The term "provinces" (Portuguese:províncias) has been used throughout history to identify regions ofcontinental Portugal. Current legalsubdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-century versions, still correspond to culturally relevant, strongly self-identifying categories. They include:
The islands ofAzores andMadeira were never called "provinces".
The first provinces, instituted during the Roman occupation of the Iberian peninsula, divided the peninsula into three areas:Tarraconensis,Lusitania andBaetica, established by Roman EmperorAugustus between 27 and 13 B.C.[1] EmperorDiocletian reordered these territories in the third century, dividing Tarraconesis into three separate territories:Tarraconensis,Carthaginensis andGallaecia. At that time Tarraconesis included northern Portugal,Gallaecia andAsturias.[2]
What would develop into the Kingdom of Portugal, was itself a province of theKingdom of León. During theReconquista, the Iberian kingdoms established an administrative system, based on the olderVisigothic lines, which were themselves just a carry-over from the Romans. The kingdoms were divided into provinces or counties, headed by a local governors (referred to as a count, duke or prince), who also subdivided the land administratively into smaller parcels, headed by lieutenants.[3] The firstCounty of Portugal, orPortucale, was a fiefdom of León, underAlfonso III of León, which was succeeded in the 12th century by the Second County of Portugal, paving the way for the independent Kingdom of Portugal.
After the 15th century, the new Kingdom of Portugal was divided into six great administrative units, referred to ascomarcas. From north to south, they were:[3]
The comarca of Entre-Tejo-e-Odiana would later be renamed asComarca of Alentejo, while by the late 16th century, thecomarcas would start to be referred to asprovíncias (English:provinces).
Each comarca was headed by an administrative and judicial magistrate, which represented Royal power in each jurisdiction of the country. These magistrates were, initially, calledtenents (English:lieutenants), latermeirinhos-mores and finally,corregedores.[3] These six comarcas, with some changes, would be maintained as the principal administrative division of country until the 19th century.
Around the 17th century, the provinces were subdivided into individualcomarcas orcorreições (English:corrections), with their owncorregedor (English:law judges), and the provinces, as an administrative and civic role, began to be used as a statistical unit.[3] Meanwhile, at the same time that its administrative role ceased, the Kingdom instituted a system ofgovernadores das armas (English:military governors), whose jurisdiction coincided with the provincial territories.[3] This division between military and civic authorities were maintained until the administrative reforms of 1832.
Until the end of the 18th century, feudal territories of the clergy or nobility, were referred to asouvidorias, whose function was similar to thecomarca, but which were governed/administered by nominated feudal regents.[3] In 1790, theseouvidorias were transformed into comarcas, withcorregedores nominated directly by theCrown. By 1801, the provinces included the following administrative divisions:[3]
In parallel with these comarcas (the administrative and judicial regions), the provinces began to be subdivided intoalmoxarifados, (English:fiscal districts) andemprovedorias (English:health/social districts), in order to manage imports/exports and finances, as well as health and social issues, respectively.[3] Similarly, in 1758, thePartido do Porto, a military division, under the responsibility of the military governor was instituted to include areas of the provinces of Entre-Douro-e-Minho and Beira in order to connect these provinces.[3]
After theLiberal Revolution of 1820, there were many proposals to reform the administrative divisions of the country. But, due toMiguelist counter-revolutions, these reforms were delayed.[3] In 1832, the Liberal government-in-exile in the Azores, decreed the establishment of a new system for Portugal, which would approximate the already existing provinces of Portugal. In actuality, one new province was establishedDouro, based on the territory ofPartido do Porto, and which began to function with all the rights and privileges. In addition, the Provinces would begin to function throughout the national territory, including the archipelagos of theAzores andMadeira, as well as the overseas territories (the Portuguese colonies in Africa, India and Southeast Asia).
In comparison with the period before the 17th century, the provinces of 1832, orprefeituras (English:prefectures), began to operate as administrative units, led by aprefeito (English:prefect) who was a representative of the central government.[3] These prefects were assisted by ajunta geral, that acted as an organ of the local government, elected by the citizens of the province. The provinces continued to be divided into comarcas orsubprefeituras (English:sub-prefectures), which functioned as an area of jurisdiction of sub-prefects, who represented the prefect.[3] Parallel with this system, the territory is divided intoconcelhos (English:municipalities), each led by aprovedor (or representative of the prefect) and assisted by thecâmara municipal (English:municipal chamber or municipal council), which were elected by its citizens.[3] These reforms resulted in the extinction of a number of smaller municipalities (due to lack of population or finances). The elimination of these municipalities were complemented by the appearance of the administrative parish, a subdivision of the latter, which was administered by thecomissário de paróquia (English:commissioner of the parish), and assisted by thejunta de paróquia (English:parish council).[3]
The eight prefectures (provinces) were:[3]
Meanwhile, each of the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores were constituted as individual provinces: Prefecture of Madeira and the Prefecture of the Azores (which was itself subdivided intoAngra andPonta Delgada sub-prefectures, known as Prefecture Ocidental and Oriental in 1833). In addition the colonies were reorganized into provinces ofCabo Verde andGuiné,Angola,Mozambique,Índia,São Tomé and Príncipe andMacau andTimor, each with their own prefect and junta geral, equivalent to the national division of provinces.
The 1832 system lasted a short time, and were replaced by the 1835 reforms heralded by the Liberal victory of 1834.[3] The prefectures andjunta gerais of the provinces were abolished, the comarcas/sub-prefectures were transformed into districts, while the sub-prefectures were retooled asgovernadores civis, assisted by a districtjunta geral.[3] The debate over the importance of provinces only arose from fears that there would be an excessive concentration of power in the hands of governmental officers (Portuguese:prefeitos). The adoption of the 17 districts (1835) instead of eight provinces was an attempt to dissolve such power.[4] The olderprovedores begin to act as the municipal administrators, and parish commissioners becomeregedores (removing the ecclesiastical reference from their use).[3] The provinces continue to appear in the lexicon, but only as a grouping of districts, without any administrative or military significance, and like 1832, they continued to function as a statistical and referential units of geography.[3]
TheEstado Novo adopted, from its beginning, a policy of regionalisation of the country, which was written into the1933 Constitution, creating new provinces, within an executive body, thejuntas de provincia (English:provincial junta) and a deliberative body, theconselhos provinciais (English:provincial councils).[3]
Created in 1936, the new provinces did not correspond to the traditionalcomarcas orprovinícias. The new territories were based on studies made by Amorim Girão, a geographer, who divided continental Portugal into 13"regiões naturais" (English:natural regions).[3][5] The provinces were:[3]
These eleven provinces corresponded each to one of the natural regions developed by Amorim Girão, with two exceptions: the natural regions ofTrás-os-Montes andAlto Douro and the natural regions ofBeira Alta and Beira Transmontana were united respectively into theTrás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province and theBeira Alta Province. In comparison with the 1835 provinces, the limits of these new provinces did not correspond with the district borders, which were maintained under the jurisdiction of thecivil governors.[3]
In 1959, as local governments, the provinces were extinguished. They were only referred to as regional references, while the districts, once again, became the local reference, thejuntas distritais andconselhos distritais inheriting the functions of the former provinces.[3][5]
In the early 20th century, Portugal reclassified itsoverseas colonies as "overseas provinces" (províncias ultramarinas), making the denomination official in 1951. These provinces were: