This article documents the history of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal since 1260.
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During the Neolithic the region was inhabited by Iberian related peoples, who also lived in other regions of Atlantic Europe at the time. They built religious monuments called megaliths. Dolmens and Menhirs still survive in the countryside around the city.
The Indo-European Celts invaded after the first millennium BC and intermarried with the Pre-Indo-European population, giving a rise to Celtic-speaking local tribes such as the Cempsi.
Although the first fortifications on Lisbon's hilltop are known to be no older than the 2nd century BC, archaeological research has shown that iron age people have occupied the site since the VIII to VI centuries BC.
The sufix "ippo" (ipo) present in "Olissipo" (the roman name of Lisbon) is characteristic of Tartessos or Turdetani influence. At best Lisbon was an ancient autochthonous settlement (what the Romans called an Oppidum) that maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, which accounts for the presence of Phoenician pottery and other material objects.
The gods Aracus, Carneus, Bandiarbariaicus and Coniumbricenses where worshiped at the city by the original Turdulorum Oppida inhabitants.
Archeological findings show that a Phoenician influence existed in the place that, since 1200 BC, leading some historians to the theory that a Phoenician trading post occupied the site of the centre of the present city, in the southern slope of the Castle hill. The magnificent harbour provided by the estuary of the river Tagus made it the ideal spot for a settlement to provide foodstuffs to Phoenician ships travelling to the tin islands (modern Isles of Scilly) and Cornwall.
The new city might have been named Allis Ubbo or "safe harbor" in Phoenician, according to one of several theories for the origin of its name. Another theory is that it took its name from the pre-Roman name of the River Tagus, Lisso or Lucio.
Besides sailing to the North, the Phoenicians might also have probably taken advantage of the situation of the settlement at the mouth of Iberia's largest river to trade with the inland tribes for valuable metals. Other important local products were salt, salted fish and the then widely famous Lusitanian horses.
Recently, Phoenician remains from the eighth century BC were found beneath the medieval Sé de Lisboa (Lisbon See) or main Cathedral of the modern city. Most modern historians,[1] however, consider the idea of a Phoenician foundation of the city of Lisbon, as unreal.
In 210 BC, Hasdrubal Gisco goes into Lusitania and camps near the Tagus mouth.
The Greeks knew Lisbon as "Olissipo" (Ολισσιπο) and Olissipona (Ολισσιπόνα) (corrupted in vulgar Latin to Olissipona), a name they thought was derived from Ulysses, though this was a folk etymology. According to an Ancient Greek myth, the hero founded the city after he left Troy and departed to the Atlantic to escape the Greek coalition.
If all of Odysseus's travels were in the Atlantic as Cailleux[2] argued, then this could mean that Odysseus founded the city coming from the north, before trying to round Cape Malea, which Cailleux located at Cabo de São Vicente (Cape of St. Vincent), in a south-east direction, to reach his home land Ithaca, supposedly present Cadiz. However, the presence of Phoenicians (even if occasional) is thought to predate any Greek presence in the area.
During the Punic wars, after the defeat of Hannibal (whose troops included members of the Conii) the Romans decided to deprive Carthage in its most valuable possession, Hispania (the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula). After the defeat of the Carthaginians by Scipio Africanus in Eastern Hispania, the pacification of the West was led by Consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus.
He obtained the alliance of Olissipo (which sent men to fight alongside the Roman Legions against the northwestern Celtic tribes) by integrating it into the Empire in 138 BC.
In 31 BC to 27 BC the city becomes a Municipium Cives Romanorum Felicitas Julia Olisipo. Local authorities were granted self-rule over a territory that extended 50 kilometres (31 mi), exempt from taxes, its citizens were given the privileges of Roman citizenship, and it was integrated within the Roman province of Lusitania (whose capital was Emerita Augusta). Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus also fortified the city, building city walls, due to lusitanian raids and rebellions.
Among the majority of Latin speakers lived a large minority of Greek traders and slaves. Lisbon's name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela. The city population is estimated to be around 30000 at the time.
Earthquakes were documented in 60 BC, several from 47 to 44 BC, several in 33 AD and a strong quake in 382 AD, but exact amount of damage to the city is unknown.
Lisbon suffered invasions from the Sarmatian Alans and the Germanic Vandals, who controlled the region from 409 to 429. The city was taken by the Visigoths under Wallia in 419.
The Germanic Suebi, who established the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia (modern Galicia and northern Portugal), with capital in Bracara Augusta (Braga), from 409 to 585, also controlled the region of Lisbon for long periods of time.
