Portugal during World War II
Upon the start of World War II in 1939, the Portuguese Government announced on 1 September that the 600-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but that since the British did not seek Portuguese assistance, Portugal was free to remain neutral in the war and would do so. In an aide-mémoire of 5 September 1939, the British Government confirmed the understanding. As Hitler's occupation swept across Europe, neutral Portugal became one of the Continent's last escape routes. Portugal managed to remain neutral throughout the war despite extraordinary pressures from both sides, notably over the strategically located Azores islands and over the wolfram (tungsten) trade.
The Historians' History of the World
"Book II" details the history of Portugal beginning with Afonso I of Portugal, the first king of Portugal, along with other kings including Afonso II of Portugal, Denis, and John I of Portugal before moving on to the role played by Portugal in the Age of Discovery, the Portuguese in India with the Portuguese conquest of Goa, and discusses the decline of Portugal as a major European power, the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, Brazil, Napoleon's Invasion of Portugal, and finishes off with the reign of Carlos I of Portugal.