Algarve

“ The Algarve and parts of Alemtejo might belong to North-West Africa rather than to Europe. The Paiz do Vinho, on the Douro, and the Tagus near Abrantes, with their terraced bush-vines grown up the steep banks of the rivers, are often compared with the Rhine and the Elbe. The harbours of Lisbon and Oporto are hardly inferior in beauty to those of Naples and Constantinople. Apart from this variety, and from the historic interest of such places as Braga, Bussaco, Cintra, Coimbra, or Torres Vedras, the attractiveness of the country is due to its colouring, and not to grandeur of form. ”

“ I have noticed that the strongest shocks are always at daybreak. They say that the sea came up nine feet higher than the highest tide ever remembered in Portugal. On Sunday morning, November 2nd, I saw with the utmost amazement the Tagus, which in some reaches is more than two leagues wide, almost dried up on the city side; the other side was a feeble little stream through which one could see the bed. Almost the whole of Portugal has felt this scourge; the kingdom of Algarve, Santarem, Setubal, Oporto, Mafra, Obidos, Castanheira—indeed all the towns within twenty leagues are destroyed. ”

“ Traversing the luxuriant vineyards of Andaluzia, they followed for some time the course of the Gaudiana, then crossing its stream, they left its wild rocky banks far behind, entering upon that part of [Pg 128] Portugal which is denominated the kingdom of Algarve.
As Sebastian descended the steep heights that divide the two countries, the winds sweeping over his native land, came on his sense with imaginary sweetness: at every gale, the remembrance of former joys became more vivid, and his heart beat with additional impatience. ”

“ The monarchy owed its triumph to its championship of national interests, to the support of the municipalities and military orders, and to the prestige gained by the royal armies in the Moorish and Castilian wars. In 1263 Alphonso X. renounced his claim to suzerainty over Algarve, and thus the kingdom of Portugal simultaneously reached its present European limits and attained its complete independence. Lisbon was henceforth recognized as the capital. ”

“ There is no manufacturing or mining industry of any importance. The harbours are bad, and almost the whole foreign trade is carried on by ships of other nations, although the inhabitants of Algarve are reputed to be the best seamen and fishermen of Portugal. The chief exports are dried fruit, wine, salt, tunny, sardines and anchovies. The only railway is the Lisbon-Faro main line, which passes north-eastward from Faro, between the Monchique and Malhao ranges. ”

“ The navigable estuary of the Guadiana divides Algarve from Huelva, and its tributaries water the western districts. From the Serra de Malhão flow two streams, the Silves and Odelouca, which unite and enter the Atlantic below the town of Silves. In the hilly districts the roads are bad, the soil unsuited for cultivation, and the inhabitants few. Flocks of goats are reared on the mountain-sides. The level country along the southern coast is more fertile, and produces in abundance grapes, figs, oranges, lemons, olives, almonds, aloes, and even plantains and dates. ”

“ The much larger southern provinces, Alemtejo and Algarve, were to constitute the principality of the Algarves, for Godoy, under a similar tenure. And the middle provinces were to be occupied by Napoleon until a general peace, when, in exchange for Gibraltar, Trinidad, and any other Spanish possession conquered by England, they might be restored to the family of Braganza, upon like terms of dependence. The Portuguese colonies were to be equally divided between France and Spain. ”

“ Even in Lisbon the yearly variation is not less than 50°. In Alemtejo the climate is very unfavourable, and, though the heat is not so great as in Algarve (where Lagos has a mean of 63°) , the country has a more deserted appearance; while in winter when the Tagus overflows, unhealthy swamps are left. Notwithstanding that Algarve is hotter than Alemtejo, a profuse vegetation takes away much of the tropical effect. Portugal is very rarely visited by thunderstorms ”

“ Dwellers in the Algarve (Alfagher) , i.e., the extreme southern portion of Portugal, including Cape St. Vincent, the cities of Lagos, Faro and Tavira, and Sagres (off C. St. V.) , the special residence of the Prince himself. Later, the plural title "Algarves" was applied to this Province, in conjunction with the possessions of Portugal on the North African coast immediately fronting the Spanish peninsula, viz., Ceuta, "Alcacer Seguer," Anafe, Tangier, Arzila, etc.
16 (p. 10) . Moors ... ”

