While many fold the size and
population of Sagres, its past has followed a similar fate. Located on the
southern Iberian shoreline of the Atlantic, Lagos, like its western neighbour,
became vulnerable to frequent attacks, first by Sir Francis Drake during the
late 1580’s and later, Barbary
pirates from North Africa. In addition, it was bombarded by the Spanish during the Portuguese Restoration War (1640-1668) - which led to a chain of forts along the coast - while there was no escaping the earthquake and tsunami of 1755, which destroyed much of the town’s walls and buildings. As a result, the town suffered a long decline, for almost two centuries, until the tourism boom in the early 1960’s. Since then, Lagos’s tourist-friendly beaches, picturesque plazas and vibrant nightlife have gradually transformed it into a major resort.
pirates from North Africa. In addition, it was bombarded by the Spanish during the Portuguese Restoration War (1640-1668) - which led to a chain of forts along the coast - while there was no escaping the earthquake and tsunami of 1755, which destroyed much of the town’s walls and buildings. As a result, the town suffered a long decline, for almost two centuries, until the tourism boom in the early 1960’s. Since then, Lagos’s tourist-friendly beaches, picturesque plazas and vibrant nightlife have gradually transformed it into a major resort.
A far cry from the alluring white-walled square (Praça Infante Dom Henrique), I visited on my way through town, was the former site of Europe’s first slave market, the Mercado de Escravos. Only metres from the square, dominated by yet another statue of Henry the Navigator, the innocuous-looking, two-storied building, with its four Romanesque arches, is a pitiful reminder of the atrocities associated with human exploration.
Opened in 1444, the market
provided the gateway for the first Moorish slaves to be dispersed throughout
post-medieval Europe. Contributing a considerable amount of wealth for the
Portuguese monarchy and not least the richer merchants of Lisbon, they were
sold to the highest bidders for their cheap labour. A major sponsor of these
‘slave-gathering’ expeditions, to Morocco and the west coast of Africa, Henry
supposedly received one-fifth the price for every slave sold. Obviously,
guilt-free, with the knowledge that Pope Eugene IV would absolve anyone who captured
Moorish slaves as a part of the Holy Crusade, his caravels were soon
transporting as many as 800 slaves each year from southern Morocco, Mauritania
and Sene-Gambia.
While today in far better
shape than its dark days after the 1755 earthquake, when waves pummelled the
top of its walls, Lagos never regained the political significance that it lost
during this moment in time. The following year, Faro, with its more intact
historic centre, to the east, became the Algarve’s new administrative capital
and remains so to this day.
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