In 457, while Framta was still ruling, Maldras led a large raid on Lusitania.[3] They sacked Lisbon by pretending to come in peace and, once admitted by the citizens, plundering the city.[4] In 468 the city of Lisbon was occupied by the Suebi under Remismund with the help of a native Roman governor named Lucidius.
The Visigoths conquered the city first under the command Euric, and definitely under the rule of Liuvigild. In 585 the Suebi kingdom was included in the Germanic Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo, that comprised all of the Iberian Peninsula. Lisbon was then called Ulishbona.
In approximately 711 Lisbon was taken by the Moors (it was called al-ʾIšbūnah in Arabic الأشبونة), under whose rule the city flourished. The Moors, who were Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East, built mosques, houses and a new city wall (including parts of the old roman fortifications), named the Cerca Moura.
The city kept a diverse population including Christians, Berbers, Arabs, Jews and Saqalibas.
Arabic was forced on the Christians as the official language. Mozarabic was the mother language spoken by the Christian population. Islam was the official religion practiced by the Arabs and Muladi (muwallad), the Christians could keep their religion but under heavy Dhimmi status and were forced to pay the jizyah.
The Moorish influence is still present in Alfama, the oldest existing district of Lisbon that survived the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Many placenames are derived from Arabic; Alfama, for example, is derived from the Arabic "al-hamma".
The city was conquered and sacked in 796 by Alfonso II of Asturias.
In 843/44 the Vikings sack Lisbon.
The city was conquered and sacked in 955 by Ordoño III of León.
In 1039 the city, until then dominated by the Umayyad Caliphate, is conquered by the Abbasid Caliphate.
For a brief time during the Taifa period Lisbon was the center town in the Regulo Eslavo of the Taifa of Badajoz while ruled by Sabur al-Saqlabi (Sabur the Slav) son of Sabur al-Jatib, a Slav that had been at the service of al-Hakam II.
In 1147, as part of the Reconquista, knights, led by Afonso I of Portugal, sieged and reconquered Lisbon. Lisbon was now back in Christian hands.
The reconquest of Portugal and re-establishment of Christianity is one of the most significant events in Lisbon's history; although it is known that there was a bishop in the town that was killed by the crusades and that the population was praying to the Virgin Mary when afflicted with plague, which indicates that the Mozarab population followed the Mozarabic rite. Arabic lost its place in everyday life. Any remaining Muslim population were gradually converted to Roman Catholicism, or expelled, and the mosques were turned into churches. (Though in Portuguese historiography this was often mentioned as "turning the mosques back into churches", in fact many of the structures concerned were built as mosques to begin with).
It received its first Foral in 1179, and became the capital city of Portugal in 1255 due to its central location in the new Portuguese territory.
The first Portuguese university was founded in Lisbon in 1290 by Dinis I of Portugal as Estudo Geral (General Study). The university was transferred several times to Coimbra, where it was installed definitively in the 16th century (today's University of Coimbra).
During the last centuries of the Middle Ages, the city expanded substantially and became an important trading post with both northern Europe and Mediterranean cities.
An earthquake was felt in 1279.
Lisbon experienced eight (several in 1321, 1344, 1355 and 1356[5])important earthquakes in the 14th century.[6]
Most of the Portuguese expeditions of the age of discovery left from Lisbon during the 15th to 17th centuries, including Vasco da Gama's departure to India in 1497, leading to the creation of the Portuguese Empire.
The 16th century marks the golden age for Lisbon. The city became the European hub of commerce with Africa, India, the Far East and, later, Brazil, exploring riches like spices, slaves, sugar, textiles and other goods. This was the time of the exuberant Manueline style, which has left its mark in two 16th century Lisbon monuments, the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, both of which were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Lisbon experienced five important earthquakes in the 16th century (several in 1504, 1528, 1530 ,1531 that destroyed 1,500 houses, 1551, and in 1597 when three streets vanished).
Portugal lost its independence to Spain in 1580 after a succession crisis, and the 1640 revolt that restored the Portuguese independence took place in Lisbon (see Philip III of Portugal).
Lisbon experienced three important earthquakes in the 17th century (main one in 1699).
In the early 18th century, gold from Brazil flooded the country and city, allowing King John V to sponsor the building of several Baroque churches and theaters in the town.
Earthquakes were again felt in 1722, 1724 and in 31 July 1750.
