Entre Douro e Minho (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈẽtɾɨˈðoɾuiˈmiɲu]) is one of thehistorical provinces of Portugal which encompassed the country's northernAtlanticseaboard between theDouro andMinho rivers. Contemporaries often referred to the province as simply "Minho". It was one of six provinces Portugal was commonly divided into from theearly modern period until 1936, although these provinces were not recognized as official units of government.
The coastline of Entre Minho e Douro is level and unbroken except by the estuaries of the main rivers; inland, the elevation gradually increases towards the north and east, where several mountain ranges mark the frontier. Of these, the most important are the Serra da Peneda (4,728 feet, 1,441 m), between the rivers Minho andLima; theSerra do Gerez (4,357 feet, 1,328 m), on theGalician border; the Serra da Cabreira (4,021 feet, 1,226 m), immediately to the south; and theSerra do Marão (4,642 feet, 1,415 m), in the extreme south-east.[1]
As its name implies, the province is bounded by two rivers, the Douro on the south, and the Minho, or Miño, on the north.Some old maps show areas south of the Douro River belonging to the old Entre-Douro-e-Minho territory, whileother old maps make the province exactly match the currentViana do Castelo District,Braga District andPorto District.Nevertheless, if the name Entre-Douro-e-Minho ("Between-Douro-and-Minho") was strictly taken in account, the latter definition would make sense.
There are three other large rivers which, like the Minho, flow west-south-west into the Atlantic. The Lima or Antela (Spanish Limia) rises in Galicia, and reaches the sea atViana do Castelo; theCávado springs from the southern foothills of La Raya Seca, on the northern frontier ofTrás-os-Montes, and forms, at its mouth, the small harbour ofEsposende; and theAve descends from its sources in the Serra da Cabreira toVila do Conde, where it enters theAtlantic. A large right-hand tributary of the Douro, theTâmega, rises in Galicia, and skirts the western slopes of the Serra de Marão.[1]
The separated municipalities ofGaia andVila Nova were integrated in the administration ofPorto city between 1383 and 1518.[2]In 1936, when Portugal was divided into13 official provinces, Entre Douro e Minho was split intoMinho Province andDouro Litoral Province.This reform would makeMinho Province corresponding exactly to modernViana do Castelo District andBraga District. Minho's provincial chieftaincy was attributed to the city ofBraga.On the other hand,Douro Litoral corresponded to modernPorto District plus fourmunicipalities ofAveiro District, and two ofViseu District to the then newDouro Litoral Province. Douro Litoral chieftaincy was attributed to the city ofPorto.
Being seen as a trace of Estado Novo policies, the territorial definitions of 1936, though having innocuous and non-political characters, were erased in 1976 soon after theCarnation Revolution. Nevertheless, people still use the designations of 1936 on a daily basis because they more or less accurately correspond to the historical identity of the locals e.g.: "Minhotos", "Durienses", "Beirões", "Ribatejanos", etc., and many books and maps still show them.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Entre Minho e Douro".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 660.| International | |
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