The Minho is a traditional Portuguese Province, in northern Portugal, which was inserted in the former region between Douro and Minho, which was formally confirmed by an administrative reform regarded in 1936. It is understood the Lower Minho and Alto Minho. However, the provinces have never had a practical assignment, then disappeared of the administrative vocabulary (although not of the Portuguese everyday vocabulary) with the entry into force of the 1976 Constitution, passing the region, in this case inserted into the so-called Northern Region, with their sub-regions of the Cávado, Ave and Minho-Lima.

It was limited to the north and northeast by Galicia, Spain (the provinces of Pontevedra and Ourense, respectively), east of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro, south by the Douro Litoral and west by the Atlantic Ocean.

Was made for twenty-three municipalities, integrating all the districts of Braga and Viana do Castelo. It had its headquarters in the city of Braga.

If the province in question still existed, this probably count twenty-four municipalities, since it was however created a new municipality in the area of ​​Braga: Vizela (in 1998 by secession of Guimarães).

For some geographers, this province – together with the Douro Litoral – formed a larger geographical unit: Between Douro and Minho. On the other hand, could be divided into two regions: Alto Minho (corresponding to the Viana do Castelo district) and Lower Minho (corresponding to the Braga district). Braga was the capital of Entre Douro and Minho, and then do Minho, a fact documented by a number of atlases and maps of the time, including, historical geography of all the sovereign states of Europe 1736, Atlas Historique de A. Lesage 1809 or the Geographical and Statistical Map of Spain And Portugal 1821.

Today, its territory lies in the North statistical region, dividing up by all the sub-regions of the Minho-Lima and Cávado, and partly by the sub-regions of Ave (municipalities of Fafe, Guimarães, Póvoa de Lanhoso, Vieira do Minho, Vila Nova de Famalicão and Vizela) and Tamega (two municipalities of Terras de Basto, namely Headwaters and Celorico de Basto).

That’s the Minho region that appeared most Portuguese who colonized Brazil in the eighteenth century.