Algarve History

Inhabited since pre-historic times and settled successively by the Phoenicians and Greeks, but it was the Romans who have left us with the most enduring signs of an important human presence predating the Arab conquest. It is most clearly in evidence at archeological sites in Cerro da Vila in Vilanioura, Milreu in Estói (on the Faro to São Brás de Alportel road) and Quinta da Abicada in Portimão.

The Moorish invasion expelled the barbarians who had settled in the territory, and resulted in five centuries of Muslim presence in the area, a cultural revolution whose legacy can still be seen today. And under Arab control, spreading outwards from the opulent city of Silves, the region received not only its name - Al Gharb (the West) referred to the western frontier of the Islamic Empire - as well as various influences ranging from architecture and agriculture to gastronomy.

The Christian reconquest of 1249 confirmed the identity of the region. The first Portuguese monarchs, realizing how much the area differed from the rest of their territory, called themselves "Kings of Portugal and the Algarves". But 200 years were to pass with the genius of a broadminded prince to give the Algarve a quintessential role in the history of Portugal and indeed the world.

The city of Lagos was the privileged stage to launch the epic Portuguese discoveries. It was in this Algarvian city, the biggest of its era, that Infante Dom Henrique planned the discoveries of the African continent. The Sagres peninsula (a district of Vila do Bispo named after a famous bishop) also had an important role to play in the discoveries, since the Navigation School was founded here and it was the departure point for the Prince's navigators.

Sagres challenges our imagination what with its dormant abandonment and desolate atmosphere one cannot review our recent past. Was this not ater all the great maritime school of the 15 and 16th Centuries, wasn't Henry Navigator's statue in prominence in Lagos? How can one reconcile the great deeds such as the discovery by Portuguese Europeans of the maritime route to India setting forth from here.

History of the Monchique Municipality

Monchique municipality enters the annals of history with the arrival at Caldas de Monchique of Roman settlers drawn by the curative powers of the local waters. The local population grew slowly over the years and by the 16th century Monchique was big enough to justify a visit from King Sebastian (1554-1578) whose intention was to grant it the status of a town.
Monchique s prosperity was founded on weaving wool and linen to make the sturdy fabrics worn in times gone by and on other activities that included felling and working the wood of the local chestnut trees. It earned its civic charter in 1773-
The economic changes wrought by industrialisation signalled the end of local textile production and other manufactures. Today Monchique is a pretty town with a diversified economy based on tourism and crafts.

History of the Vila do Bispo Municipality

It is agreed that the human presence in the southwestern Algarve goes back at least as far as the neolithic period and, if some shallow graves are to be trusted, may date to the paleolithic period, when Europe was joined to Africa by an isthmus.

The large number of menhirs - standing alone, in groups or in cromlechs - is one of the most important vestiges of the past to be found in the Vila do Bispo area. Also of interest is the fact that their use in religious rites continued, in the Cabo de Sao Vicente (Cape St. Vincent) area, until the period of the Roman occupation.

The religious importance of the Cape persisted in the Middle Ages with the pilgrimages that were made, even during the centuries of Arab rule, to the burial place of Sao Vicente (St. Vincent).
In the 15th century, the presence of Prince Henry the Navigator at Sagres and the undertaking known as the Discoveries ensured Vila do Bispo a prominent place in history.

Identified by some authors as the site of the then famous Igreja dos Corvos (Church of Crows) mentioned by Arabic chroniclers, Vila do Bispo has its origins in a village which was bequeathed to the Algarve Diocese at the beginning of the 16th century, and was elevated to the status of a town in 1633. It suffered serious damage in the earthquake of 1755.

Proud of its past and of its participation in the Discoveries, Vila do Bispo and its municipality are an integral part of the Algarve of the present and the future.

