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98-564: The archive is one of the oldest institutions in Portugal, since its installation in one of the towers of the castle in Lisbon, occurring during the reign of Ferdinand I , and likely in 1378 (the date where the first testimony originated). The archive served as the King's and nobilities' reference, with documents supporting the administration of the kingdom and overseas territories, and documenting

196-441: A royal monopoly of all profits from trading within the areas discovered. In 1418, two of Henry's captains, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira were driven by a storm to Porto Santo an uninhabited island off the coast of Africa which may have been known to Europeans since the 14th century. In 1419 Zarco and Teixeira made a landfall on Madeira . They returned with Bartolomeu Perestrelo , and Portuguese settlement of

294-550: A classification was warranted, and provided their support. On 30 November 2011, a decision on the classification of this building was approved, and a Special Protection Zone was established. The Torre do Tombo safeguards twelve centuries of historical Portuguese guards, including documents that pre-date the Kingdom of Portugal, and others like the bull Manifestis Probatum , considered an important of UNESCO World Heritage. In addition, records include 36,000 documents recovered during

392-410: A fast-sailing vessel which had better windward sailing ability than other vessels of the time. Portuguese navigators reached ever more southerly latitudes , advancing at an average rate of one degree a year. Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445. In the same year, the first overseas feitoria (trading post) was established under Henry's direction, on the island of Arguin off

490-443: A low wall that prevented siege engines from approaching the main castle walls. The northern and western sides of the castle, on the other hand, were naturally protected by the steep hillside sloping downward from the castle's foundations. The castle is also partially encircled by a moat , now dry. The main entrance is fronted by a stone bridge across the moat. On the west side, there is a long curtain wall extending downhill, ending at

588-464: A multimedia show about the history of Lisbon. The medieval castle is located toward the northwest corner of the citadel, at its highest point. Hypothetically, during a siege , if attackers managed to enter the citadel, the castle was the last stronghold, the last place in which to take refuge. It is rectangular, with ten towers. A wall with a tower and a connecting door divides the castle courtyard into halves. A series of stairways allow visitors to reach

686-540: A new permanent home for the archives, which would eventually be granted to him in the form of the Convent of São Bento (which now houses the parliament of Portugal ). In 1982, a public tender was issued for the construction of the new Torre do Tombo archive building, and was won by the Ateliers Associados, represented by Arsénio Raposo Cordeiro, with M. Sheppard Cruz and A.N. de Almeida. The cornerstone

784-623: A permit to build a fort (Fort Manuel) and a trading post that was the first European settlement in India. There in 1503 they built the St. Francis Church . In 1502 Vasco da Gama took the island of Kilwa on the coast of Tanzania, where in 1505 the first fort of Portuguese East Africa was built to protect ships sailing in the East Indian trade. In 1505, king Manuel I of Portugal appointed Francisco de Almeida first Viceroy of Portuguese India for

882-408: A safe-box. Erected in the centre of each facade is a vertical body that acts as buttress, in the form of a "T" that reproduces the archives initials for "Torre do Tombo". The principal and rear facades (oriented to the south and north respectively) are surmounted by eight gargoyles, sculpted by José Aurélio, representing fundamentals elements from human history or important in the particular mission of

980-443: A symbols of preservation and guardianship of a collective memory. The building occupies an area of 11,265 square metres (121,260 sq ft) distributed over seven floors, with three floors used by technical rooms, reading rooms, an auditorium and exposition halls. The upper floors are used to shelter the 140 kilometres (87 mi) shelves for documents, with austere cement walls, with small, square fenestrations, that characterizes

1078-528: A three-year period, starting the Portuguese government in the east, headquartered at Kochi. That year the Portuguese conquered Kannur where they founded St. Angelo Fort . The Viceroy's son Lourenço de Almeida arrived in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), where he discovered the source of cinnamon . Finding it divided into seven rival kingdoms, he established a defense pact with the kingdom of Kotte and extended

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1176-536: A tower (the Torre de São Lourenço ). This tower guarded a gate in the Cerca Fernandina . Portuguese discoveries Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European exploration, chronicling and mapping

1274-453: A trade monopoly for the newly discovered countries. The caravel , an existing ship type, was used in exploration from about 1440. It had a number of advantageous characteristics. These included shallow draft, which was suitable for approaching unknown coasts, and an efficient combination of hull shape (including a rudder attached to the sternpost, unlike some other contemporary types with side-mounted steering oars) and lateen rig, which gave

