Port city of Lisbon

Timeline

1. 1495–1521Lisbon · LisbonAfter da Gama opened the route to India, spice fleets entered port via the Tagus; Manueline buildings such as the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery were built, and Lisbon became one of Europe's wealthiest ports.
2. 1551–1560Lisbon · LisbonPortugal still controlled the networks of Brazilian sugar, African gold, and Asian spices; Lisbon's harbor gathered carrack merchantmen and the customs house; though it would unite with Spain in 1580, in this decade the port, mint, and navigation school still served the logistics of the transoceanic empire, a core node on Europe's Atlantic trade axis.
3. 1560–1755Lisbon · LisbonUnder Spanish rule (1580–1640) and after the Restoration, Lisbon continued to operate as an imperial port; the city expanded along the hillsides, trading houses and foreign merchant communities were active, until the 1755 earthquake reshaped the urban layout.