February 13: Spain recognizes Portugal as an independent nation in 1668.

The combined Spanish and Portuguese empires during the Iberian Union (1580–1640)

Spain and Portugal had formed the so called Iberian Union since 1580 by which both territories shared the same monarch through hereditary rights. Since 1640 the Portuguese began a rebel against the Spanish crown in Portugal. With the mediation of England on February 13, 1668, it was possible to end the war of independence from Portugal and Spain which led to the official recognition of Portuguese independence.

Battles of the Portuguese Restauração War (1640-1668) and the CatalonianWar dels segadors (1640-1652). The border demarcation was fixed, respectively, in the Treaty of Lisbon (13 February 1668) and the Treaty of the Pyrenees (7 November 1659).

In December 1640 there was a Portuguese attempt to overthrow the Spanish Crown in support of the duke of Bragança. and his acclamation as King John IV restored the Portuguese monarchy and ended sixty years of rule by the Spanish Habsburgs. From 1641 to 1668 the two nations were at war, with Spain seeking to isolate Portugal militarily and diplomatically and Portugal hoping to find the resources to maintain its independence through political alliances and colonial income.

The Acclamation of the King John IV; Veloso Salgado.

The Lisbon Treaty emphasizes the perpetual peace between the two parties, amnesty for political prisoners, and the return of territories taken by the parties during the conflict. For the Portuguese the war was a Restoration one (Guerra da Restauração). The Principality of Catalonia did not attend the peace meeting.