An earthquake struck the country in 1755 further causing destruction to its already weakened economy. In 1910, a revolution deposed the monarchy. In 1926, there was a military coup d'etat that established dictatorship until 1974. Another coup established reforms and instituted democracy in the country. Portugal is member of NATO, OECD, EFTA and recently European Union. During World War II Portugal remained neutral.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes. At the end of World War II, a small number of the population in Portugal comprises the upper class, middle class and urban working class. Majority of Portugese were rural peasants.

The upper class included industry leaders, financiers, high-ranking military personnel, the Catholic episcopate, the Alentejo large landholders, some professionals, and some government officials. The middle class is comprised of smaller rural landowners, some military officers, small business owners, civil servants, and schoolteachers. The lower class (o povo) consisted of the urban and rural working poor.

Social mobility is not observable and the distinction was between those who worked with their hands and those who did not. Social status was maintained by marrying of same class. Before 1974, the State was made up of corporative bodies comprised of different groups such as the military, the Church, landholders, workers' syndicates, etc. The Corporate State intends to promote class interests but in reality the intention is often influenced by personal contacts.

The rural south comprised of huge numbers of landless laborers was more hierarchical than the rural north. This is the reason why the Communist Party and class consciousness are more predominant in the south after the 1974 "revolution." Social stratification in the villages of the north was not as pronounced as in the south. Very wealthy elites were also limited.

The 1976 constitution desired to make Portugal a republic made up of a classless society. The Marxist ideologies no longer made up a huge part of their constitution. Portugal is not as socially rigid as in the past and education becomes more accessible as the country gears toward a more service-oriented economy. Education is also a way to gain social mobility. The number of people comprising the middle class has increased and the peasant population has decreased but the distance separating the social, economic, and political elites from the majority of the population remains.

Portugal - Social Classes

Before 1974, the Portugal's elite were be divided into five groups: the nobility, the large landowners, the heads of large businesses, the members of learned professions, and high-ranking military officers.

The Portugal's social structure had been known to be remarkably stable for centuries. The society was patterned after premodern, quasifeudal mold. Rank, place and class were given much consideration. The system was composed of small elite at the top, majority of peasants at the bottom and nobody in between. Industrialization in Portugal came so late that it was only in the late nineteenth century that the country experienced class changes. When the country became industrialized, the dictatorship under Salazar prevented sociopolitical effects to be felt until the 1974 Revolution transpired.

Portuguese historically has two classes - those who work with their hands and those who do not. Land ownership comes with prestige, power and prosperity. The small middle class comprised of soldiers, merchants, artisans and bureaucrats did not have the unity needed to give recognition to their class or gain political power. Ninety percent of the population comprised the underprivileged who worked as farmers, serfs and peasants. The opportunity to up one's status in life was nil. The poor often accepted their fate as part of God's laws. This social structure continued through generations for centuries.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a "new rich" class emerged due to commerce and investment. The members of this class bought land, intermarried with the old elite preserving the two-class system. The new middle class that emerged followed the upper-class ways such as dislike for manual labor, being refined and staying away from the lower classes. In the era of industrialization, Salazar dictatorship effectively quelled the working class bargaining power which further maintained the two-class system.

Salazar regime knew that the continuous existence of his government relied on the preservation of conservative elements such as low literacy rate and deteriorating road system in order to prevent increase of mobility, urbanization and threats to his power. He isolated Portugal from Europe. The corporative system he established benefited workers but also put them under his tight control. During Salazar's rule, Portugal suffered in terms of housing, education and health care.

Despite the obstacles, changes to the class system are showing due to modernization of the economy. Some groups particularly the elite were losing their traditional status and social power and were being displaced by growing number of middle class which are better able to function in the evolving economy.

Portugal Development

Economic development for Portugal was steady from the 16th centurty until the Carnation Revolution in1974. Economy collapsed in Portugal after the coup. It just recently recovered after it was granted membership to the European Union in 1983.

Britain used to be a colonial power with vast colonies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The same goes for Portugal which used to be a superpower with expanded colonies in Asia, Africa and South America. Their influence though decline through the years particularly in Portugal when it lost its final overseas empire in 1975.

The 1974-75 revolution in Portugal that led to the current Second Republic and the its succeeding withdrawal from its territories in Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Angola, and soon after, followed by Portugal's membership to the CEE/European Union (l986), showed dramatic duality of imperialism, under-development, and decadence that, under Salazar's regime (1932-74), made small Portugal looked like an European “backwater”.

Portugal for more than 200 years was actually a British protectorate. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was based on financial and diplomatic dependence with political independence. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance dates back to 1373 when both England and Portugal were feudal monarchies of equal stature but facing similar enemies particularly France and Spain.

Portugal's economy recovered after its entry to the EU. After experiencing recession in 1993, the economy saw an average of 3.3% increase, hugher than EU averages. In 2006, it's GDP growth was pegged at 1.3% the lowest in all of Europe.