Lissabona / Lisabon

Title

Lissabona / Lisabon

Description

Map shows the city of Lisbon from the sea as bird´s eye view.

ca. 1750

Artist

Leopold (1699-1755)

Johann Christian Leopold (1699-1755) was a German engraver and music publisher. Leopold was the son of the engraver and publisher Joseph Friedrich Leopold. Between 1710 and 1750, the family of publishers published countless prints and views of cities. With the death of his father, he took over the publishing house. Leopold collaborated with, among others, the Rococo painter Gottfried Bernhard Göz, as well as Johann Jacob Lotter. Numerous sepia-toned views of the city of Augsburg bear the designation "Aug. Vind." (Augustae Vindelicorum), the Roman name of the city. They are accompanied by an outline of the city's history in Latin/German.

Historical Description

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and one of the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris, and Rome by centuries. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Most of the Portuguese expeditions of the Age of Discovery left Lisbon during the period from the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century, including Vasco da Gama's expedition to India in 1498. The 16th century was Lisbon's golden era: the city was the European hub of commerce between Africa, India, the Far East and later, Brazil, and acquired great riches by exploiting the trade in spices, slaves, sugar, textiles and other goods. The succession crisis of 1580, initiated a sixty-year period of dual monarchy in Portugal and Spain under the Spanish Habsburgs. In 1589 Lisbon was the target of an incursion by the English Armada led by Francis Drake, while Queen Elizabeth supported a Portuguese pretender in Antonio, Prior of Crato, but support for Crato was lacking and the expedition was a failure. The period from 1640 to 1668 was marked by periodic skirmishes between Portugal and Spain, as well as short episodes of more serious warfare, until the Treaty of Lisbon was signed in 1668. In the early 18th century, gold from Brazil allowed King John V to sponsor the building of several Baroque churches and theatres in the city. November 1755, the city was destroyed by another devastating earthquake. Since that time, it was the largest city in Europe.After the 1755 earthquake, the city was rebuilt largely according to the plans of Prime Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo. In the first years of the 19th century, Portugal was invaded by the troops of Napoléon Bonaparte, forcing Queen Maria I and Prince-Regent to flee temporarily to Brazil. Lisbon was the site of the regicide of Carlos I of Portugal in 1908, an event which culminated two years later in the First Republic.