ABSTRACT
Portugal is slightly smaller than Indiana; it is mountainous north of the Tagus River and has rolling plains in the south. With its only border being Spain to the east and north, the North Atlantic Ocean is on Portugal’s west and south. Portugal is one of the oldest nation states in Europe, and its foundation in 1139 pre-dates Spain by nearly 350 years. The Romans arrived in 216 B.C. and named the entire peninsula Hispania. However, the region between the Douro and Tagus Rivers was named Lusitania by the Celt-Iberian inhabitants. In 1911, the Military Cartographic Section of the Army General Staff was created and continued the work on the Map of the Outskirts of Lisbon at 1:20,000 scale, and the Map of Portugal at 1:250,000 scale. The initial priority of the Servicos Cartograficos do Exercito was to publish the Military Map of Portugal, the Itinerary Map of Portugal, and other documentation necessary for the defense of Portugal.
