Portugal (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Portuguese Republic República Portuguesa Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum OTL equivalent: Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, and Macau
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Esta é a ditosa Pátria minha amada (Portuguese) ("This is my blissful beloved homeland")
Anthem:  A Portuguesa
Location of Metropolitan Portugal (in green)
Location of Portugal and its overseas provinces (in green)
Capital		Lisbon
Other cities		São Paulo de Luanda; Lourenço Marques; Macau
Official languages		Portuguese
Ethnic groups		Portuguese; Afro-Portuguese; Indo-Portuguese; Sino-Portuguese
Religion		Christianity; Islam; Irreligion
Demonym		Portuguese
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
-	President
-	Prime Minister
Legislature		National Assembly of Portugal
Establishment
-	Proclamation of the Republic	October 5, 1910
Population
-	estimate	34,339,289
Currency		Euro (EUR)
Time zone		WET (UTC)
Internet TLD		.pt
Calling code		+351
Membership international or regional organizations		United Nations; European Community

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa), is a transcontinental country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula that includes overseas provinces and territories in the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and Asia. Metropolitan 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. Through Portuguese Angola, it borders Namibia to the south, the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Through Portuguese Mozambique, it borders the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanganyika to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Rhodesia to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest, as well as Madagascar which is separated by the Mozambique Channel to the east.

History

Estado Novo (1933–1941)

António de Oliveira Salazar, the Prime Minister of Portugal (1933–40).

The Ditadura Nacional ("National Dictatorship") regime installed by military officers in 1928 had facing enormous public debt. The country was close to a state of financial collapse, which forcing the military regime to ask economic professor António de Oliveira Salazar to fix the deteriorated economic situation. After refused the offer several times, Salazar accepted the appointment to the Ministry of Finance by President Óscar Carmona on April 26, 1928. As Finance Minister, Salazar held extensive powers to determine governmental budget according to his will, effectively stabilizing Portuguese economy during his first years. Due to his success, Salazar was retained by the regime as finance minister while several prime ministers with military background came and went.

Salazar's iron-handed leadership and success of his ministry was a stark contrast to the political turmoil within the regime. On July 5, 1932, President Carmona appointed Salazar as prime minister. Salazar quickly consolidated control of the government, providing a clear political vision to the military leaders. He led a team of professionals to promulgate new constitution which establishes a corporatist state representing interest groups rather than individuals, based on his Catholic conservatism and distrust to party politics. The constitution was affirmed through a national referendum on March 19, 1933, formally creating the Estado Novo ("New State") regime.

Mocidade Portuguesa members working in the Monsanto Forest Park, Lisbon, ca. 1938.

Under corporatist regime, workers' organizations were subordinated to state control, but granted a legitimacy that they had never before enjoyed and were made beneficiaries of a variety of new social programs. The State Defense and Surveillance Police (Polícia de Vigilância e de Defesa do Estado, PVDE) was established in 1933 to suppress the regime's political opponents. The system mirrored neighboring Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. Nevertheless, Salazar was not a fascist; he preferred social power remained in the conservative institutions, such as the church, landowners and army.

Salazar not only banned left-wing parties, but also revolutionary fascist-syndicalist parties, seeing them as a rival to the regime. While distanced himself from fascism in general, Salazar had borrowed many elements of Italian fascism into the regime. In 1934, he consolidated the National Union as an umbrella organization to support the government; all other political parties were banned and persecuted. Salazar created the Portuguese Legion (Legião Portuguesa) and the Portuguese Youth (Mocidade Portuguesa) in 1936 in a fascist-style mobilization. Elections were not free as only National Union-endorsed candidates were able to stand, while the Mocidade intimidated citizens to vote for the 'official candidates'.

In 1935, neighboring Spain witnessed the Falangists rise to power. Unlike Italian Fascism, Spanish Falangism was Catholic in character. Salazar personally welcomed the change of regime in Madrid, but at the same time felt uneasy due to the radical elements of Estado Novo want Portugal to lean further into a clearly-defined fascist society. Following the Munich Agreement in 1938, Portugal and Spain signed a non-aggression pact in 1939 to guarantee Spain will not invade Portugal in an event of European-wide conflict as what Salazar has feared.

World War II (1941–1945)

Portuguese Army prepared the defense of Lisbon at the wake of Spanish invasion of Gibraltar, 1940.

With the fall of France in June 1940, Spain and Germany discussed the possibility of an attack upon the British-held Gibraltar. Despite its pro-Axis sympathy, neutral Portugal was also targeted for invasion due to strategic location of the Azores for the Axis naval strategy in the Atlantic. The preparation was eventually commenced on July 12, 1940 when the Germans crossed the Pyrenees. At the same day, Spain delivered an ultimatum to the Portuguese government to hand over the Azores voluntarily to which Salazar replied negatively. As Portugal refused to comply with the demand, Spain and Germany invaded Gibraltar and Portugal under Operation Felix on July 13. Despite clearly outnumbered, the Portuguese Army put an unexpected brave resistance against the Axis invasion.

Gibraltar was besieged for two months before the British troops were eventually ordered to retreat to Malta. The Azores eventually fell on September 6, 1940. After achieving their military objectives, Lisbon was presented by the Axis another ultimatum whether to accept the occupation of Azores and remain neutral or face a joint nation-wide military occupation similar to France. As Salazar prepared to evacuate the government to Cape Verde to continue resistance, pro-Axis element within the Portuguese government deposed him on September 10, 1940, installing Antonio Carneiro Pacheco as new prime minister. Carneiro Pacheco quickly ordered a ceasefire, accepting the points of September 8 ultimatum.

Further readings