Information about Portuguese People

Portuguese (Portugueses)  •  • [ e]
Afonso I•Saint Anthony•Nuno lvares Pereira•Vasco da Gama Lus de Cames•Jos Barroso•Jos Saramago•Nelly Furtado
Total population
c. 56 million (183 million) (2005)
Regions with significant populations
Portugal: 10,000,000 (July 2006)
Brazil 100,000,000[1]  Venezuela 1,300,000  France 1,000,000  South Africa 500,000  Canada 500,000  Angola 210,000  Switzerland 152,000  Germany 150,000  Spain 127,698 (2006)  Australia 55,000  Luxembourg 54,000  Belgium 38,000  Argentina 30,000  Sri Lanka 30,000  Mozambique 25,000  Bermuda 20,000  Netherlands 17,903  Guinea-Bissau 5,000  Barbados 2,000  Ireland 1,520[2]
Languages
Portuguese
Religions
Predominantly Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Galicians and other Spaniards, Italians, French

The Portuguese people (Portuguese: os portugueses; literally the Portuguese) are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Portuguese is their native language and Roman Catholicism is their predominant religion.

Ethnic composition of the Portuguese

Ancestry

Modern day Portuguese are an Iberian Peninsula ethnic group and their ancestry is very similar to other latin peoples. It is largely consistent with the geographic position of the western part of the Iberian peninsula, located on the extreme southwest of continental Europe. There are clear connections with the Mediterranean peoples as well as with those of Atlantic and Western Europe. Dark brown hair and eyes predominate in a majority of Portuguese people - a Mediterranean Caucasoid characteristic. However, blond hair and blue or green eyes are also found with fairly regularly frequency, particularly in the North, where Germanic and Celtic presences are larger.

A Paleolithic and Neolithic basis of Iberian ancestry

Recent development of methodologies for defining population structure using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism markers has led a 2006 study to conclude that there is clear and consistent division between “northern” and “southern” European population groups, strongly suggesting a close genetic relationship between Greeks, Italians, Portuguese and Spaniards, whereas all European populations north of the Alps and the Pyrenees (except for Ashkenazi Jews) seem to fall squarely into a separate "Northern" population group.^[3] However, a similar 2007 study found that the most prominent genetic stratifications in Europe run from the north to the south-east [northern Europe-Balkans], while there are other weaker stratifications such as east-west and north-south. This latter study concludes that Iberians cluster with other southern European populations while pointing to a strong Paleolithic element in the Iberian gene-pool, suggesting that the region holds the most ancient European ancestry.^[4]

Indeed, the Paleolithic component in Iberian ancestry had already been ascertained by means of Y-chromosome and mtDNA analysis, a methodology which does not provide strong inferences on genetic population structure but is useful in tracing parts of the routes of migration in the populating of Europe. Both Y-chromosome haplogroups R1b and Mtdna haplogroup H, reach frequencies above 50% in most of Iberia, R1b peaking at 96% in the Basque region. This shows the strong ancestral bond between Iberia and the rest of western Europe, particularly those groups along the Atlantic seaboard. It is thought that Northern Iberia was an Ice Age refuge at the end of the last glaciation 45,000 years ago from which human beings later colonized the rest of western Europe. ^[5] Mtdna analysis also points to some pre-historic population movements into Iberia from North Africa, probably during the Capsian diffusion[1]. However a recent and thorough study revealed that the North-African Berber immigrants constituted a long-lasting and continuous community not limited to Capsian or Moorish expansion^[6].

Autosomal studies using a small number of classical genetic markers, supported by more recent analysis of Microsatellite data, have not only lent support for a large Neolithic element in the European genome, but have also been the basis for the demic diffusion model from the near east. Broad gradients across Europe, largely on a South East/North West cline using a small number of classical genetic markers would thus link the populations of Western Europe (including Iberia) by a common "paleolithic" ancestry and those of eastern (and particularly south eastern) Europe by a common "neolithic" ancestry ^[7] Nevertheless the demic diffusion model remains controversial, to the degree that studies of ancient Mtdna point to the total absence of Neolithic contribution to modern European populations.

The Atlantic

Experts such as Barry Cunliffe, Bryan Sykes and Stephen Oppenheimer have put forward theories, supported by genetic and archaeological studies, pointing to Iberia as the main origin of the people that re-populated Atlantic Europe in the post-glacial period, during the Paleolithic and the Neolithic times. They argue that the evidence shows that this prehistoric genetic source remains the predominant one in the region.

