Algarve’s History

By Jannie Laursen

Like the names of many other areas in Portugal, the Algarve is a derivative of an ancient Arabic word which means “the west”, and also like many other areas in the country, the Algarve has a long and colorful history. For thousands of years people have been drawn to the area for its strategic military position, influential ports and access to vital shipping lanes.

Due to the ideal location of the Algarve, it was as ideal area for people to settle. First arrived the Conii around the 5th century BC, followed by the Carthaginians, who were intern followed by the Romans. The Romans made huge improvement to the area, creating many trading ports along the coastline

The Algarve was then conquered by the Visigoths in the fifth century, who occupied the area until the Moorish invasion of 711 AD. The Moors occupied Lagos, which they called Zawaia. Faro was also renamed Faraon which means “the settlement of the Knights”. Silves, another ancient town, was for many years the capital of the area under Moorish occupation, and was renamed Al-Gharb, or Algarve. By the middle of the 12th century the area was reclaimed by the Christians from the Kingdom of Portugal which was located on the Iberian Peninsula. It took nearly one hundred years for the Portuguese to secure the area against the Moorish, and during that time King Afonso III of Portugal began to call himself King of Portugal and Algarve.

The city of Lagos became the capital of the Algarve and became a hub for maritime trade.

The Spanish took hold of the Algarve in 1580 and kept onto the Algarve until 1640 when the Portuguese revolted and pushed the Spanish out. Portugal and Spain put their differences behind them and in 1668 Spain recognised Portugal’s independence

Napoleon also had his time in the Algarve when he invaded in 1807, and this forced the Portuguese royalty to escape to Brazil where they remained until Napoleon left.

By 1911 the Algarve has not classed separate to Portugal (no longer the Kingdom of Portugal & the Algarve), but was instead a province in the southern region of Portugal.

The history of the Algarve can be seen in the ruins of castles and other military fortresses, in walls surrounding the oldest of towns, from excavations in locations near Vilamoura and Praia da Luz which have unearthed Roman fish salting tanks and Roman baths, and in the culture of the people who have retained the stamp of the many whom have, for short time or long, called the Algarve home.

Learn more about Algarve Property. Also stop by our site where you can find out all about Silver Coast Property and how to turn your property dreams into realty.

categories: Portugal Property,Portugal history,history,Portugal

Article kindly provided by UberArticles.com

Topics: Travel and Leisure | Comments Off

Tags: history, portugal, Portugal history, Portugal Property, Travel and Leisure

Reprint Rights

Comments are closed.