History History

Porto was taken by the Visigoth king Theodoric II. The city was then occupied by the Moors in 716, who remained there until the Reconquest by King Alfonso I of Asturias in the middle of the 8th century. Porto then remained abandoned for about a century, before Alfonso III the Great repopulated the city.

Teresa, daughter of King Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon, was married to Henry of Burgundy. The latter granted the king the "Portucalense County", whose capital was Porto.

Porto belonged to the bishop Dom Hugo who had acquired a vast territory. He succeeded in developing the city, which grew beyond the walls that had already been built.

Following the expansion of Porto, an important trade route, a new protective wall was built around the city.

The decision to build a new wall was mainly due to the revolt of the Infante Dom Pedro against his father, King Dom Alfonso IV. The latter, having murdered his son's beloved, suffered his vengeful anger. The population, loyal to the king, resisted Dom Pedro's attacks.

The protective wall is finally completed; it is named Fernandina, in reference to Dom Ferdinand who reigns at the time.

Porto was once again at the centre of the confrontations for a possible annexation of the kingdom to Castile. The future king Dom Joao I (dynasty of Avis) was supported by the inhabitants. It was in Porto that he married Dona Filipa of Lencastre in 1387, and that their offspring were born, including theInfanta Dom Henrique.

Henry the Navigator, born in Porto, was a very important figure in the history of navigation and Portuguese colonial expansion. The prince organized several expeditions that led to the discovery of part of the West African coast, as well as the archipelagos of Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verde.

Dom Henrique launches the expedition to Ceuta. The Portuenses sacrificed all the meat they had to supply the ship. This is where the nickname "tripeiros" originated, as they had only kept tripe for food, which is the typical dish of the Porto region.

The Discoveries enriched Portugal, which became the European centre of maritime trade, while its ports, and in particular that of Oporto, experienced an era of great dynamism. In Oporto a great maritime and commercial activity developed, which propelled the city to the head of the Portuguese shipbuilding industry. The road network also grew, opening Porto to new trade and transport routes.

This illustrious inhabitant of Porto was part of Cabral's caravel when it arrived in Brazil in 1500. Charged with documenting the journey, Caminha delivered to the King of Portugal a travelogue of several pages in which he related in great detail the arrival of the Portuguese in these new lands. This very rich document is a very important historical source to know the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil, but also the local fauna and flora, the life of the natives and the mentality of the time. This letter of discovery of Brazil still exists and is kept in the Torre do Tombo, in Lisbon.

For sixty years, Spain and Portugal were closely linked in their history. Their union formed the largest empire ever known. But many conflicts broke out for the throne of Portugal. Porto sided with the Prior of Crato against King Philip II of Spain.

The city supports the Lisbon revolt that puts an end to the union of Spain and Portugal. The Mint is re-established in Porto.

Spain recognizes the independence of Portugal.

The Spanish domination meant a strong urban and administrative growth for Porto. The two countries together attracted the eyes of the whole world. This was an era of great artistic production and the city was adorned with neoclassical style buildings. The Stock Exchange Palace is a testimony to the wealth of Porto in this period.

The Treaty of Methuen established commercial relations between England and Portugal. In 1717, the first English production of Port wine left the city.

The Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni designed several exceptional buildings in Porto: the Clerks' Tower, the Freixo Palace and the façade of the Church of the Misericordia.

As Napoleon's troops invaded Porto, the wooden Pont das Barcas gave way under the weight of a frightened crowd that had rushed to it. People drowned. The Dona Maria II suspension bridge replaced it in 1842.

Two years after the tragedy of the Barcas Bridge, the French were pushed back for good, and King Joao VI, who had been exiled to Brazil, returned to the throne.

When Dom Miguel came to power in 1828, the country plunged into a civil war, pitting the supporters of Dom Miguel against the former king Dom Pedro IV.

Under siege for eighteen months, the Portuenses defended their city against the absolutist troops of Dom Miguel. It was a victory.

Dona Maria II was subsequently crowned Queen of Portugal.

Porto, liberal and progressive, is the birthplace of many artists, sculptors and poets.

A military uprising in Porto puts an end to the absolute monarchy. Liberal constitution.

The golden heart of Dom Pedro (which can be found in the church of Lapa) and the nickname of Invicta (unconquered) were added to the coat of arms of Porto after the signing of a decree written by the Portuense Almeida Garrett (1799-1854) and signed by Queen Dona Maria II

Inauguration of the Dom Luis Bridge, the most famous bridge in Porto, designed by Théophile Seyrig, a former associate of Gustave Eiffel.

At that time, Portugal was still living under a monarchist political system. However, republican ideas were gaining strength. The first republican revolution took place in Porto, which unfortunately ended in bloodshed.

The rebels revolted in the streets of Porto. Nevertheless, in the absence of support from the army and politicians, the superiority of the monarchy won out. The memory of this date is immortalized in a street in the center of Porto, Rua 31 de Janeiro.

