Castelo e muralhas de Lagos (Lagos Castle and City Walls)
History
The city of Lagos has a very ancient history, with the first settlement in the area being the castro or fortified city of Lacóbriga, founded around 1899 BC, by the Conian people. The main site identified by archaeologists for the location of Lacóbriga is Monte Molião, where remains were found from prehistory to Roman rule. In the Lagos area, traces of Phoenician and Greek peoples were found. The town was conquered by the Carthaginians, who changed its location in the middle of the first millennium BC, to the site of the modern city of Lagos. The new settlement received, for its defense, a quadrangular wall.
The city was conquered by Roman forces in the 1st century BC, and at that time its name was changed to Lacobrica. Roman rule of Lusitania lasted until the middle of the first millennium, ending with the invasions of people from the East, first the Alans and then the Visigoths.
At the time of the Reconquista, it was initially conquered by the forces of King Sancho I (r. 1185–1211) in 1189. It was retaken in 1191 by the forces of the Almohad Caliphate under the command of Caliph Iacube Almançor (r. 1184–1199) and remained under Moorish control until its reconquest between 1241 and 1249. The Muslim inhabitants fled to North Africa, however, they destroyed the buildings in Lagos before leaving. Although the reconquest had ended, the Muslims continued the war across the ocean, frequently attacking Lagos and other maritime settlements in the Algarve.
In the same way that we do not have reliable information about the architectural evolution of defenses under Muslim rule, the same occurs for the first centuries of Christian rule. It is known that the works began under the reign of D. Afonso III (1248-1279), continuing during the time of D. Dinis (1279-1325) and D. Afonso IV (1325-1357). D. Afonso IV ordered the construction of a belt of walls around the city, which covered the area between Porta da Vila, the future Church of Santo António, the castle and Porta de São Gonçalo. A letter from 1332 from D. Afonso IV states that the walls had yet to be completed, which at that time extended from the Church of Santa Maria to the prison, on the edge of the town.
Reports have survived of the continuation of work during the period of D. Fernando (1367-1383). The last of these reports was issued during the Hundred Years' War, probably as part of a campaign to modernize defenses.
From here:
1415 - the Portuguese expedition to conquer Ceuta, in North Africa;
1419 – vessels for the discovery of Madeira Island;
1427 – vessels for the discovery of the Azores Archipelago;
1434 – Gil Eanes' vessel rounded Cape Bojador, on the west African coast;
1458 and 1472 – the expeditions of D. Afonso V (1438-1481) to conquer Alcácer-Ceguer, Arzila and Tangier in North Africa.
After the Philippine Dominion, the city of Lagos began a period of decline, which had negative effects on the defensive apparatus, whose work began to mainly involve reinforcing existing structures, although some new forts were built on the coast.
Subsequently, the city and its defenses would be severely affected by the tsunami that devastated the Algarve coast as a result of the 1755 earthquake. The resulting destruction was such that the civil and military governments were transferred to Tavira, which was less affected. At the end of the century, the city center was transferred from the old Praça de Armas (currently Praça Infante D. Henrique) to Praça do Cano (currently Praça Gil Eanes) (1798).
The 1755 earthquake devastated a large part of the city of Lagos, including the Castle, which was never rebuilt. Reports from the time say that the waters of the ocean rose to the height of the walls, which were completely destroyed in the parts where they hit.
In the second half of the 19th century, the city experienced a surge of expansion, with the installation of fish canning industries. During this phase, the Porta de Portugal and Porta dos Quartos were widened, as well as a fountain was erected in the Baluarte da Porta Nova (1863) and, subsequently, Porta do Postigo, Porta do Cais and Porta Nova (1888) were widened.
In the 20th century, Lagos was one of the main cities covered by the Centenary Celebrations program, having undergone major renovation works, including the restoration of the walls and their unblocking through the demolition of annex buildings, and the construction of an avenue that delineated the urban limits on the coastline. On August 7, 1960, Avenida dos Descobrimentos was inaugurated, as part of a large party in the city of Lagos, with the presence of Admiral Américo Tomás and the Brazilian president, Juscelino Kubitschek, who visited the Lagos castle.
From the second half of the 1950s onwards, the public authorities, through the General Directorate of Buildings and National Monuments, with a view to celebrating the Centenaries, carried out a broad intervention in the built heritage of Lagos, demolishing buildings attached to the old walls and bastions, rebuilding the Palace of Governors, rebuilding sections of walls and opening the Avenida das Descobertas, on landfill that increased protection between the city and the sea.
https://www.castelosdeportugal.pt/castelos/Castelos%28pre%29SECXII/lagos.html
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