.
I feel like I did not retain very much from this book, probably because of the vast amount of content briefly covered, but I did enjoy reading it at the time so I give it 3 stars and would recommend to those interested in this kind of history.
Physically it’s very cute, lovely graphics and texture to the cover.
The contents was interesting. Taking on the whole history of a country in less than 300 pages is a huge task, and the author crams a lot into a short space. This is mostly about the history of territories, kings and queens and other rulers, constitutions, legislation etc, so if your primary interest is social history (like mine) this may not be for you. I found it a bit hard to follow in places, but I believe that’s a result of fitting so much into a short space, so I won’t critique too harshly based on that.
I feel like I did not retain very much from this book, probably because of the vast amount of content briefly covered, but I did enjoy reading it at the time so I give it 3 stars and would recommend to those interested in this kind of history.
August 26, 2021
I bought this at the “oldest book store in the world” in Lisbon (Bertrand), with high hopes that it would be informative for my trip in Portugal. It was difficult to read and follow, and filled with biases - such that the author lost credibility. For example, he states that colonization of African countries was driven by economic motivations, not racial attitudes. Race based slavery was invented in Portugal (Prince Henry) it is hard to believe that statement.
June 23, 2019
A grande mais valia do livro é ao mesmo tempo a sua fraqueza. Lê se muito bem, rápido e conciso mas ao mesmo tempo superficial. Ainda assim recomenda se a sua leitura para uma organização mental dos acontecimentos da historia de Portugal.
March 22, 2020
Não dá
April 19, 2021
great overview of what is a rather long history
November 17, 2023
The driest history book I have ever read.
June 28, 2025
Sadly one of the driest history books I’ve ever read. Facts and figures.
August 31, 2025
This book is clearly intended to be a primer in Portuguese history for the unfamiliar. However, it may require some patience.
Why? Well, the book would benefit from beginning with a bird’s eye view of what we are about to read and why. We want to learn more about Portuguese history, but a basic road map would be helpful.
I’ve lived in the country itself for several years but I have to admit that, beyond the Age of Exploration and the Transatlantic slave trade, most of us don’t know much about Portugal. Geographic isolation, the squandering of wealth during its height, the Lisbon earthquake (where much was lost), and an indirect trajectory from absolute monarchy … to a Napoleonic invasion that resulted in the monarch absconding to Brasil … to constitutional monarchy … to an insular and mysterious dictatorship, all of this and more has caused this history to remain obscure and hidden from the modern, non-Portuguese person.
Rather than attempt to explain any of that, Oliveira Marques cold starts the book with an extremely cursory overview of the prehistorical period, the Romans, and begins listing rather dry facts and figures about the earliest events of the country. It is about as compelling as “Bob begat Joe who begat Ron who begat Steven who begat John” … you get the idea.
This book is recommended for only someone who is truly interested in grasping at any straw that may provide information about Portugal that is not in Portuguese. Much like Vietnam is defined almost exclusively in English literature by the Vietnam War (or American War, if you prefer), Portugal exists mostly in accounts of early European nautical exploration of the world, a little known slave trading country, or in the minds of those that would like to pretend that it is currently some socialist paradise. Pity that as Portugal indeed has a rich and fascinating history which deserves a more passionate exposition to the world.
This book receives an extra star for being one of the few somewhat readily available books in English on this subject.
Why? Well, the book would benefit from beginning with a bird’s eye view of what we are about to read and why. We want to learn more about Portuguese history, but a basic road map would be helpful.
I’ve lived in the country itself for several years but I have to admit that, beyond the Age of Exploration and the Transatlantic slave trade, most of us don’t know much about Portugal. Geographic isolation, the squandering of wealth during its height, the Lisbon earthquake (where much was lost), and an indirect trajectory from absolute monarchy … to a Napoleonic invasion that resulted in the monarch absconding to Brasil … to constitutional monarchy … to an insular and mysterious dictatorship, all of this and more has caused this history to remain obscure and hidden from the modern, non-Portuguese person.
Rather than attempt to explain any of that, Oliveira Marques cold starts the book with an extremely cursory overview of the prehistorical period, the Romans, and begins listing rather dry facts and figures about the earliest events of the country. It is about as compelling as “Bob begat Joe who begat Ron who begat Steven who begat John” … you get the idea.
