Mapa dos Reynos de Portugal e Algarve

Title

Mapa dos Reynos de Portugal e Algarve

Description

Map shows the southern part of Portugal (Sintra, Setùbal, Èvora, Sines, Lagos, Tavira, ...) with partly Spain (Gibraltar, Seville, Mèrida, Badajoz, ...) and a splendid title cartouche with the Portuguese coat of arms.

ca. 1770

Artist

Rizzi Zannoni (1736-1814)

Historical Description

Portugal is the oldest state on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in Europe, its territory having been continuously settled, invaded and fought over since prehistoric times. The pre-Celtic people, Celts, Carthaginians and Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigoths and Suebi Germanic peoples. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. During this period, today referred to as the Age of Discovery, Portuguese explorers pioneered maritime exploration, notably under royal patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator and King John II, with such notable voyages as Bartolomeu Dias' sailing beyond the Cape of Good Hope (1488), Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India (1497–98) and the European discovery of Brazil (1500). During this time Portugal monopolized the spice trade, divided the world into hemispheres of dominion with Castille, and the empire expanded with military campaigns in Asia. However, events such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the country's occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, the independence of Brazil (1822), and a late industrialization compared to other European powers, erased to a great extent Portugal's prior opulence.