The origins of the urban centre date back to the Late Bronze Age, 8th century BC approximately.
From an early stage, the proto-historic settlement had important commercial links with the Mediterranean Basin. During the Roman occupation, the city already had impressive buildings and controlled an important road network between Lisbon and Braga. The city was formerly called Cale and later Portucale, from which the name PORTUGAL was derived.
The wall of Porto was built during the Roman era. The original structure was reconstructed in the 12th century, when the borough was donated to Bishop D. Hugo who issued its first charter.
The second layout of the wall dates back to the 14th century; it encloses the hills of Sé and Vitória and descends towards the river where the mooring quay and the Royal Custom-House were located. Between the 13th and 15th-century, the maritime and commercial activities underwent great development, and the links with important European ports were strengthened, such as Barcelona, Valencia, La Rochelle, Rouen, London, Ypres, Antwerp, etc.
During this period, the shipyards of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia were the most important in the country. One of the negotiators of the 1352 treaty between England and Portugal was born in Porto.
His name was Afonso Martins Alho, and his surname has been perpetuated on an idiomatic expression used to refer to someone shrewd: “fino que nem um Alho” (“as cunning as Alho”).
In 1394, the Infante D. Henrique was also born in this city. He was the “navigator” prince, who launched the era of the Portuguese maritime discoveries.
The inhabitants of Porto are known as tripeiros (literally, “tripe eaters”), due to the sacrifice they made in order to help the army that conquered Ceuta in 1415. It is said that they offered all the good meat to the expeditionary forces keeping only the tripe for themselves.
For this reason, one of the city’s most traditional dishes is “tripas à moda do Porto”. The author of the renowned Carta da Descoberta do Brasil (1500) was the Porto-born Pero Vaz de Caminha, former official of the Mint, who was ordered by the King to join the expedition of Pedro Álvares Cabral and write the official report of the journey.
Medieval Architecture The origin of Porto is linked to the Morro da Sé (Cathedral Hill), overlooking the Douro river, where traces of an ancient settlement have been identified. The Romans brought a great boom to a city, which was elevated to diocese status during the Visigothic period. The city suffered great setbacks after the Moorish invasions, with is territory being recaptured by Vímara Peres at the end of the 9th century. D. Teresa, mother of the first King of Portugal, donated the land of Porto to Bishop D. Hugo, who bestowed its first charter in 1123. The development of commercial activity led to the progressive urbanisation of the riverbank area and in the second half of the 14th century the borough is encircled by a second city wall. Commerce with the exterior grew, not only in the direction of the northern ports, but also to the Mediterranean. The control of the resources of the city, specifically the profits from the port, led to a conflict between the Bishop and the Crown. The construction of the Custom-House in 1324 represented a severe blow to the interests of the Bishop. In 1405, D. João transferred the jurisdiction of the borough to the Crown. This was a period that consolidated local power with the support of the bourgeois merchants. The opening of Rua Nova marked a new phase in the urbanisation of the city and its localisation reflected the importance given to the downtown area, which was until this century the main commercial area of the city. Medieval Porto was home to Afonso Martins Alho (negotiator of the Treaty with England), Henry the Navigator and Pero Vaz de Caminha (author of the “Chart of the Discovery of Brazil”). The architectonic civil and military examples of this time are the following: Torre Medieval (Medieval Tower) Casa da Câmara (Town Hall) Beco dos Redemoinhos House Muralha Primitiva (Primitive Wall) Muralha Fernandina: trecho dos Guindais (Ferdinand Wall: Guindais section) Torre do Barredo (Barredo Tower) Muro dos cobertos da Ribeira (Wall of the Ribeira covered sheds) Postigo do Carvão (Carvão Wicket Gate) Casa do Infante (House of the Prince) Casa da Bolsa do Comércio (Stock Exchange House) Rua da Reboleira House Muralha Fernandina: trecho do Caminho Novo (Ferdinand Wall: Caminho Novo section) Confraria do Espírito Santo Hospital Torre de Pedro Sem (Pedro Sem Tower) From the medieval religious architecture the following examples remain: Cathedral Santa Clara Church S. Francisco Church Cedofeita Church