1372-547: A warehouse in the triangular trade between China, Japan and Europe. In 1570 the Portuguese bought a Japanese port where they founded the city of Nagasaki , thus creating a trading center that for many years was the port from Japan to the world. Portugal established trading ports at far-flung locations like Goa , Ormuz , Malacca , Kochi , the Maluku Islands , Macau , and Nagasaki . Guarding its trade from both European and Asian competitors, Portugal dominated not only

1470-578: The Torre do Tombo (literally, "Tower of the Archive"), also known as the Torre Albarrã , until the earthquake of 1755 (a tower that is known today as Tower of Ulysses ). The Portuguese Royal Archive, where the eminent Portuguese chroniclers Fernão Lopes , Gomes Eanes de Zurara and Damião de Góis once worked, is still referred to as the Torre do Tombo , due to its original location in one of

1568-446: The freguesia of Santa Maria Maior . Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the 8th century BC while the oldest fortifications on the site date from the 2nd century BC. The hill on which Saint George's Castle stands has played an important part in the history of Lisbon , having served as the location of fortifications occupied successively by Phoenicians , Carthaginians , Romans , and Moors , before its conquest by

1666-596: The Azores were probably discovered in 1427 by Portuguese ships sailing under Henry's direction, and settled in 1432, suggesting that the Portuguese were able to navigate at least 745 miles (1,200 km) from the Portuguese coast. At around the same time as the unsuccessful attack on the Canary Islands, the Portuguese began to explore the North African coast. Sailors feared what lay beyond Cape Bojador at

1764-633: The Guarda das Pedras (Guard of Stones) and the Guarda dos Papiros (Guard of Papyruses or Guard of the Scrolls) . Castle of S%C3%A3o Jorge São Jorge Castle ( Portuguese : Castelo de São Jorge ; Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐʃˈtɛlu dɨ sɐ̃w̃ ˈʒɔɾʒɨ] ), sometimes known in English as Saint George's Castle , is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon , located in

1862-470: The Portuguese in the 1147 Siege of Lisbon . Since the 12th century, the castle has variously served as a royal palace , a military barracks , home of the Torre do Tombo National Archive , and now as a national monument and museum. Although the first fortifications on this hilltop date from the 1st century BC, archaeological excavations have identified a human presence in the Tagus valley as far back as

1960-611: The Portuguese discoveries , was inscribed on UNESCO 's Memory of the World Register in 2007 in recognition of its historical value "for acquiring knowledge of the political, diplomatic, military, economic and religious history of numerous countries at the time of the Portuguese Discoveries." Another item relating to the Portuguese discoveries, the Carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha (Letter from Pêro Vaz de Caminha),

2058-802: The Ragusan Republic (Dubrovnik). The Portuguese victory was critical for its strategy of control of the Indian Ocean: the Turks and Egyptians withdrew their navies from India, leaving the seas to the Portuguese, setting its trade dominance for almost a century, and greatly assisting the growth of the Portuguese Empire. It also marked the beginning of European colonial dominance in Asia. A second Battle of Diu in 1538 finally ended Ottoman ambitions in India, and confirmed Portuguese hegemony in

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2156-474: The Recolhimento were left in ruins. The necessity of maintaining a supporting military force within the capital city required expansion of the site's role of garrison and presidio. From 1780 to 1807, the charitable institution Casa Pia , dedicated to the education of poor children, was established in the citadel, while soldiers continued to be garrisoned on site. Inspired by the events of the earthquake and

2254-650: The Serra do Mar . From the 15 original captainships, only two, Pernambuco and São Vicente, prospered. With permanent settlement came the establishment of the sugar cane industry and its intensive labor demands which were met with Native American and later African slaves. In 1534, Gujarat was occupied by the Mughals and the Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to sign the Treaty of Bassein (1534) with

2352-584: The Zamorin of Calicut, leaving there some men to establish a trading post. Vasco da Gama's voyage to Calicut was the starting point for deployment of Portuguese feitoria posts along the east coast of Africa and in the Indian Ocean. Shortly after, the Casa da Índia was established in Lisbon to administer the royal monopoly of navigation and trade. Exploration soon lost private support, and took place under

2450-536: The knight Martim Moniz , noticing that one of the doors to the castle was open, prevented the Moors from closing it by throwing his own body into the breach, thus allowing Christian soldiers to enter at the cost of his own life. With the taking of the castle Christian forces were able to maintain the defense of Lisbon until the end of the 12th century. When Lisbon became the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal in 1255,

