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history
lisbon dates back to pre-roman times - legend has it that ulysses
founded the city, although it was more probably the phoenicians. its
early years were spent as a constant battleground, with phoenicians,
greeks and carthaginians in turn overthrown. in 205 bc the romans
began their two-century reign in lisbon, and it became the most
important city in the western iberian region, renamed felicitas
julia by julius caesar.
in 714 the powerful moors arrived from morocco, replacing a
succession of northern tribes. they fortified the city and held out
against christian attack for an impressive 400 years. by 1147 the
moors' luck had turned and the christians finally recaptured lisbon.
(it took another century for christian forces to complete the
reconquest of portugal.) in the mid-13th century lisbon replaced
coimbra as portugal's capital and developed rapidly on the back of
booming maritime and inland trade.
the 15th century brought the age of discoveries - portugal's
golden era of sea exploration. not satisfied with repelling the
moors from portuguese soil, prince henrique (henry the navigator)
decided to sap islam's economic power by finding a way around it by
sea. he put to work the best sailors, map makers, ship builders and
astronomers he could find. in 1434 one of his ships sailed beyond
the much-feared cape bojador on the west african coast, breaking a
maritime superstition that this was the end of the world. the prince
was rewarded with gold and slaves from west africa. in 1497 came
vasco da gama's famous discovery of the sea route to india. the
wealth from these expeditions transformed lisbon into the opulent
seat of a vast empire. it also spawned the extravagant manueline
architectural style, best typified in the mosteiro dos jerónimos in
belém.
lisbon's glory days as the world's most prosperous trading centre
were short lived. the cost of expeditions, maintaining overseas
empires and attempting to christianise morocco brought portugal to
its knees. in 1580, in a bitter blow to national pride, felipe ii of
spain claimed the throne and it took 60 years for fed-up
nationalists to overthrow their traditional rival and return
portugal to its people. by the late 17th century the tide had well
and truly turned and the discovery of gold in brazil saw lisbon
enjoy another period of profligate expenditure. again, however, this
extravagance was cut short. in 1755 a massive earthquake reduced the
city to rubble and lisbon never recovered its power and prestige.
after napoleon's four-year occupation of the city lisbon, like the
rest of the country, fell into political chaos and military
insurrection for over a century.
in the early 20th century, a 16-year period brought 45 changes in
government. yet another coup in 1926 brought antónio de oliveira
salazar onto the scene. quickly rising from finance minister to
prime minister, he ruled portugal for 36 years, heading an
authoritarian regime that lasted until 1976. during his rule,
political parties and strikes were banned. censorship, propaganda
and brute force, exemplified by a feared secret police force, kept
the country in order.
revolution in 1974, in response to the continued unpopular
military suppression of portuguese colonies, brought a a slow road
to democracy. more political turbulence gradually changed to
stability and ultimately membership of the european union in 1986.
with the support of the eu, and its much-needed injection of funds,
lisbon (and portugal) finally began to shake off its depressed
salazar-era looks and lifestyle.
in recent years, more stable government combined with massive eu
funding (especially welcome in lisbon after a major fire in 1988
destroyed the chiado district) has led to the city's rejuvenation.
in 1994, it returned to the limelight as european city of culture.
the following years of spectacular economic growth were boosted by
major infrastructure projects such as the ponte de vasco da gama,
the longest river crossing in portugal. redevelopment schemes
throughout the city have included restoration of historic
neighbourhoods such as the alfama. lisbon was given a further
sprucing for its role of host to expo '98. in the run-up to the
expo, the metro was expanded, port facilities extended, hotel
construction went into high gear and leading architects created some
stunning monuments. lisbon has now regained some pride in its past
and, with a revitalised and vibrant urban life and more huge
infrastructure projects planned, looks forward to a future firmly
within europe.
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