“ Alemtejo, with its monotonous plains and stunted vegetation, is almost African in its aspect, whilst Algarve, with its forests of olive-trees, groves of date-palms, agaves, and prickly cacti, presents us with tropical features. The mean temperature near the coast is probably no less than 68° F. The Serra de Monchique bars the cool winds of the north, whilst the sandy islands fringing a portion of the coast keep off refreshing sea breezes. The hottest wind of all is that which blows from the east. ”

“ Alphonso Henriquez, the son of this pair, was saluted King of Portugal by his soldiers on the battle-field of Castro-Verd, in the year 1139, his kingdom comprising all the provinces we now call Portugal, except the province of Algarve. Thenceforward the Portuguese became a separate nation from the Spaniards, and their language asserted for itself an independent existence. ”

“ Polybius, Ptolemy, Pliny, and Strabo have mentioned a people inhabiting Andalusia and the modern Algarve, differing from all their neighbours, speaking a peculiar language, using refined grammatical rules, and possessing inscribed monuments of antiquity, as also poems, and even laws in verse. ”

“ The inhabitants of Alemtejo are the most solemn of Portuguese, and even object to dancing. Very thinly scattered over the landes which they inhabit, they either engage in agriculture or follow their herds of pigs and sheep into the forests of holm-oaks and thickets of rock-roses. In summer they cross the Tejo with their pigs, and pasture them in the mountains of Beira. The population of Algarve, on the other hand, is thrice as dense as that of Alemtejo, and not only are fields, vineyards, and orchards carefully tended, but the sea likewise is made to yield a portion of its food. ”

“ The railways are even more deficient. When those in construction have been completed the total will amount to a little over two thousand miles. The whole of the south of Portugal is served by but one line, which goes from Lisbon (i.e., from Barreiro across the Tagus) to Faro, branching off midway to Evora and Villa Viçosa and again to Moura. The journey to Faro requires over twelve hours, with the result that Algarve is practically cut off from the capital. The desert of Sahara is scarcely more remote. A briefer route and a bridge over the Tagus at Lisbon are in contemplation. ”

“ Vincent, the south-western point of the Portuguese province of Algarve, met with a piece of wood ornamented with ancient sculptures, which he considered must have come from a continent not far off. Again, some fishermen had found near the island of Madeira, a sculptured post and some bamboos, which in shape resembled those found in India. The inhabitants of the Azores also, often picked up gigantic pine-trees, of an unknown species, and one day two human bodies were cast upon their shores, "corpses with broad faces," says the chronicler Herrera, "and not resembling Christians." ”

“ Alemtejo (a ̇-lān ̇-tā′zhō; 'beyond the Tagus') , the largest province of Portugal, and the most southern except Algarve; area, 9219 sq. miles; pop. 478,584. The capital is Evora. It has about 30 miles of coast, but no good harbour and no navigable river. Large areas are devoted to pasturage, and the cultivated portions are comparatively limited, though in the east there are fertile valleys where grain, fruits, &c., are cultivated. There are valuable cork forests in this portion also. Excellent horses are reared. Copper and iron mines are worked ”

“ The Venetians and the Genoese had been the great navigators of the Mediterranean, but the honour for exploring the coast of the Atlantic goes to the Portuguese. Spain and Portugal were full of that patriotic energy which their age-old struggle against the Moorish invaders had developed. Such energy, once it exists, can easily be forced into new channels. In the thirteenth century, King Alphonso III had conquered the kingdom of Algarve in the southwestern corner of the Spanish peninsula and had added it to his dominions. ”

“ Portugal was now to be divided into three very unequal parts: the largest portion, comprising Estremadura, Beira, and Tras-os Montes, was reserved for a future arrangement at the general peace, but meanwhile was to be held by France: Algarve and Alemtejo were handed over to Godoy; while the diminutive province of Entre Minho e Douro was flung as a sop to the young King of Etruria and his mother, a princess of the House of Spain, to console them for the loss of Etruria. ”

“ The largest, now inhabited, of a group of islets in the Gulf of Gaeta. (2) I.e. she-goat. (3) Between Liguria and Tuscany. (4) The Sicilian Vespers, Easter, 1282.
NOVEL VII. — The Soldan of Babylon sends one of his daughters overseas, designing to marry her to the King of Algarve. By divers adventures she comes in the space of four years into the hands of nine men in divers places. At last she is restored to her father, whom she quits again in the guise of a virgin, and, as was at first intended, is married to the King of Algarve. ”

