Portuguese (NEW EDITION)

An intimate portrait of this fascinating country, capturing its contradictions and charms.Though a founding member of NATO and the euro, Portugal is often overlooked, a small country on Europes southwestern edge. In The Portuguese, veteran journalist Barry Hatton blends historical insight with personal anecdotes to explore this enigmatic nation.During the 1400s and 1500s, Portuguese explorers led Europe into the Atlantic and helped connect Asia with Europe, creating a vast four-continent empire. This legacy still resonates today, particularly through the Portuguese language, spoken by over 220 million people worldwide. Hatton examines Portugals vibrant yet turbulent pastfrom the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which shook European thinking and began a long decline, through Antnio Salazars dictatorship, to its end in the 1974 Carnation Revolution, briefly thrusting Portugal into Cold War geopolitics. Hatton also explores the countrys complex ties with neighbouring Spain, and its oldest ally, England.With diverse landscapes, rich cultural heritage, a love of food and fine wine, an easy-going lifestyle and a rebellious streak, the Portuguese are uniquely compelling. Hattons portrait is intimate and revealing, capturing the charms and contradictions of a fascinating country. .