Anglo-Portuguese Relations Since 1900

By Torn Gallagher | Published in History Today Volume: 36 Issue: 6 1986

World wars, dictatorship and the tensions of empire tested, but not to breaking point, the alliance in the twentieth century. Tom Gallagher outlines how economic and strategic considerations made Portugal a focus for Allied concern in the Second World War.

Down the centuries the sheer durability of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance has caused more than one historian to describe relations between the two countries in romantic and inflated terms. It is easy to forget that hard-headed commercial, strategic, and territorial considerations lay behind the pact and that there have been times when the spirit and even the letter of the treaty have been disregarded, especially by the stronger partner.

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Tags: 20th Century,Britain,Portugal,

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