Photos

Another one posted with the pretext of "Learning about the world through photography" that is also my 100th post of Alentejo. In fact, there are already a couple of good posts by riclopes with much the same view [1, 2], but let's just pretend that this POV is completely different. :-)

The name of this little town is linked with an important period of the Portuguese History. The place was the seat of the military and religious Order of Avis, which had an important role in the Reconquista, the conquest of lands ruled by Muslim with North African (Moors) and Arab roots by the Christian Portuguese kings. Like other chivalry orders, they helped not only militarily, but also administering and repopulating vast tracts of the territory with great political, judicial and economic autonomy.

Avis is also the name of the dynasty that ruled during the Portuguese Discoveries. That dynasty began when the Master (leader) of the Order of Avis ascended to the throne as D. João I, during the 1383-1385 dynastic crisis that broke out after the former king died leaving no male heirs, just a few months after her eldest daughter married the king of Castilla, the powerful neighbour and eternal rival of Portugal for the supremacy in Iberian Peninsula. The result was a bloody war between Portugal and Castilla, in which some Portuguese (supposedly mostly from the upper, noble classes) aligned with the Castillians. It was during this war that the oldest diplomatic alliance between two countries, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, was consolidated with the Treaty of Windsor signed in 1386. The English sent troops to help the new Portuguese King, namely some much skilled archers that had much experience in the battles of 100 Years War.

King João, the former Master of Avis, married an English noble woman, Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and sister of King Henry IV of England. She is popularly described as an unusually educated woman who was much responsible for the high level of education of her children in a time that most noble men barely knew how to read and write.

Their eldest son, Duarte, who succeeded his father as king, became known as "The Philosopher" and "The Eloquent", because of his distinct education. He wrote a couple of books, one about moral and ethics and another one about horsemanship. He was also a poet and was involved in a major revision of the law codes when he died.

Another famous son of the couple was Infante D. Henrique (Henry the Navigator), the master of another military order, the Order of Christ, the successor of the fabled Templar Knights in Portugal (contrarily to what happened in other countries, the Templars weren't banished in 1312, they only changed their name). Henrique is supposed to have been the main instigator of the conquest of Ceuta, the important port town in the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, an event that took place in 1415 and it is usually pointed as the start of the Portuguese ultramarine expansion that shows the strategic vision of Henrique to control the commerce in the Atlantic, a quest that would then expand to the control of the commerce with the East, which began 50 years after his death with the first sea voyage of Vasco da Gama to India (BTW: Vasco da Gama was also born in Alentejo, in a place not far from the small town of Cuba that claims to be the birthplace of Christopher Columbus :-). Henrique lead the discoveries, which began with the discovery and colonization of the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores and proceeded throughout the Western coast of Africa. To do that, he gathered a team of the best experts in every science and techniques related with sea navigation (ship building, Astronomy, Geography, Mathematics, etc.), helping turning Portugal the most powerful sea power in the world the following 150 years.

Note about the long note: I hope you don't feel obliged to read my long notes like this one. 8-) I often let myself be carried away... and then and don't know what I should cut. Much like criticizing photos is a great exercise to develop our skills of observation, writing notes like this one is an exercise for me to consolidate, rememorate and also improve my knowledge of History and Geography.

WS: Alternative crop - I really don't know which one I prefer. What do you think?

Location of the POV (latitude, longitude): 39.0628,-7.8967