History of Portimao Municipality

Proof of a human presence in the locality since the Neolithic period is furnished by the extensive burial grounds at Alcalar and Monte Canelas and by other archaeological finds scattered across the municipality. The recent discovery at Vila Velha de Alvor of what are probably the remains of a village dating from the 2nd or 3rd century B.C. and the archaeological and maritime artefacts recovered from the Arade river and the coastal areas of the municipality throw new light on the importance of the region during the period when Atlantic trade routes with the Mediterranean and North Africa were developing, following the emergence of Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian factories.

Although theories that variously identify Portimao with Portus Hannibalis, Portus Magnus and Porcimunt remain controversial, there can be no doubt about the Roman presence in the city and the surrounding municipality. Amphorae, coins, fish-salting tanks, bronze objects, cisterns, sundry building materials, the remains of buildings at Vale de Arrancada, Montemar, Baralha and above all the major "villa" site at Abicada bear eloquent witness to this fact.

In material terms, the Moorish heritage is restricted to occasional finds of pottery and coins. But the Moorish influence endures in the distinctive shape of chimneys and water wheels, in small chapels and buildings made of the mixture of clay, rubble, sand and lime known as "taipa", in the region's agriculture and in some of the types of vegetation to befound.

Modern Portimao came into being in the reign of King Afonso V (1463) with the granting of certain privileges to a settlement which would come to be called Vila Nova de Portimao and around which a ring of defensive walls would later be built. Portimao was ideally placed to enjoy the fruits of the boom in international trade stimulated by the great Portuguese voyages of discovery and prospered as a haven for ships plying the African coast.

The earthquake of 1155 destroyed much of the town and prompted an economic decline that was reversed only towards the end of the 19th century by the return of trade, exports of dried fruit, milling, fishing and the fish-canning industry, activities which would continue into the 20th century. Portimao was made a city in 1924 by the then President of the Republic, the writer Manuel Teixeira Gomes, himself a native son of Portimao.

In the last three decades tourism has been the motor driving Portimdo's economy and the city can now claim to be the second most populous in the Algarve.

History of the Faro municipality

The Ria Formosa lagoon attracted human occupants Jrom the Palaeolithic age until the end of pre-history. During that time a settlement grew up -Ossonoba - which was an important town during the period oj Roman occupation and, according to historians, the forerunner of present-day Faro.

From the 3rd century onwards and during the Visigothic period it was the site oj an Episcopal see. With the advent oj Moorish rule in the 8th century Ossonoba retained its status as the most important town in the southwest corner oj the Iberian Peninsula.

In the 9th century it became the capital oja shortlived princedom and was Jortijied with a ring of defensive walls. At this time the name Santa Maria began to be used instead of Ossonoba. later on the town was known as Harune, whence its current name, Faro.

After a traumatic period attributable to the political and military fragility of the town's Moorish rulers, in 1249 Faro became part of Portuguese territory, thus completing the Christian reconquest of what is now Portugal.
In the centuries that followed Faro became a prosperous place, thanks to its geographical position, its safe harbour and growing trade - in salt and agricultural products from the interior of the Algarve - increased by the voyages of exploration known as the Discoveries. At this time the town had a large and active Jewish population: the first Portuguese book was printed locally on the Jewish community's initiative at the end of the 15th century.

Recognising the town's growth, in 1499 King Manuel set in motion major changes to the urban Jabric, with the construction of new facilities - a hospital, the Espirito Santo (Holy Spirit) church (later rebuilt and run by the "Misericordia" (charity and welfare institution), a customs house, a slaughterhouse and so on, outside the city walls and along the coast.

In 1540 Faro was elevated to the status of a city and in 1511 it became the site of the Episcopal see of the Bishop of the Algarve, who had previously had his throne in Silves. In 1596 it suffered a severe mauling at the hands of raiding soldiers led by the Earl of Essex. Essex's men sacked the city, then set it alight, damaging its fortifications and its churches.
The 11th and 18th centuries were a period of expansion for Faro. A new series of battlements was built during the Wars of Restoration (1640-1668), enclosing the urban area and tracts of arable land in a huge semi-circle facing the Ria.

The city remained within these confines until the end of the 19th century. After years of steady but unspectacular growth, its expansion has accelerated significantly in the last few decades.