Souto is a Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 civil parish

Freguesia

Freguesia is the Portuguese term for a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal and some of its former colonies, and a former secondary local administrative unit in Macau, roughly equivalent to an administrative parish. A freguesia is a subdivision of a concelho, the Portuguese synonym term...

 located in the municipality of Abrantes, in the old district of Santarém

Santarém (district)

The District of Santarém is located in Centro Region, Portugal, the district capital is the city of Santarém.It has an area of 6747 km² , and a population of 475,344 inhabitants.-Municipalities:...

 in central Portugal. In 2001, the parish had a population of 567 inhabitants, spread across an area of 15.02 km².

History

The name of this region developed from the existence of a dense forest of chestnut trees; its toponymy is a literal translation of this type of vegetation. The population of the region date back to the Calcolithic period of prehistoric settlement.

During the Spanish invasion of Portugal during the Peninsular Wars it was a point of resistance; the Count of Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Graf

William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe

Wilhelm, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg , born Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Graf zu Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, was a ruler of the County of Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, and an important military commander in the Seven Years' War.-Biography:He was born in London the son Albrecht Wolfgang, Count of...

, established a line of defence in Souto as part of his intervention, under the authority of the Marquess of Pombal

Marquess of Pombal

Count of Oeiras was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Head of the Portuguese Government....

 to protect Portugal.

Souto received its parish status on 21 October 1629.

Geography

The civil parish is located in the northern part of the municipality, neighbouring the parishes of Fontes

Fontes (Abrantes)

Fontes is a Portuguese parish, located in Abrantes Municipality, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 819 inhabitants and a total area of 28.48 km²....

 (to the north); Carvalhal

Carvalhal (Abrantes)

Carvalhal is a Portuguese parish, located in Abrantes Municipality, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 1,006 inhabitants and a total area of 17.45 km² ....

 (to the east); São Vicente

São Vicente (Abrantes)

São Vicente is a Portuguese civil parish, located in municipality of Abrantes, in the older Santarém District, and which includes the northern part of the city of Abrantes...

 and Aldeia do Mato

Aldeia do Mato

Aldeia do Mato is a Portuguese civil parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. In 2001, the parish had about 560 inhabitants and an area of 31.4 km² Aldeia do Mato is a Portuguese civil parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. In 2001,...

 (to the west); separated from the municipality of Tomar by the Tagus River. It is the 17th largest parish by area, 18th by population and 12 in population density.

In addition to the parish seat, the parish includes several settlements, including Atalaia, Bioucas, Carregal, Maxieira, Quinta and Ribeira da Brunheta.