The genetic legacy of Muslim rule

There exists a number of studies which focus on the genetic impact of the eight centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula (al-Andalus) on the genetic make up of the Iberian population. Recent studies agree that there is a genetic relationship between Iberia (mainly far southern regions) and North Africa as a result of this period of history, Iberia is the only region in Europe with a significant presence of the typically North West African Y-chromosome haplotypes E-M81^[8],^[9] and Haplotype Va^[10] Iberia is also the region in Europe with the highest frequency of the female mediated mtDNA haplogroup L of Sub-Saharan origin, as a result of Berber colonisation and, particularly in the extreme south of Spain and Portugal, African slavery.^[11],^[12]

Nevertheless, the North African element in modern day Iberians' ancestry is quite trivial when compared to the pre-Islamic ancestral basis [2].

However the most recent and thorough study about Y-chromosome Lineages from Portugal revealed The mtDNA and Y data indicate that the Berber presence in that region dates prior to the Moorish expansion in 711 AD [...] Our data indicates that male Berbers, unlike sub-Saharan immigrants, constituted a long-lasting and continuous community in the country^[13].

Other Historical Influences

The ancestry of modern Portuguese has been influenced by the many peoples which have passed on its territory throughout history. These peoples include the Iberians, Celts (Celtiberians), Phoenicians (Punics), Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Suebi, Visigoths, Alans,Buri, Byzantines,Saqaliba(Slavs), Berbers and Arabs (Moors), Jews (Sephardim or Marranos).

Portugal was a recipient of immigration from Portuguese settlers who returned from the former Colonies in Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bisseau and Cape Verde), in the seventies. Recently, there has been a large surge in immigration from Eastern Europe.

Demography

Main article: Demographics of Portugal

There are around 10 million native Portuguese in Portugal, out of a total population of 10.75 million (estimate).

Native minority languages in Portugal

A small minority of about 15,000 speak the Astur-Leonese Mirandese language in the municipalities of Miranda do Douro, Vimioso and Mogadouro - even if all of the speakers are bilingual with Portuguese.

An even smaller minority of no more than 2,000 people speak Barranquenho, a dialect of Portuguese heavily influenced by Extremaduran, spoken in the Portuguese town of Barrancos (in the border between Extremadura and Andalusia, in Spain, and Portugal).

Ethnic minorities in Portugal

People from the former colonies (namely Brazil, Africa, and parts of India) have, in the last two to three decades, migrated to Portugal. More recently, a great number of Slavs, especially Ukrainians (now the biggest ethnic minority), are also migrating to Portugal. There is also a small Chinese minority.

There is also a small minority of Gypsies of about 25,000 people and an even smaller minority of Jews of about 5,000 persons (some Ashkenazi, the majority Sephardi, such as the Belmonte Jews).

Minorities of Portuguese descent

In the whole world there are easily more than one hundred million people with recognizable Portuguese ancestors, due to the colonial expansion and world-wide immigration of Portuguese from the 16th century onwards to India, the Americas, Macau and East-Timor, Malaysia, Indonesia and Africa. About 35 million Brazilians have recent Portuguese background, due to massive immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Significant Portuguese minorities (and of Portuguese descent until the 3rd degree) exist in:

Europe:	The Americas:	Africa (Portuguese Africans):	Asia and Oceania:
France (nearly 1 million) Luxembourg (Portuguese Luxembourger: 15% of the population) Germany Switzerland Belgium Andorra United Kingdom (Portuguese British)	Brazil (Portuguese-Brazilian) United States of America (Portuguese American) Canada (Portuguese Canadians) Barbados Venezuela	South Africa (Portuguese-South Africans: about 500,000) Angola (Portuguese Angolans) Mozambique (Portuguese Mozambicans) Cape Verde São Tomé and Príncipe Guinea-Bissau Namibia	Macau (China) Australia India (mainly in Goa) East Timor Malaysia Sri Lanka United Arab Emirates

Portuguese Sephardic Jews (mostly descendants) are also important in Israel, the Netherlands, the United States, France, Brazil^[14] and Turkey.

In the United States, there are Portuguese communities in New Jersey, the New England states, and California. In the Pacific, Hawaii has a sizable Portuguese element that goes back 150 years (see Portuguese Americans and Luso Americans). Canada, particularly Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, has developed a significant Portuguese community since 1940 (see Portuguese Canadians). Argentina and Uruguay had Portuguese immigration in the early 20th century. Portuguese fishermen dispersed across the Caribbean islands, especially Bermuda and the island of Barbados where there is high influence from the Portuguese community.

In the early twentieth century the Portuguese government encouraged European emigration to Angola and Mozambique, and by the 1970s there were around 650,000 Portuguese settlers living in their overseas African provinces. Many Portuguese returned to Portugal as the country's African possessions gained independence in the 1975, while others moved south to South Africa, which now has the largest Portuguese population in Africa.