It was a sad year for Porto, which declined somewhat, and whose inhabitants died of the bubonic plague.

The prohibition imposed on Portugal by the British to link Angola and Mozambique in Africa once again stimulated republican patriotism, which was eager to overthrow the monarchy. Carlos I, aware of the extreme danger, established a dictatorial regime. But the people did not see it that way and on February^1, 1908, the king and his son were assassinated in Lisbon's Commerce Square. The Republic was officially proclaimed on 5 October 1910.

Porto became the capital of northern Portugal following an attempt at independence. The republicans then lead an uprising.

The Republic was overthrown by the military coup of General Gomes da Costa. The latter called upon a Catholic professor of economics, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, to try to solve the country's financial difficulties.

In a way, it can be said that the context of the world economic crisis (1929) helped Salazar to set up his future dictatorship. By closing the country to all foreign influence, he managed to stabilize the Portuguese currency, which the people expected. After his election as President of the Council, he created the Estado Novo in 1933, surrounded by an extremely efficient political police force, the PIDE (Internal Police and State Defence). He locked up his country and cut it off from any outside influence, keeping Portugal in a rural and traditional way of life with relentless censorship. During this period, many infrastructures were nevertheless renovated in Porto.

The dictatorship had more and more dissatisfied people. General Delgado ran for president in 1958, promising to remove Salazar as prime minister (Salazar would hold the post for the rest of his life). The general lost the elections and was assassinated in 1965. The regime was then bogged down in an endless colonial war. The army was exhausted. In 1968, Salazar suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. Marcelo Caetano was appointed to succeed him, and the dictatorship ended with the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, one of the most peaceful ever.

After a succession of governments in previous years, Portugal is experiencing a revival. The country joined the European Union in 1986. The capital Lisbon was strengthened by financial aid, which was passed on to the country's other cities such as Porto. In 1987, Cavaco Silva, the Prime Minister, implemented a number of reforms to modernise the country.

Unesco has awarded Porto the status of World Heritage Site due to its great historical wealth, especially in the old town.

Porto is elected European Capital of Culture. The "Casa da Musica" was built, a large auditorium, symbol of the Boavista district. In December, Unesco included the Alto Douro vineyards in the World Heritage List as a "cultural, evolving and living landscape".

The beginning of the 2000s was a difficult time for the country. The economic situation was not brilliant and the governments were not popular. A political turnaround finally came in February 2005: José Socrates, former secretary general of the Socialist Party, became the new head of government, his party having won an absolute majority in the legislative elections. He pledged to reform the civil service, which was difficult for the state budget to bear, and to create a "technological shock" to stimulate growth.

The economic crisis hit Portugal hard. Unpopular measures are taken to bail out the state coffers: Christmas bonus divided by 2, user fees multiplied by 2, free motorways that become paying..

The PS won the legislative elections, but lost the absolute majority in the parliament. In Porto, Rui Rio was elected for the third (and last possible) time president of the municipal chamber.

The year was marked by the discontent of the population. On 15 September, a large demonstration against the Troika and government measures took place: a million people protested throughout the country. As this was not enough, on 14 November, there was a general strike, while unemployment reached a record level of more than 15%.
Porto was voted best European destination by the independent organisation European consumers choice, far ahead of Lisbon...

Rui Moreira (independent, supported by the right-wing CDS-PP) became mayor of the city after the three mandates of Rui Rio (social democrat).

The Portuguese political world is in the throes of a crisis. As the parliamentary elections changed the parliamentary majority, the President of the Republic, Anibal Cavaco Silva, decided to leave Pedro Passos Coelho as Prime Minister. The Left, which now had a majority in Parliament, immediately announced its intention to bring down the new government. The Left Bloc (an anti-austerity party) joined forces with the socialists (a historic move!) and toppled the government. In November, Antonio Costa, leader of the Socialist Party supported by the radical left, was appointed Prime Minister by the President.

Marcelo Robelo de Sousa, a law professor and former television commentator, was elected President of the Republic in the first round for a five-year term. Although he is a centre-right PSD member, he is committed to ensuring the country's stability by not hindering the government's efforts to put an end to the austerity policies that have been pursued for years.

In October, the legislative elections took place, which caused a lot of ink to flow in the newspapers. First of all with the record abstention rate of 51%, but also with the arrival of the extreme right in the assembly with the Chega party and its leader André Ventura (until now, Portugal was one of the few European countries not to have seats for the extreme right in the National Assembly).

The presidential elections are taking place in a country that has been reconfined since 15 January. To protest against the sexist remarks of the far-right candidate André Ventura towards the left-wing candidate Maria Matias, anonymous Portuguese and public figures posted on the networks their lips covered in red make-up, accompanied by a political tirade.

Results: Incumbent President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a moderate conservative, was largely re-elected in the first round, despite a low turnout (39.3%).