Probably born in Porto in the mid-15th century, he died in combat in India, in 1500, where he accompanied the fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral (whom he served as a scribe). He became known mostly due to the charter he wrote when the Portuguese arrived at the Brazilian coasts, in April of that year. This charter may be regarded as the document that makes official the discovery of Brazil in the reign of D. Manuel. The data on Caminha before 1500 show us a man integrated in the life of Porto, where he held some important positions. Jaime Cortesão says he was a bourgeois “of true kidney”. He participated in the battle of Toro, leading the Porto troops, and was, since 1479, master of the Currency Balance of Porto, a position ratified by D. Manuel in 1496. Considering minutes signed by Caminha between 1488 and 1498, Magalhães Basto says he participated in the sessions of the City Council and in 1497 was charged to write down the chapters that Porto would present to the Parliament in 1498. He was also a knight of the Royal Houses of D. Afonso V, D. João II and D. Manuel. Following the news of the discovery of Brazil, one also discovers a man of humanist literary education, who knew the Latin authors and was acquainted with the classical literary style and constructions. He was also a man open to the world. “Son of one of those urban democracies so characteristic of medieval Europe, Caminha learned from that school the sense of tolerance, of human dignity and of understanding.” (J. Cortesão) The interpretation of the charter makes us suppose that Caminha had travelled to the western coast of Africa. The charter’s text, unknown for centuries, is Caminha’s contribution to the present. Laying aside its literary interest, the charter has been explored in three fundamental directions. First, as a voyage chronicle, it is a source of information for the history of the discoveries. The accuracy of the descriptions allow us to follow the voyage from its departure in Belém, on a Monday, 9 May, to the Wednesday, 22 April, when the coast they named “Land of Vera Cruz” was first seen, until the 1 May, when they depart, setting off to India. The yaw does not seem to be a surprise for the writer of the text. On the contrary, this charter may confirm the intention of the voyage and the Portuguese knowledge of the existence of land to the West. Secondly, as a description of the physical and human reality, it is a document about the South-American geography and population of the 16th century. Great attention is given to Nature, to the vegetation details, to the colour of the fauna, to the ways of the natives, but also to the width and navigability of the bay, in an area today changed and that will not be easily recognisable through the reading of the text, according to Jaime Cortesão. Thirdly, as a manifestation of the Portuguese reactions facing the unknown and the different, the charter is a source of great interest to the survey of the mentality of the late 16th century and its reflexes in the realisation of a possible anthropology. It is not only the recording of the paintings, of the houses or of the natives’ behaviour, but also a testimony of the possible way to face and transmit that new human reality. Caminha describes the natives in a way that clearly demonstrates his wonder at the innocence he notices mostly in his bodies (he repeatedly writes about their nudity) and in the way they give themselves to the visitors (“they are more friendly to us than we are to them”). As men as the Europeans, as innocent as the first man, Caminha sees the Indians as a soil for the easy diffusion of the Christian faith, once the language barrier was settle. Caminha does not testify the natives’ reality that Vespucio described a few years later, but that does not diminish the importance of his writing. On the contrary, it allows us to make a comparison. His charter is, undoubtedly, a fundamental element for the understanding of the mentality that was behind the Portuguese maritime expansion. BIBLIOGRAPHY Jaime Cortesão, A carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha, Lisbon, 1967. J. L. L.
