Algarve History

Algarve - History

In the past, many people from around the Mediterranean visited and sometimes conquered the Algarve. Be it Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, or Spaniards, all of them left something behind. (The best place to learn something about the presence of the Romans in the Algarve is the museum in Faro or the one in Silves. Alternatively you can visit an archaeological site like the Ruins of Milreu, situated only a few kilometres from Faro, close to Estói) Archeological and cultural traces of them are still visible and they all contributed something to make the Algarve as beautiful and interesting as we know it today. The biggest impact came from the Moorish occupation, from 711 until 1249, when Arabs and Berbers, jointly known as Moors, ruled the land. - Muslim Occupation of the Iberian Peninsula - Their influence in architecture, art, and agriculture is still part of daily life. They conquered the peninsula, at the time weakened by a quarrel between the Visigoths about the succession of the throne, and called the region west of the Guadiana Gharb-al-Andalus (west of the Andalus). Yemenites who introduced irrigation, the cultivation of rice, and the growing of fruit colonized the region. With them, they brought Oranges, Almond, Olive, Carob, and Fig trees, still a big part of the local economy.

In 1139, Afonso Henrique, after defeating an Arab army at Ourique, started calling himself King of Portugal. In 1147, Lisbon is liberated. Finally, in 1249, King Afonso III of Portugal put an end to Moorish rule but Castilia disputed his claims to sovereignty. At the momentous battle of Aljabarotta in 1385, the Portuguese under João I defeated a vastly superior Spanish army, João I became King of Portugal and married Philippa of Lancaster daughter of John of Gaunt of England, establishing long-lasting ties between Portugal and England.

Their thirth son was the famous Henry the Navigator. He became Governor of the Algarve. Henry himself went overseas only once (to Ceuta) but financed many voyages of discovery and is to be considered the father of the Portuguese Colonial Empire. The Portuguese, Vasco da Gama and Pedro Alvares Cabral, among others, sailed the seven seas and claimed all lands they discovered for Portugal and their King.

All in all, things went quite well for the small kingdom until in 1578 King Sebastião of Portugal, a religious fanatic, decided on a crusade against the Moors. At the battlefield of Alcácer-Quibir, Sebastião, and with him Portugal, suffered a devastating defeat against the Moroccans. Sebastião’s body was never recovered and, under Philip II. Portugal became part of the Spanish Empire again.

These were the years of the Spanish-English wars: Sir Francis Drake attacked Lagos and Sagres, destroying the house and school of Henry the Navigator, the Earl of Essex plundered Faro, confiscated the Episcopal library and took all books with him to Oxford.

In 1640, after a couple of years of rebellion in the Algarve and Alentejo, Portugal regained its independence from Spain and the Duc de Bragança became King João IV.

The Algarve was a semi-autonomous area with a governor from 1595 to 1808 , as well as a separate taxation system until the end of the 18th century . During this time, to reflect the Algarve's unique status, Portuguese monarchs were known as "the King of Portugal and Algarve". In 1807 , when Junot was leading the first Napoleonic invasion in the north of Portugal, the Algarve was occupied by the Spanish troops of Manuel Godoy . The Algarve became the first part of Portugal to liberate itself from Spanish occupation, in the rebellion of Olhão in 1808 .
Discoveries

In 1755, a big earthquake destroyed Lisbon and a big part of the Alentejo and the Algarve. At the end of the XVII century, with the development of the fish canning industry, wealth returned to the Algarve. People started to come to enjoy the beautifull beaches. Those days, visitors had to stay in private houses along the coast but it did not take long for the first hotel to be build. Slowly the trickle of visitors became a steadily growing stream, still growing today.
The region however, in spite of the massive development of the tourism industry in the last decades, has maintained its attractiveness. The stable climate in the summer with barely any rain, the long sandy beaches, good healthy food and the hospitable, friendly people still make the Algarve a very special place for spending one’s holidays or indeed to live in.

History of cities : Albufeira, Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Faro, Lagoa, Lagos, Monchique, Portimão, Silves, Vila do Bispo, Vila Real de S. António, Azulejos.