2548-411: The "A Famosa", where one of its gates still remains today. Learning of Siamese ambitions over Malacca, Albuquerque immediately sent Duarte Fernandes on a diplomatic mission to the kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand), where he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations between the two kingdoms. In November that year, getting to know the location of the so-called " Spice Islands " in

2646-412: The 14th century (notably in 1373 and in 1383–1384). It was during this period (the late 14th century) that the castle was dedicated to Saint George by King John I , who had married the English princess Philippa of Lancaster . Saint George, the warrior-saint, was normally represented slaying a dragon, and was very popular in both countries. From 1378 onwards many of the kingdom's records were housed in

2744-604: The 19th century, while the job of Royal Keeper was eventually transformed to Director of the National Archives after the establishment of the Portuguese Republic . António Baião was the last Royal Keeper and also the first Director of the renewed institution. Following the events of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake , the then Keeper of the Royal Archives, Manuel da Maia , was responsible for saving

2842-679: The 8th century BC. The first fortification was, presumably, erected in 48 BC, when Lisbon was classified as a Roman municipality. The hill was first used by Celtic tribes, then by Phoenicians , followed by Greeks and later the Carthaginians as a defensive outpost that was later expropriated successively by the Romans , the Suebi , the Visigoths , and the Moors . During the 10th century,

2940-709: The Armada of the Islands protected ships from the Indies en route to Lisbon. In 1525, after Fernão de Magalhães 's expedition (1519–1522), Spain under Charles V sent an expedition to colonize the Moluccas islands , claiming that they were in his zone of the Treaty of Tordesillas , since there was not a set limit to the east. Led by García Jofre de Loaísa , the expedition reached the Moluccas, docking at Tidore . Conflict with

3038-610: The Cape Verde islands. However, as it was not possible at the time to correctly measure longitude , the exact boundary was disputed by the two countries until 1777. The completion of these negotiations with Spain is one of several reasons proposed by historians for why it took nine years for the Portuguese to follow up on Dias's voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, though it has also been speculated that other voyages were, in fact, taking place in secret during this time. Whether or not this

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3136-649: The Church of Loreto. However, many of the works were never completed after the young king's apparent death during the Battle of Alcácer Quibir . The following Portuguese dynastic crisis opened the way for sixty years of Spanish rule and the castle was converted into military barracks and a prison. On 30 December 1642, Teodósio de Frias the Younger was appointed master builder to continue the works begun by his father, Luís de Frias, and his grandfather, Teodósio de Frias. This

3234-767: The Indian Ocean coast in Somalia , traveling secretly overland, as early as 1490; a diplomatic mission reached the ruler of that nation on October 19, 1520. In 1500, the second fleet to India (which also made landfall in Brazil) explored the East African coast in Southeast Africa , where Diogo Dias discovered the island that he named St. Lawrence, later known as Madagascar . This fleet, commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral , arrived at Calicut in September, where

3332-613: The Indian Ocean. Under the government of Albuquerque, Goa was taken from the Bijapur sultanate in 1510 with the help of Hindu privateer Timoji . Coveted for being the best port in the region, mainly for the commerce in Arabian horses for the Deccan sultanates , it allowed the Portuguese to move on from their initial guest stay in Cochin. Despite constant attacks, Goa became the seat of

3430-831: The Island of Mozambique and Mombasa on the Kenyan coast. Madagascar was partly explored by Tristão da Cunha and in the same year Mauritius was discovered. In 1509, the Portuguese won the sea Battle of Diu against the combined forces of the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II , the Sultan of Gujarat , the Mamlûk Sultan of Cairo , the Samoothiri Raja of Kozhikode , the Venetian Republic , and

3528-487: The Moluccas, Albuquerque sent an expedition to find them. Led by António de Abreu , the expedition arrived in early 1512. Abreu went by Ambon, while his deputy commander Francisco Serrão advanced to Ternate , where a Portuguese fort was allowed. That same year, in Indonesia, the Portuguese took Makassar , reaching Timor in 1514. Departing from Malacca, Jorge Álvares came to southern China in 1513. This visit followed

3626-653: The National Archive, whose vast collection had been archived since 1757 in the Monastery of São Bento da Saúde (today the São Bento Palace . The new archive inherited the name of the former Moorish tower of the Castle of São Jorge where documents from the kingdom were warehoused since 1378. Before its inauguration on 21 December 1990, the archive that remained at the former-monastery was transferred to

3724-471: The Palace came to be known as Casa dos Leões (the "Lions' House"); today the area is occupied by a famed restaurant with the same name. Later that century, German humanist Hieronymus Münzer spent five days in Lisbon in 1494 , and learned about the lions, claiming to be the most beautiful wild beasts he had ever seen. As the royal palace, the castle was the setting for the reception by King Manuel I of

