Brief History of The Algarve
Monday, 16th November 2009
The history of The Algarve goes back as far as the sixth century BC. The Phoenicians established trading ports in the area, and later the Roman Empire spread through the Iberian Penninsular. In the 5th Century AD, the Visigoths took over, and were then replaced by the conquering Moor in the 8th Century.
The area was under the control of the Moors for over 400 years, during which time trading links were established with North Africa and elsewhere.The Christians drove out the Moors in the 12th Century, but fighting continued for more than one hundred years, as the Moors attempted to regain control. The Algarve was the last part of the Peninsular to be liberated by the Christians, and it was not until 1292 that the Moors were finally expelled.
In the 15th Century the famous Henry The Navigator used Lagos in the Algarve as a base for his voyages and conquests. The area became prosperous as the New World was discovered and trade developed between the Old and the New Worlds.
A disaster struck in 1755 with the Lisbon earthquake, which reaked havoc on the Algarve, and resulted in a dreadful Tsunami.
Portugal was invaded by the Napolean at the beginning of the 19th Century, resulting in the Spanish occupying the Algarve. Following an uprising in Olhao, the Spanish were driven out in 1808.
It was not until 1910 that the first republic of Portugal was declared, and Algarve remains part of the republic to the present time.
