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Lisbon: Imperial Capital

Type Object Region Portugal Time c. 1255–1580

In the 1540s Lisbon was the political, religious, and trade hub of Portugal's maritime empire, with the Tagus estuary port gathering fleets of spices…

Timeline

  1. c. 1498–1540Lisbon · Kingdom of PortugalAfter Vasco da Gama opened the India route, the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery were built, the Casa da Índia and spice warehouses expanded along the Tagus banks, and Lisbon became Europe's primary gateway for goods from the East.
  2. c. 1541–1550Lisbon · Kingdom of PortugalIn the 1540s Brazilian sugar and African gold were transshipped through Lisbon across Europe, and orders from the Estado da Índia and Brazil governorships issued from the royal palace; the Inquisition and Jesuit colleges reinforced Catholic authority, and the city was the concentration of imperial administration, finance, and missionary activity.
  3. c. 1550–1755Lisbon · Kingdom of PortugalThough Lisbon experienced the period of union with Spain from 1580, it maintained its status as an Atlantic trade hub from the 16th to 18th centuries; the urban layout that the Marquis of Pombal would rebuild after the earthquake already had its rudiments in the 1540s.

Sources