Lisbon was wrecked in 1755 by what is believed to be the strongest Earthquake ever to strike modern Europe, it was then hit by a tidal wave the size of a double decker bus.
The city was rebuilt in a more airy, grid-like pattern.
Bombay is from Bom Bahia, good Bay in old Portuguese
The Lusiads are the great work of Portuguese literature. They Detail Vasco Da Gama and his journey along with a lot of other Portuguese history.
No one knows much about Camões, how long he lived, where he was buried, etc.
Lisbon, like many cities, was defined by how it was rebuilt after its great disaster. If you had a great architect lead the way, then you were set up for hundreds of years of success. Same with periods of plenty (like trade with India)
By the mid-16th century, there were almost 10k black Slaves in Lisbon, representing around 10% of the city’s population
Portugal trafficked nearly double the amount of slaves as the UK
Eusébio was so good, Salazar decreed that he couldn’t be sold
The King of Portugal was so shaken by the Earthquake that from then on he lived in the wood and canvas tents for fear of falling masonry and did not return to the city center for 6 years.
The crown could not afford to lose Brazil as it was what made Portugal economically viable
Aterro da Boavista was a huge mid-century earthwork that reclaimed land from the river and created an embankment
Frederico Ressano Garcia helped make Lisbon a modern city. He took his cue from Baron Haussmann’s ambitions in Paris and Ildefonso Cerda’s work in Barcelona.
Lisbon’s first department store opened a century after ones in Paris and London
Salazar wanted to preserve Portuguese culture in amber and banned Coca-Cola
He brought annual growth to 6%.
One of Portugal’s modern pieties is that the revolution was wholly good and Salazar was wholly bad
Alves dos Reis connect London money printers into issuing 200,000 notes of 500 escudos. They were genuine bank notes. The total amount issued was equivalent to a staggering 1 per cent of Portugal’s annual GDP.
In the mid 1950s, an estimated 1.6 million people emigration from Portugal, more than 10% of its population.