Month: December 2020

Prime Minister António Costa, Ministers of State and Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, National Defence João Gomes Cravinho, Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita and Health, Marta Temido, met with the specialists in charge of the vaccination plan against Covid-19, in Lisbon.

The Minister of Health, in a statement stated that on December 3 “there will be the first public presentation of the baseline scenario of the vaccination plan against Covid-19”, adding that “the national amount could reach 200 million euros and exceed 22 million doses’.

Marta Temido said that the working group “presented the four essential plans that will be made public tomorrow (3^rd December): which vaccines are available and, depending on their quantities, which are the target groups for vaccination, where will the vaccine be administered, where electronic registration will be made, as well as aspects related to logistics, security, and communication aspects ”.

The Minister underlined that everyone should “have the perception that the vaccination process will be long, over several months, so we will have to ensure that we keep the rules until we can guarantee the administration of the vaccines, which we estimate may be made available to beginning of 2021 ».

Marta Temido underlined that “there are still many uncertainties in this process”, highlighting four.

The first is that “the results of the last phase of clinical trials prior to the authorization of introducing medicines are not yet known, so the efficacy of vaccines is not yet assessed by the European Medicines Agency”, although dates are already set for two vaccines.

The second is that “there are uncertainties with published clinical trials that mostly cover people between 18 and 55 years old”.

The third is that “the duration of immunity from vaccination is not yet fully known”.

And the fourth, “that the available data do not recommend the vaccination of children and pregnant women”.

The Minister recalled that “Portugal has been following the process conducted by the European Union for the development, production and distribution of vaccines” since June, having participated in the monitoring committee, and that “in August the Council of Ministers authorized the first expenditure on the acquisition of vaccines in the context of joint European purchases, in the initial amount of 20 million euros”.

Officially, the 1st of December is a public holiday in the country, to commemorate the restoration of Portuguese independence.

Between the late 16th century until the mid-17th century, Portugal was under the Iberian Union with Spain. This led to Portugal being ruled by three generations of Spanish Kings, which are known in our history as the “Filipes” as all three Kings (Philip II, Philip III, Philip IV) who ruled Portugal, had the same first name. What set the stage for Spanish rule was a dynastical crisis brought on by the actions of the young Portuguese King, Sebastian I. At the tender age of 3, Sebastian became King of Portugal, inheriting a vast colonial empire from his grandfather, King John III.

At age of 21 king Sebastian made the fateful decision of invading Morocco on crusade a campaign that would end in a crushing defeat in the battle of Alcacér-Quibir. No one knows what became of Sebastian. He disappeared in battle, giving rise to legends over centuries that we would return on a misty day to save his Kingdom.

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The three main claimants to the throne were Catarina de Bragança, Don António Prior do Crato, and Philip II of Spain (a relative of Sebastião), an ambitious King who sought to add Portugal to his vast empire.

Philip II came to rule Portugal, through an astute combination of diplomacy and sheer brute force. The “Philippine era” would be initially positive for Portugal. However, during the first half of the 17th century the Spanish empire entered a period of decline. The Dutch and the English seized various Spanish and Portuguese colonial possessions and the Spanish Empire was struggling with the Dutch Revolt and the Thirty Years’ War. Discontent was brewing in Portugal.

The Portuguese nobility stood to lose considerable power and influence, so a group of nobles known as the Forty Conspirators organized a coup against the Spanish forces with the end goal of placing John, the 8th Duke of Braganza, on the Portuguese throne. The coup was carried out on the 1st of December 1640. The Forty Conspirators killed the Secretary of State, Miguel de Vasconcelos, and imprisoned Margaret of Savoy, cousin to the King himself and ruler of Portugal in his name. John of Braganza would be acclaimed by the people of Lisbon on the same day, and would subsequently reign as King John IV.

The timing of the execution was specifically chosen to coincide with Spanish campaigns in the Thirty Years’ War and efforts to quell a revolt in Catalonia, thus allowing the new King time to consolidate his rule and mount a defence before the Spanish could act against Portugal. The ensuing conflict would last 28 years, and would be marked by various border skirmishes and raids. However, there were five major battles during the War of Restoration, namely: the Battle of Montijo (1644), the Battle of Lines of Elvas (1659), the Battle of Ameixial (1663), Battle of Castelo Rodrigo (1664), and the last major engagement was the Battle of Montes Claros (1665).

All of these battles are commemorated in the Obelisk at the centre of Lisbon’s Restauradores Square. Portugal also relied on diplomatic and military aid from England, who wanted to undermine Spanish hegemony in continental Europe, and when an alliance with France was secured, the Spanish would be forced to sign the Treaty of Lisbon in February 1668, recognizing the house of Braganza as the Royal dynasty of Portugal and putting an end to a conflict between two neighbours.