History of Portugal (1640–1777) put to the test in 1762 when Spain invaded aided by France, during the Seven Years' War. Britain invoked its alliance with Portugal and sent troops. Several months later, the conflict was settled with comparatively little fighting. In 1777, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of San Ildefonso, which mainly resolved a number of border disputes between their South American colonies. During the Age of Enlightenment, Portugal was considered one of Europe's unenlightened backwaters; it was a country of three million with 200,000 people in 538 monasteries in 1750. Melo seems to have been deeply embarrassed by Portugal's much lamented
The Portugal News The Portugal News The Portugal News is a national weekly newspaper in English published in Portugal. Established in 1977, "The Portugal News" is published weekly. The paper is the longest established English-language newspaper in publication in Portugal. It is politically neutral and carries current comment on the latest political developments each week. News on a local and national level is carried from throughout Portugal, with the aim of keeping expatriate residents and visitors fully informed about Portugal in the English language. In addition the website allows searching several years of editorials, which is useful for researching the country. "The Portugal