3822-410: The Palace of Alcáçova began to lose its importance. An earthquake occurring in 1531 further damaged the old castle, contributing further to its decay and neglect. In 1569, King Sebastian ordered the rebuilding of the royal apartments in the castle, intending to use it as his official residence. As part of the rebuilding, in 1577 Filippo Terzi demolished one of the towers near the principal facade of

3920-509: The Portuguese already established in nearby Ternate was inevitable, starting nearly a decade of skirmishes. An agreement was reached only with the Treaty of Zaragoza (1529) , which gave the Moluccas to Portugal and the Philippines to Spain. In 1530, John III organized the colonization of Brazil around 15 capitanias hereditárias ("hereditary captainships"), that were given to anyone who wanted to administer and explore them, to overcome

4018-468: The Portuguese coat of arms marking their claims, and built forts and trading posts. From these bases, the Portuguese engaged profitably in the slave and gold trades. Portugal enjoyed a virtual monopoly of the Atlantic slave trade for over a century, exporting around 800 slaves annually. Most were brought to the Portuguese capital Lisbon, where it is estimated black Africans came to constitute 10 percent of

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4116-472: The Portuguese government, under the name of Estado da India (State of India) , with the conquest triggering compliance of neighbor kingdoms: Gujarat and Calicut sent embassies, offering alliances and grants to fortify. Albuquerque began that year in Goa the first Portuguese mint in India, taking the opportunity to announce the achievement. In April 1511 Albuquerque sailed to Malacca in modern-day Malaysia,

4214-533: The Portuguese monarch who took the castle from the Moors. This statue is a copy of the 19th-century original, by the romantic sculptor António Soares dos Reis , which is located near Guimarães Castle in northern Portugal. The remnants of the royal palace are located near the main square, but all that is left are some walls and a few rebuilt rooms such as the Casa Ogival . It now hosts the Olissipónia ,

4312-705: The Portuguese naval efforts. The first victims of slave raids by Portuguese and Spanish were the Guanches of the Canary Islands, a people of Berber origin, who put up fierce resistance but were reduced to near extinction by pillaging and enslavement. In 1415, the Portuguese occupied the North African city of Ceuta to gain a foothold in Morocco and control shipping through the Strait of Gibraltar. They also hoped to extend Christianity and provide an outlet for Portuguese nobles looking to gain riches and honor in war. Among

4410-443: The Portuguese, establishing an alliance to regain the country, giving in exchange Daman , Diu , Mumbai , and Bassein . In 1538 the fortress of Diu was again surrounded by Ottoman ships. Another siege failed in 1547, putting an end to Ottoman ambitions and confirming Portuguese hegemony. In 1542 Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Goa at the service of King John III of Portugal , in charge of an Apostolic Nunciature . At

4508-448: The Rua do Recolhimento. At the end of the 17th century the Recolhimento do Castelo ("Castle Shelter") was constructed along the southeast angle of the courtyard, and in 1733, new projects were initiated by master Custódio Vieira. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake severely damaged the castle and contributed to its continuing decay: apart from the walls of the old castle, the soldier's hospital and

4606-536: The Tordesillas line. Cabral recommended to the Portuguese King that the land be settled, and two follow-up voyages were sent in 1501 and 1503. The land was found to be abundant in pau-brasil , or brazilwood , from which it later inherited its name, but the failure to find gold or silver meant that for the time being Portuguese efforts were concentrated on India. The aim of Portugal in the Indian Ocean

4704-778: The arrival in Guangzhou , where trade was established. Later a trading post at Macau would be established. The Portuguese empire expanded into the Persian Gulf as Portugal contested control of the spice trade with the Ottoman Empire . In 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the Huwala state of Hormuz at the head of the Persian Gulf, establishing it as a vassal state. Aden , however, resisted Albuquerque's expedition in that same year, and another attempt by Albuquerque's successor Lopo Soares de Albergaria in 1516. Bahrain

4802-590: The building from a fortified castle to a royal residence. In the beginning of the 15th century, a royal menagerie was established in the Royal Palace of Lisbon , located nearby the Castle of Saint George. Following the conquest of Ceuta in 1415, King John I of Portugal brought back to Lisbon two Barbary lions , and they were installed in a large room inside his Palace in the Citadel of Lisbon. This area of