This book is recommended for only someone who is truly interested in grasping at any straw that may provide information about Portugal that is not in Portuguese. Much like Vietnam is defined almost exclusively in English literature by the Vietnam War (or American War, if you prefer), Portugal exists mostly in accounts of early European nautical exploration of the world, a little known slave trading country, or in the minds of those that would like to pretend that it is currently some socialist paradise. Pity that as Portugal indeed has a rich and fascinating history which deserves a more passionate exposition to the world.
This book receives an extra star for being one of the few somewhat readily available books in English on this subject.
November 9, 2025
I’d highly recommend tourists interested in Portugal’s history to choose a different book.
After doing a walking history tour of Lisbon, I wanted to learn more about the history, and drawn in by the popularity of the book at the bookstore (2nd best selling book there) and the beautiful cover, I picked this book.
However I could not recommend a book less. Not only dose it spew out names and dates with almost no context, it seems to at random choose when to extrapolate on the most random of facts that do not matter (such as describing a king not performing “husbandly duties”) when context to other facts would be more valuable for a historical knowledge sharing. Also the book I would say very briefly mentions the darker history aspects such as slavery, inquisition, general persecution based upon race and religion - with such brevity in one sentence and then in the next paragraph will be on to a seemingly unrelated topic with no transition.
Speaking of that the chapters supposedly have a theme but this is not always stuck to and topics are jumped between often without breaks or transitions. You jump forwards and backwards in time without much explanation.
This book may be useful for someone who already knows about Portugals history and wants somewhat of a refresher?
After doing a walking history tour of Lisbon, I wanted to learn more about the history, and drawn in by the popularity of the book at the bookstore (2nd best selling book there) and the beautiful cover, I picked this book.
However I could not recommend a book less. Not only dose it spew out names and dates with almost no context, it seems to at random choose when to extrapolate on the most random of facts that do not matter (such as describing a king not performing “husbandly duties”) when context to other facts would be more valuable for a historical knowledge sharing. Also the book I would say very briefly mentions the darker history aspects such as slavery, inquisition, general persecution based upon race and religion - with such brevity in one sentence and then in the next paragraph will be on to a seemingly unrelated topic with no transition.
Speaking of that the chapters supposedly have a theme but this is not always stuck to and topics are jumped between often without breaks or transitions. You jump forwards and backwards in time without much explanation.
This book may be useful for someone who already knows about Portugals history and wants somewhat of a refresher?
March 16, 2023
A great book to remind me of the main details of the history of my country! I have a lot to research and play with from this, which is great.
The writing isn’t my favorite, being a bit too dry at times (mind you, I love history, but there is a way to write it in a more interesting way then the author dis at times), but overall it did what it had to do.
The structure took a while to get used to, as we go back and forth in each period depending on the topic (economy, politics, culture…), which sometimes was a bit confusing.
Also, I can’t completely explain why, but I hated the introduction! It just didn’t do it for me at all.
Overall, a good summary of Portugal’s history, and although not my preferred writing style, it did it’s job well and all the information was there.
The writing isn’t my favorite, being a bit too dry at times (mind you, I love history, but there is a way to write it in a more interesting way then the author dis at times), but overall it did what it had to do.
The structure took a while to get used to, as we go back and forth in each period depending on the topic (economy, politics, culture…), which sometimes was a bit confusing.
Also, I can’t completely explain why, but I hated the introduction! It just didn’t do it for me at all.
Overall, a good summary of Portugal’s history, and although not my preferred writing style, it did it’s job well and all the information was there.
May 28, 2021
This book is deceptive but A+ for the marketing : it has pretty artwork on the cover and "very short" makes you think it is easy to digest - it isn't. I bought this in Coimbra as I am genuinely interested in Portuguese history but this is a compressed version of several volumes, making it exceptionally dry and condensed. I found I am constantly searching online for more context which makes each paragraph take that much longer to read.
The book may fit some purpose for an academic already familiar with the author's works and/or Portuguese history but as a beginner I don't recommend this book as an introduction to the history of Portugal.
The book may fit some purpose for an academic already familiar with the author's works and/or Portuguese history but as a beginner I don't recommend this book as an introduction to the history of Portugal.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews