Every day, Portugal and her legacy pass through my library’s doors. Her past is present in my city, where the descendants of her land and her former empire embody almost 10 per cent of the population. As familiar as her heritage may seem, however, Portugal’s almost 900‐year history as a nation remains largely unfamiliar to many.
Because of the paucity of academic course work and the shortage of current, general reference works for the common reader, author Douglas L. Wheeler offers the Historical Dictionary of Portugal to guide anyone who “wants to know where the nation [of Portugal] comes from and where it is heading” (p. xi). As one of the most distinguished authorities on Portugal, professor and historian Wheeler has, for more than forty years, dedicated his academic career to researching “the sheer scale of Portugal’s long past” (p. ix). This masterful volume achieves his desire to convey “the essentials of Portuguese history, continental and overseas, and to survey the richness of Portuguese civilization” (p. x). Demonstrating authoritative knowledge of his subject, Wheeler presents the history of Portugal in a consistent, well‐developed manner. At once scholarly and eloquently simple in approach, his writing reveals “Portugal’s splendor … [f]rom out of the mists of memory” (p. 132).
The Historical Dictionary of Portugal is divided into six sections: Acronyms and Special Terms, Maps, Chronology, Introduction, Dictionary, Bibliography. There are also three Appendices: Monarchs of Portugal, Presidents of the Republic, Prime Ministers. Each section, while freestanding, is expertly interwoven into the overarching sequence of the book. A meticulous subject introduction guides the reader through the distinctive, complex and paradoxical heritage of Portugal. From the peculiarities of its landscape, to the millennial ebbs and flows of its populace, to its tenacious striving for autonomy and empire, diminutive Portugal becomes larger than life through the book’s descriptive introduction. In the main Dictionary over 260 entries are provided covering a wide range of material from ancient times up to 2002. Myriad topics are explored, such as: biographies, culture, economy, education, emigration, historic sites, international relations, language, politics, and religion. Unlike much dictionary coverage, entries are of exceptional range and depth, attesting to Wheeler’s profound knowledge of Portugal.
The appendix Acronyms and Special Terms assists the reader in understanding the veritable “alphabet soup” of abbreviations and foreign terminology. Additionally, Wheeler provides the reader geographical points of reference through a physical as well as a political map. Important events from prehistory to present day are also recounted in the expansive timeline. Lastly, Portuguese leaders, from the inception of Portugal through to modern times are outlined at the end of the book. Of special note is the impressive Bibliography, which is organized into 37 segments, and encompasses an exhaustive array of sources. Notable also in this second edition is the abundance of bibliographic sources in the Portuguese language.
In conclusion, the Historical Dictionary of Portugal proves an indispensable, timely, and definitive source of information about Portugal. Researchers, students, and beginners alike will appreciate and benefit from this valuable reference work.