4900-405: The castle served as the alcáçova , a fortified residence for Afonso III , in his role as governor. It was extensively renovated around 1300 by King Denis I , transforming the Moorish alcáçova into the Royal Palace of the Alcáçova. Between 1373 and 1375, King Ferdinand I ordered the building of the Cerca Nova or Cerca Fernandina , the walled compound that enclosed all but the north flank of

4998-419: The castle. The master builders João Fernandes and Vasco Brás were responsible for its construction. This wall, which partially replaced the old Moorish walls, was designed to encircle previously unprotected parts of the city. Completed in two years, it had 77 towers, 34 or 38 gates, and a perimeter of 5,400 metres (17,700 ft). The castle and the city resisted the forces of Castile several times during

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5096-408: The city walls of Lisbon. In 1650 the military architect Mateus do Couto was named master builder of the project and reconstruction took on a new formality: although the military engineer João Gillot built new walls in 1652, construction again followed Couto's plans between 1657 and 1733. In 1673, the Soldiers' Hospital, dedicated to São João de Deus (St John of God), was installed on the grounds beside

5194-434: The coast of Mauritania . It was created to attract Muslim traders and monopolize the business in the routes traveled in North Africa, starting the chain of Portuguese feitorias along the coast. In 1446, Álvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone , and the Gulf of Guinea was reached in the 1460s. As a result of the first meager returns of the African explorations, in 1469 king Afonso V granted

5292-438: The coast. Between 1325 and 1357 Afonso IV of Portugal granted public funding to raise a proper commercial fleet and ordered the first maritime explorations, with the help of Genoese , under command of admiral Manuel Pessanha. In 1341 the Canary Islands , already known to Genoese seafarers, were officially rediscovered under the patronage of the Portuguese king, but in 1344 Castile disputed ownership of them, further propelling

5390-422: The coasts of Africa and Asia, then known as the East Indies , and Canada and Brazil (the West Indies ), in what came to be known as the Age of Discovery . Methodical expeditions started in 1419 along West Africa's coast under the sponsorship of prince Henry the Navigator , with Bartolomeu Dias reaching the Cape of Good Hope and entering the Indian Ocean in 1488. Ten years later, in 1498, Vasco da Gama led

5488-458: The commemorative celebrations marking the foundation of nationhood and restoration of independence ( Portuguese : Fundação da Nacionalidade e da Restauração da Independência ), the government of António de Oliveira Salazar initiated extensive renovations at the site (as it did with similar castles, such as the ones in Sintra and Silves ). Most of the incongruous structures added to the castle compound in previous centuries were demolished, under

5586-415: The contents of the Torre do Tombo. At 75 years old, Maia personally led the safe-guarding team to São Jorge Castle , where the archives were located, and saved nearly 90,000 pieces, accumulated between 1161 and 1696. He ordered the construction of provisional barracks to store the contents of the archives and immediately made a request to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo , King Joseph I's prime-minister, for

5684-408: The control in coastal areas, where in 1517 was founded the fortress of Colombo. In 1506, a Portuguese fleet under the command of Tristão da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque , conquered Socotra at the entrance of the Red Sea and Muscat in 1507, having failed to conquer Ormuz , following a strategy intended to close those entrances into the Indian Ocean. That same year, fortresses were built in

5782-426: The defeat at Tangier, Henry retired to Sagres on the southern tip of Portugal where he continued to direct Portuguese exploration until his death in 1460. In 1443, Prince Pedro , Henry's brother, granted him the monopoly of navigation, war, and trade in the lands south of Cape Bojador . Later this monopoly would be backed by the Papal bulls Dum Diversas (1452) and Romanus Pontifex (1455), granting Portugal

5880-401: The development of exports and organized the export of surplus production to European countries. On May 10, 1293, he instituted a maritime insurance fund for Portuguese traders living in the County of Flanders , which were to pay certain sums according to tonnage, accrued to them when necessary. Wine and dried fruits from Algarve were sold in Flanders and England, salt from Setúbal and Aveiro

5978-453: The enterprise and financial experience of these rivals of the Republic of Venice . In the second half of the fourteenth century outbreaks of bubonic plague led to severe depopulation: the economy was extremely localized in a few towns, and migration from the country led to the abandonment of agricultural land and an increase in rural unemployment. Only the sea offered opportunities, with most people settling in fishing and trading areas along

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6076-444: The equator into the Southern Hemisphere and found the islands in the Gulf of Guinea, including São Tomé and Príncipe . In 1471, Gomes' explorers reached Elmina on the Gold Coast (present day Ghana ), and discovered a thriving overland gold trade between the natives and visiting Arab and Berber traders. Gomes established his own trading post there, which became known as “A Mina” ("The Mine"). Trade between Elmina and Portugal grew in

