The Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal (Portuguese:Reino de Portugal) is a country located on the west side of the Iberian Peninsula, in Southern Europe. The Kingdom of Portugal is adjacent to the Kingdom of Spain, and is close to the Kingdom of France. Portugal is known for setting off the era of European Exploration for being the first of modern Europe to send out sea expeditions into the outside world, making history with circumventing the coast of Africa in 1497. Portugal proceeded to explore the east and western hemisphere and created a colonial empire. spanning from Brazil to today's Dutch Indonesia. From Portugal's early successes in founding the world trade network, threats from other European empires diminished the Portuguese colonial empire. At home Portugal was annexed