Lisbon

Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and capital of the Lisbon region. Its municipality, which matches the city proper excluding the larger continuous conurbation, has a municipal population of 564,477[1] in 84.8 km2 (33 sq mi), while the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in total has around 2.8 million inhabitants, and 3.34 million people live in the broader agglomeration of Lisbon Metropolitan Region (includes cities ranging from Leiria to Setúbal).[2] Due to its economic output, standard of living, and market size, the Grande Lisboa (Greater Lisbon) subregion is considered the second most important financial and economic center of the Iberian Peninsula. It is also the political center of the country, as seat of government and residence of the Head of State. Lisbon was under Roman rule from 205 BC; Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city for the Christians and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural center of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially—by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal. 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.

Archaeological findings suggest that some Phoenician influence existed in the place since 1200 BC, leading some historians to the theory that a Phoenician trading post might have occupied the centre of the present city, on the southern slope of the Castle hill. The magnificent harbour provided by the estuary of the river Tagus made it an 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 taken advantage of a 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 Lusitanian horses that were renowned in antiquity.

Recently, Phoenician remains from the eighth century BC were found beneath the Mediaeval Sé de Lisboa (Lisbon See), or main Cathedral of the modern city. Most modern historians, however, consider the idea of a Phoenician foundation of Lisbon as unreal, and instead believe that Lisbon was an ancient autochthonous settlement (what the Romans called an oppidum) that at most, maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, to account for the presence of Phoenician pottery and other material objects. The Greeks knew Lisbon as Olissipo and "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' travels were in the Atlantic as Cailleux 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), in a southeasterly direction, to reach his homeland of Ithaca, supposedly present Cadiz. However, the presence of Phoenicians (even if occasional) is thought to predate any Greek presence in the area. Later on, the Greek name was corrupted in vulgar Latin to Olissipona. Some of the native gods worshiped in Lisbon were Aracus, Carneus, Bandiarbariaicus and Coniumbricenses.

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 many mosques and houses as well as a new city wall, currently 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 Dhimmi status and were required to pay the jizyah.

In 1147, as part of the Reconquista, crusader knights led by Afonso I of Portugal (better known as Afonso Henriques of Portugal), sieged and reconquered Lisbon. Lisbon was now back in Christian hands. Its inhabitants were around one hundred fifty-four thousand.

The reconquest of Portugal and re-establishment of Christianity is one of the most significant events in Lisbon's history; although it is known through the chronicle Expugnatione Lyxbonensi, attributed to Osburnus, that there was a bishop in the town that was killed by the crusaders 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. 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. 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. A description of Lisbon in the sixteenth century was written by Damião de Góis and published in 1554.[6] 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). In the early 18th century, gold from Brazil allowed King John V to sponsor the building of several Baroque churches and theatres in the city.

1755 Lisbon earthquake Prior to the 18th century, Lisbon had experienced several important earthquakes - eight in the 14th century, five in the 16th century (including the 1531 earthquake that destroyed 1,500 houses, and the 1597 earthquake when three streets vanished), and three in the 17th century. On 1 November 1755 the city was destroyed by another earthquake, which killed between 60,000 and 90,000[citation needed] people and destroyed eighty-five percent of the city.[7] With an estimated population of 275,000, Lisbon was, in 1755, one of the largest cities in Europe. 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.

In the first years of the 19th century, Portugal was invaded by the troops of Napoléon Bonaparte and Queen Maria I and Prince-Regent João (future John VI) temporarily fled to Brazil. Considerable property was pillaged by the invaders. The city felt the full force of the Portuguese liberal upheavals, beginning its tradition of cafés and theatres. In 1879 the Avenida da Liberdade was opened, replacing a previous public garden. Lisbon was the centre of the republican coup of October 5, 1910 which instated the Portuguese Republic. Previously, it was also the stage of the regicide of Carlos I of Portugal (1908).

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.

In 1974, Lisbon was the central destination point of the Carnation Revolution maneuvers, the end of the Portuguese Corporative Regime (Estado Novo).

In 1988, a fire near the historical centre of Chiado greatly disrupted normal life in the area for about 10 years.