The Beginning of the Discoveries Prince Henry (1394-1460) had an important role in the History of the Discoveries. His curiosity about areas until then unknown to the Europeans led him to organise successive voyages of exploration, which resulted in the gaining of knowledge of parts of the African west coast, as well as of the archipelagos of Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verde. His great persistence enabled him to overcome the difficulties of the era and take the first steps in a process that would end with the connection of all the continents. Ceuta Son of King João I and Phillipa of Lancaster, the Prince was born in the city of Porto, to where he returned in 1415, to organise the fleet that would conquer Ceuta. This North African town was considered a strategic position for controlling the shipping between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, as well as a destination for the riches arriving from the African interior. Its conquest, which marked the beginning of the Portuguese expansion, was strongly encouraged by the Prince. After this conquest, he was awarded the titles of Duke of Viseu and Master of Covilhã, which greatly enlarged his estate. The Order of Christ The income from his manor house was supplemented by that from the Order of Christ, of which he was appointed administrator in 1420. This religious and military order was based at Tomar, where the Prince had his palace built. He used the respective revenues for organising expeditions in the Atlantic Ocean. Madeira and the Azores Soon after the conquest of Ceuta, the Prince sent expeditions to the Canary Islands. The archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores, which had possibly been known earlier to Portuguese navigators, were rediscovered in 1419 and 1427. They were populated on the Prince’s orders. King Duarte, his brother, later gave him the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo and Desertas, whose economic exploitation the Prince promoted. The African Coast The exploration of the West African coast, which the Europeans only knew up to Cape Bojador, was another objective pursued by the Prince. After establishing himself strategically in the Algarve, he sent off various expeditions from Sagres. Gil Eanes marked his first great success, in that direction, by sailing beyond Cape Bojador in 1434. The progress of the explorations was accompanied by the establishment of trading posts, where European products were exchanged for gold, slaves, malaguetta, cotton and ivory. By the time the Prince died in 1460, the coast had already been explored up to Sierra Leone. The Prince's Image Dagoberto Markl had doubts concerning the traditional image of the Prince as the man with the large black hat. He identified him as a different person, which is also portrayed in the St. Vincent panels. The only representation that is known to be reliable is the one that is found on his tomb, in the Batalha Monastery.
The Birth According to the chronicler Fernão Lopes, the city of Porto had the privilege of being the birthplace of Prince Henry on 4 March 1394. A few days later he was baptised in the Cathedral. A parchment of that year bearing the receipt for the expenses with the festivities is kept in the Municipal Historical Archive. According to popular tradition, the Prince was born in the building of the old Royal Customs house, known today as Casa do Infante. Recent archaeological diggings have reinforced the idea, by revealing an impressive building, which also served as the residence for the “Almoxarife” – the official in charge of customs, who ceded lodgings to the Court because there was no royal residence in the city. The Ceuta Fleet In 1415, Prince Henry returned to Porto with the incumbency of preparing a fleet for the conquest of Ceuta. A large part of the fleet was prepared at the Miragaia shipyards, at the time considered by Fernão Lopes to be the most important in the country. Work was carried out round the clock. The city’s and surrounding areas’ inhabitants donated all the meat from the animals they slaughtered for the ship’s supplies, keeping only the animals’ tripe. This explains the name “tripeiros” given to those born in Porto. The Commemorations There is a monument at Praça do Infante honouring the person and the actions of the Navigator Prince. King Charles inaugurated it in 1900. It is the work of the sculptor Tomás Costa, who won the competition announced for commemorating the 5th Centenary of the Birth, in 1894. In 1960, the 5th Centenary of the Death of the Prince was remembered with a river Procession, recreating the departure for Ceuta. At Largo do Cálem, a monument by the sculptor Lagoa Henriques, honouring the city’s assistance to the Prince, was also inaugurated at the time. The handing over of Casa do Infante, after much restoration work, was part of the commemorations. In 1994, during the commemorations of the 6th Centenary of his birth, the City Council organised the Exhibition “Henrique o Navegador” (“Henry the Navigator”), aimed at showing the life, works and times of the Prince. Recreations, such as the baptism of the Prince and a Medieval Market, brought back the Middle Ages atmosphere to the city. The peoples and cultures with which contact was made during the Discoveries were represented by their music, in the “Ritmos do Mundo” (“Rhythms of the World”) shows. The Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race, which bore the name of the Prince that year, brought dozens of the world’s most beautiful sailing ships and thousands of visitors to Porto and livened up the river-front areas.
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