Algarve - History

History

Human presence in southern Portugal dates back to the Neolithic, and Palaeolithic. The presence of megalithic stones in the area of Vila do Bispo attests to this presence.

The Conii, influenced by Tartessos, were established by the sixth century BC in the region of the Algarve. They would be strongly influenced by the Celtici. The Phoenicians had established trading ports along the coast circa 1000 BC. The Carthaginians founded Portus Hanibalis – known today as Portimão in about 550 BC. The Romans in the 2nd century BC spread through the Iberian Peninsula, and many Roman ruins can still be seen in the region, notably in Lagos. Roman bath complexes and fish salting tanks have been found near the shore in several locations, for example the ones near Vilamoura and Praia da Luz.

In the 5th century the Visigoths took control of the Algarve until the beginning of the Moorish invasion in 711. When the Moors conquered Lagos in 716 it was called Zawaia. Faro, which the Christian residents had called Santa Maria, was renamed Faraon, which means "the settlement of the Knights." Due to the Moorish conquest of Iberia, the region was called Al-Gharb Al-Andalus; Al-Gharb (الغرب) means "the west", while Al-Andalus is the Arabic name of Muslim Iberia. But, for several years, the town of Silves was the capital of the region under Moorish rule.

In the mid-12th century, the Moorish occupation ended in the region due to the successful military campaigns of the Kingdom of Portugal. The "Al-Gharb" became the Kingdom of the Algarve, but battles with the Moors persisted. It was not until the 13th century that the Portuguese finally secured the region against subsequent Moorish attempts to recapture the area, what was referred to as the Reconquista. King Afonso III of Portugal started calling himself King of Portugal and the Algarve. After 1471, with the conquest of several territories in Northern Africa (the area considered an extension of the Algarve) Afonso V of Portugal began fashioning himself as the King of Portugal and the Algarves (referring to the European and African possessions). Prior to the independence of Brazil, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1815–1822) was an official designation for Portugal which also alluded to the Algarve. Portuguese monarchs continued used this title until the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910. Between 1595 and 1808, the Algarve was a semi-autonomous area of Portugal with its own governor, as well as a separate taxation system..

In the 15th century, Prince Henry the Navigator based himself near Lagos and conducted various maritime expeditions which established Portugal as a colonial power. It was also from Lagos that Gil Eanes set sail in 1434 to become the first seafarer to round Cape Bojador in West Africa. The voyages of discovery brought Lagos fame and fortune. Trade flourished and Lagos became the capital of the historical province of Algarve in 1577 and remained so until after 1755, the year of the fabled Lisbon earthquake. The earthquake damaged many areas in the Algarve and an accompanying tsunami destroyed or damaged coastal fortresses, while coastal towns and villages were heavily damaged (except Faro, which was protected by the sandy banks of Ria Formosa lagoon). In Lagos, the waves reached the top of the city walls. For many Portuguese coastal regions, including the Algarve, the destructive effects of the tsunami were more disastrous than those of the earthquake proper.

In 1807, while Junot lead the first Napoleonic invasion in the north of Portugal, the Algarve was occupied by Spanish troops under Manuel Godoy. Beginning in 1808, and after subsequent battles in various towns and villages, the region was the first to drive out the Spanish occupiers.

In 1910, with the Portuguese First Republic, the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarve ceased to exist as such.