6174-413: The era of the Inquisition, many documents inscribed by the International and State Defense Police and the accord that admitted Portugal into the European Economic Community. Among the other significant collections at the archive are items relating to the Portuguese explorations and discoveries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Corpo Cronológico ( Chronological Body ), a collection of manuscripts on

6272-467: The exclusive patronage of the Portuguese Crown. The second voyage to India was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares Cabral . While following the same south-westerly route across the Atlantic Ocean as da Gama (to take advantage of the most favorable winds), Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast. This was probably an accidental discovery, but it has been speculated that the Portuguese secretly knew of Brazil's existence and that it lay on their side of

6370-448: The first fleet around Africa to the Indian subcontinent , arriving in Calicut and starting a maritime route from Portugal to India. Portuguese explorations then proceeded to southeast Asia, where they reached Japan in 1542, forty-four years after their first arrival in India. In 1500, the Portuguese nobleman Pedro Álvares Cabral became the first European to discover Brazil . In 1297, King Dinis of Portugal took personal interest in

6468-451: The first trade agreement in India was signed. For a short time a Portuguese factory was installed there, but it was attacked by Muslims on December 16 and several Portuguese, including the scribe Pêro Vaz de Caminha , died. After bombarding Calicut as a retaliation, Cabral went to rival Kochi . Profiting from the rivalry between the Maharaja of Kochi and the Zamorin of Calicut, the Portuguese were well received and seen as allies, getting

6566-401: The following tsunami, the first geodetic observatory in Portugal was constructed in 1788 at the top of one of the towers of the castle, later referred to as the Torre do Observatório (Observatory Tower). By the 1930s, the Castle had all but disappeared as a distinguishable landmark from Lisbon's skyline, being almost entirely obscured behind and under later annexes and additions. As part of

6664-406: The following years Portuguese mariners discovered and settled the rest of the Azores. Henry suffered a serious setback in 1437 after the failure of an expedition to capture Tangier , having encouraged his brother, King Edward , to mount an overland attack from Ceuta. The Portuguese army was defeated and only escaped destruction by surrendering Prince Ferdinand, the king's youngest brother . After

6762-455: The fortifications were built by Berber forces; these included the walls or Cerca Moura ("Moorish Encirclement"). In the context of the Christian Reconquista , the castle and the city of Lisbon were freed from Moorish rule in 1147 by Afonso Henriques and northern European knights in the Siege of Lisbon during the Second Crusade ; this victory was the only notable success of that failed crusade. According to an oft-repeated legend ,

6860-486: The goal of defending the country against Muslim pirate raids, thus laying the basis for the Portuguese Navy and establishment of a Genoese merchant community in Portugal. Forced to reduce their activities in the Black Sea, the Republic of Genoa had turned to North Africa for trade in wheat and olive oil and a search for gold – navigating also into the ports of Bruges (Flanders) and England. Genoese and Florentine communities were established in Portugal, which profited from

6958-462: The islands began. There, wheat and later sugarcane were cultivated, as in Algarve, by the Genoese, becoming profitable activities. This helped both them and Prince Henry become wealthier. A Portuguese attempt to capture Grand Canary , one of the nearby Canary Islands , which had been partially settled by Spaniards in 1402 was unsuccessful and met with protestations from Castile. Although the exact details are uncertain, cartographic evidence suggests

7056-472: The monopoly of trade in part of the Gulf of Guinea to merchant Fernão Gomes , for an annual payment of 200,000 reals . Gomes was also required to explore 100 leagues (480 km) of the coast each year for five years. He employed explorers João de Santarém , Pedro Escobar , Lopo Gonçalves , Fernão do Pó , and Pedro de Sintra , and exceeded the requirement. Under his sponsorship, Portuguese explorers crossed

7154-415: The most important eastern point in the trade network, where Malay met Gujarati, Chinese, Japanese, Javanese, Bengali, Persian and Arabic traders, described by Tomé Pires as invaluable. The port of Malacca became then the strategic base for Portuguese trade expansion with China and Southeast Asia, under the Portuguese rule in India with its capital at Goa . To defend the city a strong fort was erected, called