“ Portugal had then reached her full extent in the peninsula, and she could no longer advance against the misbelievers by land. One is tempted to wonder that her advance beyond sea did not begin sooner. ♦Her African conquests, 1415-1471.♦ It came in the fifteenth century, when fifty years of conquest gave to Portugal her kingdom of Algarve beyond the Sea, an African dominion older than the Castilian conquest of Granada. ♦The Algarves.♦ The king of Portugal and the Algarves thus held the southern pillar of Hercules, while Castile held the northern. ”

“ Perhaps almost the only exceptions are the fortifications at Cintra, known as the Castello dos Mouros, the city walls at Silves, and possibly the church at Mertola. In Spain very many of their buildings still exist, such as the small mosque, now the church of Christo de la Luz, and the city walls at Toledo, and of course the mosque at Cordoba and the Alcazar at Seville, not to speak of the Alhambra. Yet it must not be forgotten that, while Portugal reached its furthest limits by the capture of the Algarve under Affonso iii. ”

“ Geology.—By far the greater part of Portugal is occupied by ancient rocks of Archean and Palaeozoic age, and by eruptive masses which probably belong to various periods. All the higher mountains are formed of these rocks, and it is only near the coast and in the plain of the Tagus that later deposits are found. The Mesozoic beds form an irregular triangle extending from Lisbon and Torres Novas on the south to Oporto on the north. There are also a narrow strip along the southern shores of the Algarve and a few smaller patches along the western coast. ”

“ I will open roads and canals, that agriculture and national industry may once more flourish. The Portugueze troops will soon form one family with the soldiers of Marengo, of Austerlitz, of Jena, and of Friedland; and there will be no other rivalry between them than that of valour and discipline. The good administration of the public revenues will secure to every one the reward of his labours. Public instruction, that parent of national civilization, shall be150 extended over the provinces, and Algarve and Beira shall each have one day its Camoens. ”

“ Algezira (the island) , anc. Mesopotamia (i.e. between the rivers) ; Algeciras (the islands) , in Spain; [7] Algarve (the west) ; Almansa (the plain) ; Almazara (the mill) ; Alhambra (the red) ; Alhucen (the beautiful) ; Alpuxarras (the grassy mountains) .
ALD, EALD (A.S.) ,
ALT (Ger.) ,
OUDE, OLDEN (Dutch) ,
old; e.g. Alton, Oldham, Althorpe, Alcaster, Aldwark (old dwelling, farm, camp, fortress) ; Audlem (old lyme or border) ; Audley (old field) , in England. In Germany: Altenburg, Altendorf, Oldenburg (old dwelling) ; Altenmarkt (old market) ; Altmark (old boundary) ; Altstadt (old place) ”

“ II THE TREATY OF FONTAINEBLEAU
TRAITÉ SECRET ENTRE S.M.I. NAPOLÉON, EMPEREUR DES FRANÇAIS, ROI D’ITALIE, ETC., ET SA MAJESTÉ CATHOLIQUE CHARLES IV, ROI D’ESPAGNE, ETC.
Art. 1er. La province entre Minhô et Duero, la ville d’Oporto y comprise, sera donnée en toute propriété et souveraineté à S. M. le roi d’Etrurie, avec le titre de roi de la Lusitanie septentrionale.
2. La province d’Alentéjo, et le royaume des Algarves, seront donnés en toute propriété et souveraineté au prince de la Paix, dont il jouira avec le titre de prince des Algarves. ”

“ Dom John, by the grace of God king of Portugal, and of the Algarves on this side and beyond the sea in Africa, lord of Guinea and of the conquest, navigation, and commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India. ”

“ M. G. Canale, Storia del Commercio, Viaggi, &c., degl' Italiani, book II., chap. x., etc., quoted by Payne, New World, 96.] Thus the associations of Portugal were with a line of seaboard states extending from England to Italy. After 1263 the maritime interests of the Portuguese kings became more distinct by their conquest from the Moors of the kingdom of Algarves, giving them a southern as well as a western sea-coast. [Footnote: Stephens, Hist. of Portugal, 81.] ”