On 1 November 1755 Lisbon was destroyed by another earthquake, which killed between 60,000 and 90,000 people and destroyed eighty-five percent of the city.[7] Among several important structures of the city, the Royal Ribeira Palace and the Royal Hospital of All Saints were lost. The event shocked the whole of Europe. Voltaire wrote a long poem, "Poême sur le désastre de Lisbonne", shortly after the quake, and mentioned it in his 1759 novel Candide (indeed, many argue that this critique of optimism was inspired by that earthquake). Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. also mentions it in his 1857 poem, The Deacon's Masterpiece, or The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay.
After the 1755 earthquake, the city was rebuilt largely according to the plans of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the Marquess of Pombal; hence the designation of the lower town as Baixa Pombalina (Pombaline Downtown). Instead of rebuilding the medieval town, Pombal decided to demolish the remains of the earthquake and rebuild the downtown in accordance with modern urban rules.
In the first years of the 19th century, Portugal was invaded by the troops of Napoléon Bonaparte, forcing Queen Maria I and Prince-Regent John (future John VI) to flee temporarily to Brazil. By the time the new King returned to Lisbon, many of the buildings and properties were pillaged, sacked or destroyed by the invaders.
During the 19th century, the Liberal movement introduced new changes into the urban landscape. The principal areas were in the Baixa and along the Chiado district, where shops, tobacconists shops, cafés, bookstores, clubs and theatres proliferated. The development of industry and commerce determined the growth of the city, extending north along the Avenida da Liberdade (1879), distanciing itself from the Tagus River.
Lisbon was the stage of the regicide of Carlos I of Portugal (1908), which culminated two years later in the First Republic.
The city refounded its university in 1911 after centuries of inactivity in Lisbon, incorporating reformed former colleges and other non-university higher education schools of the city (such as the Escola Politécnica – now Faculdade de Ciências). Today there are 3 public universities in the city (University of Lisbon, Technical University of Lisbon and New University of Lisbon), a public university institute (ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute) and a polytechnic institute (IPL – Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa). See list of universities in Portugal.
During World War II Lisbon was one of the very few neutral, open European Atlantic ports, a major gateway for refugees to the U.S. and a spy nest. More than 100,000 refugees were able to flee Nazi Germany via Lisbon.[8]
During the Estado Novo regime (1926–1974), Lisbon was expanded at the cost of other districts within the country, resulting in nationalist and monumental projects. New residential and public developments were constructed; the zone of Belém was modified for the 1940 Portuguese Exhibition, while in along the periphery new social barrios appeared to house the growing populations. The inauguration of the bridge over the Tagus, allowed the rapid connect between the two margins of the river.
Lisbon was the centre of the republican coup of 5 October 1910 which established the democratic Portuguese Republic. The period following the Carnation Revolution resulted in a euphoria and modernization of Lisbon. In the 1990s, many of the barrios were renovated and projects in the historic quarters were established to modernize the areas; architectural and patrimonial buildings were recuperated; the northern margin of the Tagus was re-purposed for leisure and residential use; the Vasco da Gama bridge was constructed; and the eastern part of the municipality was re-purposed for Expo '98 (intended to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's sea voyage to India).
In 1988, a fire near the historical centre of Chiado greatly disrupted normal life in the area for about 10 years.
In 1994, Lisbon was the European Capital of Culture.
===21st century===Ric5575 (talk) 22:33, 20 December 2011 (UTC) The Lisbon Agenda was a European Union agreement on measures to revitalize the EU economy, signed in Lisbon in March 2000. In October 2007 Lisbon hosted the 2007 EU Summit, where agreement was reached regarding a new EU governance model. The resulting Treaty of Lisbon was signed on the 13 December 2007 and came into force on 1 December 2009.
On the 3 November 2005, Lisbon hosted the MTV European Music Awards. The show was opened by a leotard-clad Madonna, who exploded from a shiny disco ball to the tune "Hung Up".
On the 7 July 2007, Lisbon held the ceremony of the "New 7 Wonders Of The World"[9] election, in Luz stadium, with live transmission for millions of people all over the world.
It is the host city for the Portuguese editions of Rock in Rio, the largest rock festival in the world.
It hosted the NATO summit (19–20 November 2010), a summit meeting that is regarded as a periodic opportunity for Heads of State and Heads of Government of NATO member countries to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities.[10]
| Demographic evolution of Lisbon | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | 900 | 1552 | 1598 | 1720 | 1755 | 1756 | 1801 | 1849 | 1900 | 1930 | 1960 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | ||||
| 30,000 | 100,000 | 200,000 | 150,000 | 185,000 | 180,000 | 165,000 | 203,999 | 174,668 | 350,919 | 591,939 | 801,155 | 807,937 | 663,394 | 564,657 | 545,245 | ||||