7252-507: The national archive. These include gargoyles that figure as the Guarda do Abecedário ( Guard of the Alphabet ), the Guarda das Ondas Hertzianas ( Guard of Hertzian Waves ), O Velho ( The Old ) and o Novo ( The Young ), the a Morte ( The Death ) and O Bem ( The Good ) and O Mal ( The Evil ); the gargoyles in the rear represent A Tragédia ( The Tragedy ) and A Comédia ( The Comedy ), A Guerra (The War) and A Paz ( The Peace ),

7350-514: The navigator Vasco da Gama when he returned from discovering the maritime route to India in 1498. The castle also served as a theater in 1502 when pioneering playwright Gil Vicente staged his Monólogo do Vaqueiro to honor the birth of Manuel I's son and heir, the future João III . Around the early 16th century, following the construction of the Ribeira Palace beside the Tagus river,

7448-479: The need to defend the territory, since an expedition under the command of Gonçalo Coelho in 1503 had found the French making incursions on the land. That same year, there was a new expedition from Martim Afonso de Sousa with orders to patrol the whole Brazilian coast, banish the French, and create the first colonial towns: São Vicente on the coast, and São Paulo near the edge of the inland plateau ( planalto ) and

7546-563: The new building. On 22 December 2010, the DRCLVTejo proposed classifying the building as a municipal property of interest, which was supported by the director of the IGESPAR . On 17 May 2011, an announcement was published regarding the process to classify the building, and by August, a formal request to make the building a municipal property of interest was formalized by DRCLVTejo. The National Council for Culture decided on 10 October 2011, that

7644-588: The next decade. In 1481, the recently crowned João II decided to build São Jorge da Mina fort (Elmina Castle) and factory to protect this trade, which was then held again as a royal monopoly. In 1482, Diogo Cão discovered the mouth of the Congo River . In 1486, Cão continued to Cape Cross , in present-day Namibia , near the Tropic of Capricorn . In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope near

7742-687: The participants of the action was the young Prince Henry the Navigator . Appointed governor of the Order of Christ in 1420, while personally holding profitable monopolies on resources in Algarve, he took the lead role in encouraging Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460. He invested in sponsoring voyages down the coast of Mauritania , gathering a group of merchants, shipowners, and other stakeholders interested in new opportunities for maritime trade. Later his brother Prince Pedro granted him

7840-545: The population. In 1492 Christopher Columbus 's discovery for Spain of the New World , which he believed to be Asia, led to disputes between the Spanish and Portuguese. These were eventually settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 which divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Portuguese and the Spanish, along a north–south meridian 370 leagues , or 970 miles (1,560 km), west of

7938-620: The relationships between the State and foreign kingdoms. This institution was maintained by the Royal Keeper, an office sometimes paired with the post of Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom . The first known Royal Keeper was João Annes de Almada , called "the Great", appointed by king John I , Ferdinand's successor, who separated the office from the court chancellor 's. Both the offices of Chief Chronicler and Court Chancellor were extinguished in

8036-417: The ruins of the royal palace), gardens, and a large terraced square from which an impressive panorama of Lisbon is visible. The main entrance to the citadel is a 19th-century gate surmounted by the coat-of-arms of Portugal, the name of Queen Maria II , and the date 1846. This gate permits access to the main square ( Praça d'Armas ), which is decorated with old cannons and a bronze statue of Afonso Henriques ,

8134-655: The same time Francisco Zeimoto, António Mota , and other traders arrived in Japan for the first time. According to Fernão Mendes Pinto , who claimed to be in this journey, they arrived at Tanegashima , where the locals were impressed by European firearms , which would be immediately made by the Japanese on a large scale. In 1557 the Chinese authorities allowed the Portuguese to settle in Macau through an annual payment, creating

8232-556: The semi-rectangular spaces, columns and cistern were adapted into the museum Olissipónia . On 22 August 2006, Direcção Regional de Cultura Lisboa (DRCLisboa) defined a special protection zone, that included the Castle of São Jorge and the rest of the walls of Lisbon, the Baixa Pombalina and various properties that were already classified as cultural heritage. The Conselho Nacional de Cultura (National Council of Culture) proposed shelving this definition on 10 October 2011, which

8330-471: The southern tip of Africa, disproving the view that had existed since Ptolemy that the Indian Ocean was separate from the Atlantic. Also at this time, Pêro da Covilhã reached India via Egypt and Yemen , and visited Madagascar. He recommended further exploration of the southern route. As the Portuguese explored the coastlines of Africa, they left behind a series of padrões , stone crosses inscribed with

8428-472: The supervision of the DGEMN, and there was a partial restoration of the Recolhimento . In addition, on 25 October 1947, a monument dedicated to Afonso Henriques , presented by the city of Porto, of a replica created by Soares dos Reis (in 1887) was installed on the grounds. On 31 May 1942 the castle's operations began to be handled by the city government of Lisbon, which was reaffirmed on 8 June 1979. In 1998,

