Lisbon History
Being the most Western capital in Europe, and the only capital to be on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, it comes with no surprise that Portugal was the 1st global empire.
Lisbon is the second oldest city in Europe, after Athens and dated back thousands of years. Julius Caesar named the city Felicitas Julia.
After the Roman rule, the city was ruled by different Germanic tribes till the 8th century, when the Moors took over. In 1147 the city was conquered by Afonso Henriques and made it forever more the political, economic, and cultural center of Portugal. 1255 was the year Lisbon became the capital of the Portugal territory.
The Age of Discoveries took place from the late 15th century till the beginning of the 17th. During this time, most expeditions left from the port of Lisbon, including the famous one such as Vasco de Gama’s expedition to India in 1498.
The 16th century in Lisbon was known for wealth and riches since it was the connecting location between the continents and oversaw the trade between various locations. These riches were easily seen in the architecture seen over this period.
Unfortunately, in 1755 there was a tragic earthquake which destroyed a large portion of the city, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. Following this earthquake was a horrific tsunami and a devastating fire. From the capital of the world to ruins. the earthquake and its results shocked nations around the world and gave them an understanding that they must plan for such events that may happen.
Luckily, Lisbon were extremely wealthy, because of the gold they brought from brazil in the 17th century, which gave the city the opportunity to rebuild according to the plans of Prime Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, and 30 years later the city was flourishing once again.
The 19th Century didn’t start well for the city since Napoleon’s troops invaded. This invasion forced Queen Maria I and Prince-Regent John (future John VI) to flee temporarily to Brazil. The French forces were licked out of Portugal in 1811. This invasion gave a jumpstart for the liberal movement who requested the royal family to set up a constitutional monarchy in the country, this was accepted in 1822. However, Miguel of Portugal took the throne in 1828 and rejected the constitution in order for him to become an absolutist monarch. This started a civil war till the mid-19th century.
Today Lisbon is a beautiful upcoming city, with fantastic landscape and a great metro system. Many international events take place here, in 1994 Lisbon was chosen as the European Capital of Culture. In 2007 the city held the ceremony of the “New 7 Wonders of The World”. Every couple of year the “Rock in Rio Lisboa music festival takes place here and many more major events.