História do Condado de Vila Nova de Portimão (1465-1698)

Author: Dr. Nuno Campos Inácio
Category: Monograph

In August 1463, a group of thirty-four residents of the town of Portimão, joined by another six from Silves, asked for authorization to found a new town, which would be called São Lourenço da Barrosa. This has been wrongly pointed out as the founding moment of Vila Nova de Portimão. This is said incorrectly, because the town of Portimão has been documented since the 11th century, although always as a terminus and port of the city of Silves and not as an autonomous town.

In 1465, with the status of a town, the town of Portimão was given as Lordship to the Admiral of Portugal Rui Afonso de Melo, First Lord of Vila Nova de Portimão (1465-1467).

With the death of the Admiral, the Lordship returned to the Crown, but, in 1472, it was once again given to D. Gonçalo Vaz de Castelo Branco, Second Lord of Vila Nova de Portimão (1472-1495).

He was succeeded by D. Martinho Vaz de Castelo Branco Valente, Third Lord (1495-1527) and First Count (1514-1531) of Vila Nova de Portimão.

Divided into 23 chapters, this work covers the biography of each of its Lordships and Counts, with a historical and monographic note for each of these periods, with a chronological documentary survey.

In the opinion of historian Pedro Manuel Pereira, author of the preface: “This book that Nuno Inácio presents to readers is a monograph on Portimão, which tells an important slice of the history of this city and its people, a serious and thorough research work that is on the path of what Oliveira Marques defended.

It fills a serious gap in the field of historiography of this city, seat of a vast municipality, a territory that is linked to it by an umbilical cord.”