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September 29, 2007
Algarve, Portugal
Next week, I'll be working in Portugal. But first stop is in the Algarve, mainland Portugal's rolling and floral southernmost region, originally settled by the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians. The first inhabitants of the Algarve were traders who established their colonies on the coasts. The Algarve was once part of the Roman empire, later becoming part of the Visigoths' jurisdiction. In 711, Moorish general Tarik ibn Ziyad defeated the king of the Visigoths. The region was
reclaimed in the mid-12th century by Christians.
At 9:30 AM on November 1, 1755, an earthquake struck, causing damage throughout Portugal and destroying much of the Algarve. As a result of the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1807, Napoleon and Carlos IV of Spain agreed to carve Portugal into areas to be governed by France and Spain, with the Spanish to assume control of the Algarve. The ensuing wars, backed by the English and French, defeated the plan to split up Portugal. The April 1974 "Carnation Revolution" ended 50 years of dictatorship and initiated a democratic constitution which led to victory for the Socialists with the government being led by Prime Minister Mário Soares.
Posted by Tom Welshonce at September 29, 2007 05:26 PM