Cheap Car Rental In Portugal Sources of Cheap Car Rental In Portugal resources from the Web

The Carnation Revolution of 1974, an effectively bloodless left-wing military coup, installed the Third Republic. Broad democratic reforms were implemented.

From the 16th century, Portugal gradually saw its wealth decreasing. Even if Portugal was officially an autonomous state, the country was a Spanish puppet and Portuguese colonies were attacked by Spain's opponents, especially the Dutch and English.

The country still has a 6.7 percent illiteracy rate, almost exclusively among the elderly. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe as a target for foreign direct investment.

Socialist Jorge Sampaio won the February 1996 presidential elections with nearly 54% of the vote. Sampaio's election marked the first time since the 1974 revolution that a single party held the prime ministership, the presidency, and a plurality of the municipalities. Local elections were held in December 1997.

Continental Portugal is split in two by its main river, the Tagus (Tejo). To the north the landscape is mountainous in the interior areas with plateaus, cut by four breakings lines that allow the development of relevant agricultural areas. Portugal's highest point, however, is Mount Pico (2351m) in the Azores.

Football is the most known, loved and practiced sport in Portugal. Luís Figo is one of the world's top players, but the legendary Eusébio, Rui Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo are also noteworthy. Between several other great names in the European scene, we can find Futre, Vitor Baia, and Paulo Sousa.

Prime Minister José Sócrates was sworn in by President Jorge Sampaio on March 12. To many's suprise, Sócrates formed a cabinet made up of roughly half senior members of the Socialist Party and half independents, among whom are Diogo Freitas do Amaral, founder of the rightist Partido Popular and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs.

An Islamic invasion took place in 711, destroying the Visigothic Kingdom. Many of the ousted nobles took refuge in the unconquered north Asturian highlands. From there they aimed to reconquer their lands from the Moors: this war of reconquest is known as the Reconquista. After the Moors were, for the most part, driven out of power, most of the Iberian peninsula was briefly united under Christian rule. However, it quickly split apart after the death of Ferdinand the Great of Leon and Castile, whose domains were divided by his children.