It is seldom the case that in one man’s reign a small inconsiderable county has grown into a powerful compact little kingdom, even during the Middle Ages, and that the new kingdom should be perpetuated to modern times is quite unparalleled in the history of Europe. This is what gives the history of the reign of Affonso Henriques such unusual interest and importance in general, as distinct from Portuguese, history. There is no geographical or ethnological reason why the part of the Iberian peninsula called Portugal should have formed an independent kingdom, more than Leon or Castile. It was the greatness of one man which made it an independent country. This is the first lesson taught by the Story of Portugal, that nations are not always marked out by natural geographical limits, or race divisions. The second lesson is, that a nation, which has thus become independent, may under certain circumstances develop a distinct individuality, which gives it a different character in every way to its neighbours. It has been shown that chance, the foresight of Donna Theresa and the greatness of Affonso Henriques made Portugal independent; the course of the history to be narrated will show how, while the other kingdoms of the peninsula coalesced into Spain, Portugal remained independent and developed separately. Spain and Portugal are now two separate countries with different languages, literatures, and national characteristics; how they began to separate has been shown; how they became finally distinct is now to be related. [Illustration: text decoration] IV. PORTUGAL ATTAINS ITS EUROPEAN LIMITS. [Illustration: CONVENTO DE CHRISTO AT THOMAR. (_After a Photograph._)]