8526-561: The time, as Europeans did not know what lay beyond on the African coast, and did not know whether it was possible to return once it was passed. Henry wished to know how far the Muslim territories in Africa extended, and whether it was possible to reach the source of the lucrative tran-Saharan caravan gold trade and perhaps to join forces with the long-lost Christian kingdom of Prester John that

8624-522: The towers of the Lisbon Castle. On 9 December 1448, Gil Pires was named the castle master builder to replace Afonso Esteves, being paid 400 réis for his work. Between 1448 and 1451, the master builder was paid several stipends for his work on the palace. Similarly, the mason João de Alverca was paid a substantial sum for stonework. These public works continued from 1449 until 1452, with additional payments being made for labor and materials to convert

8722-399: The walkway atop the wall and the towers, from which magnificent views of Lisbon can be enjoyed. The Tower of Ulysses (where the Torre do Tombo archive used to be) had a camera obscura installed in 1998 that allows spectators a 360-degree view of the city and Tagus River . Apart from its main walls, the castle is protected, on its southern and eastern sides, by a barbican ( barbacã ),

8820-435: Was a profitable export to northern Europe, and leather and kermes , a scarlet dye, were also exported. Portugal imported armor and munitions, fine clothes, and several manufactured products from Flanders and Italy. In 1317, King Dinis made an agreement with Genoese merchant sailor Manuel Pessanha (Pessagno), appointing him first Admiral with trade privileges with his homeland in return for twenty warships and crews, with

8918-500: Was also inscribed on the Memory of the World Register in 2005. This letter is the first document describing the land and people of what became Brazil. The imposing structure consists of two large units unified by a central body, forming an immense "H" plan. The two wings are supported by large bases that create a fortress-like structure, evocative of the large historic monuments that were constructed to last for an eternity, and to act as

9016-519: Was captured in 1521, when a force led by António Correia defeated the Jabrid King, Muqrin ibn Zamil . In a shifting series of alliances, the Portuguese dominated much of the southern Persian Gulf for the next hundred years. The island of Mozambique became a strategic port on the regular maritime route linking Lisbon to Goa, and Fort São Sebastião and a hospital were built there. In the Azores,

9114-404: Was laid in 1985, in an official ceremony. The sculptor José Aurélio was invited to sculpt the gargoyles in 1987, which completed between 1988 and 1990 (in conjunction with mason José Rodrigues and builder Júlio Mesão. The actual building was projected by architect Arsénio Cordeiro, in collaboration with architect António Barreiros Ferreira. It was inaugurated in 1990, and purposely built to receive

9212-496: Was part of a greater plan by the Spanish forces to recommission the fortification. However, after Portugal regained its independence following the Portuguese Restoration War , the works were taken over by the Portuguese government. On 6 November 1648, Nicolau de Langres was called upon to take over the design, execution and construction of a new fortification that would surround the Castle of Saint George and

9310-489: Was rumoured to exist somewhere to the east. In 1434, one of Prince Henry's captains, Gil Eanes , passed this obstacle. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to probe further along the coast. Within two decades of exploration, Portuguese ships had bypassed the Sahara . Westward exploration continued over the same period: Diogo de Silves discovered the Azores island of Santa Maria in 1427 and in

9408-402: Was supported by IGESPAR . The castle is in the centre of Lisbon , on a hill, while many of its walls extend around the citadel into the civil parishes that surround it to the east and south. The castle's plan is roughly square, and it was originally encircled by a wall, to form a citadel . The castle complex consists of the castle itself (the castelejo ), some ancillary buildings (including

9506-582: Was the case, the long-standing Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama . Vasco da Gama's squadron left Portugal on 8 July 1497, consisting of four ships and a crew of 170 men. It rounded the Cape and continued along the coast of Southeast Africa, where a local pilot was brought on board who guided them across the Indian Ocean, reaching Calicut in western India in May 1498. After some conflict, da Gama got an ambiguous letter for trade with

9604-426: Was to ensure the monopoly of the spice trade . Taking advantage of the rivalries that pitted Hindus against Muslims, the Portuguese established several forts and trading posts between 1500 and 1510. In East Africa , small Islamic states along the coast of Mozambique , Kilwa , Brava , Sofala and Mombasa were destroyed, or became either subjects or allies of Portugal. Pêro da Covilhã had reached Ethiopia (via

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