As a result of interracial marriage and cultural influence, there are Portuguese influenced people with their own culture and Portuguese based dialects in parts of the world other than former Portuguese colonies, most notably in Malaysia and Singapore (see Kristang people), Barbados, Aruba, Curaçao, Guyana (see Portuguese immigrants in Guyana), Equatorial Guinea and Sri Lanka (see Burgher people and Portuguese Burghers).

How many Brazilians have Portuguese ancestry?

There are no exact figures about the number of Brazilians of Portuguese descent, as the Portuguese immigration to Brazil is as old a phenomenon as the country's colonization and succeded in different immigration waves during the last centuries (see Portuguese-Brazilian and White Latin American).

Portuguese immigration to Brazil from the beginning of colonization, in 1500, until present day in 1990 Source: Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
	Decade
Nationality	1500-1700	1701-1760	1808-1817	1827-1829	1837-1841	1856-1857	1881-1900	1901-1930	1931-1950	1951-1960	1961-1967	1981-1991
Portuguese	100.000	600.000	24.000	2.004	629	16.108	316.204	754.147	148.699	235.635	54.767	4.605

Many Brazilians do not know or are not interested about their Portuguese ancestry. Even with Portuguese heritage, many Portuguese-Brazilians identify themselves as being simply Brazilians, since Portuguese culture was a dominant cultural influence in the formation of Brazil (like many Americans which though of British ancestry will never describe themselves as of British extraction, but only as "Americans").

In 1872, there were 3.7 million Whites in Brazil (the vast majority of them of Portuguese ancestry), 4.1 million mixed-race people (mostly of Portuguese-African ancestry) and 1.9 million Blacks. These numbers give the percentage of 80% of people with total or partial Portuguese ancestry in Brazil in the 1870s.^[15]

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a new large wave of immigrants from Portugal arrived. From 1881 to 1991, over 1.5 million Portuguese immigrated to Brazil. In 1906, for example, there were 133.393 Portuguese-born people living in Rio de Janeiro, comprising 16% of the city's population. Rio is, still today, considered the largest "Portuguese city" outside of Portugal itself.^[16][17]

Genetic studies also confirm the strong Portuguese racial influence in Brazilians. According to a study, at least half of the Brazilian population's Y Chromosome comes from Portugal. Black Brazilians have an average of 48% non-African genes, most of them may come from Portuguese ancestors.^[18][19]

The fact that the leads one to assume those of Portuguese background predominate in the country.

References

See also

• Genetic history of Europe
• Portuguese-Brazilian

•  • [ e] Topics related to Portugal
History	Timeline of Portuguese historyKings of PortugalOestriminis & OphiussaHispaniaLusitania & GallaeciaLusitaniansSuebi & BuriVisigothsCounty of PortugalEstablishment of the Kingdom of PortugalOrder of Christ 1383–1385 CrisisBattle of AljubarrotaConsolidation of Portugal Discoveries OdysseyTreaty of TordesillasPortuguese Empire1755 Lisbon earthquakePeninsular WarLiberal WarsEstado NovoCarnation RevolutionMilitary
Politics	ConstitutionPresidents of PortugalAssembly of the RepublicGovernment of PortugalPolitical partiesCouncil of StateForeign relations ElectionsPolitical divisionsFlag & Coat of arms
Geography	Estrela Mtns.Gers (National Park)Islands (AzoresMadeira)Roman Geography of PortugalCities (Greater LisbonGreater Porto)MunicipalitiesExclusive Economic Zone
Economy	Euro (Portuguese coins)CompaniesBank of PortugalEconomic historyTelecommunicationsTransportation (Lisbon MetroPorto Metro)
Demographics	Portuguese peopleLanguages (Portuguese & History of PortugueseMirandeseBarranquenho)
Religion	Catholic Church (Patriarch of LisbonEcclesiastical history of BragaPortuguese InquisitionOur Lady of Fatima)History of the Jews in Portugal & Belmonte JewsIslam in PortugalHinduism in Portugal
Culture	Music (FadoHip Hop TugaPimbaPortuguese rockPortuguese guitarCavaquinho)LiteratureCuisineWines (Port wineMadeira wineVerde wine)FootballBullfightingArchitectureCinemaHigher education (Universities and colleges)Science and technologyMonumentsPortuguese sidewalk
Other	List of Portuguese PeoplePortuguese birdsScouting Federation of PortugalLusophilia & LusophobiaLusophone & Lusitanic
See also:

External links

• Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)
• Portugal (Emigration) from CIA Country Studies Series