[qiaoer]

_Portugal_

- Is funny to realize that a lot of people don't know where it is or what it is. - It happens mostly with people outside Europe! :P
- Some people think it is a province of Spain, some other people think it is some latin american country.
- Actually is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east.
- The capital is Lisbon (Pt: Lisboa)

- However, nowadays a lot of people know Portugal thanks to Football (a kind of a religion here)

- Anyway, it is ok not to be known because it is a very small country with no major events. Except during the XVI century. At that time, the portuguese navigation through the sea discover a lot of places and made a lot of cultural connections - the first Europeans to arrive on Japanese soil were portuguese (Francisco Xavier) and Portuguese allways had a strong connection with the contact between Europe and Asia because of the jesuits. I'm sure you know about Macau (ex-portuguese colony); Vasco da Gama detecting the sea way to India and Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral that discover Brazil...

And now we are just trying survive to an economic crisis. A lot portuguese people live outside the country, especially in France and Switzerland.