Get to know Setúbal
A history of development and connection with the sea.
The records of human occupation in the territory of the municipality date back to prehistory, having been collected, in several places, numerous traces since the Neolithic period.
With the Roman presence, in the 1st to 4th centuries of our era, Cetóbriga was born, an important urban and industrial center, mainly linked to the salting of fish, which extended along the two banks of the Sado River, integrating Troia.
During the barbarian invasions and the Arab occupation, the inhabited area was gradually abandoned due to the advance of the sands. Watchtowers like Palmela, more sheltered ports, like Alcácer do Sal, and fertile valleys, like Azeitão, were the places chosen by Muslim invaders to settle.
After the conquest of Palmela from the Moors and the establishment of the Order of Santiago da Espada, Setúbal was repopulated, first on the hill of Santa Maria and, progressively, in the low zone that extends to the current Bairro de Troino. In 1249, he received the first charter from D. Paio Peres Correia, master of the Order.
The territorial affirmation
Setúbal, with a relatively small territorial extension, had to assert itself, fighting with the neighboring municipalities of Palmela, Santiago do Cacém and Alcácer do Sal, already constituted. With the difficulties presented by the inhabitants, with regard to the entry and sale of products brought from Sesimbra, Palmela and Alcácer, the master of Santiago, D. Garcia Peres, in 1343, executed a letter from D. Afonso IV, who delimited the term of Setúbal, and a curtain of walls was built.
Throughout the 15th century, the town developed economic activities, linked mainly to industry and commerce, earning high returns from the duties charged for entering the port. The first Franciscan convents, one of them the Convento de Jesus, were built in Setúbal during that century.
The Age of Discovery brought great development, with D. Afonso V, in 1458, departing from the port of Setúbal to conquer Alcácer Ceguer.
The construction of an aqueduct in 1487, which led the water to the village, started by D. João II, ended in the reign of D. Manuel. This monarch reformed the town charter in 1514, due to the progress and demographic increase that Setúbal had recorded over the last century.
The title of “remarkable villa”
This designation was granted in 1525, by D. João III. It was this title that led to the creation, in 1553, by letter from the archbishop of Lisbon, D. Fernando, of two new parishes, S. Sebastião and Anunciada, which joined the already existing S. Julião and Santa Maria.
About two kilometers from the center of Setúbal, King D. Filipe II ordered the construction of a fortress – S. Filipe -, whose work began in 1582. At the beginning of the 18th century, the people of Setúbal asked that S. Francisco Xavier be elected patron of the city. The 1755 earthquake destroyed and damaged many buildings, with the parishes located in the lower area of Setúbal being the most affected.
A tremor that led to growth
Throughout the 19th century, economic and social development transformed the town into one of the most important commercial and industrial centers in the country. The elevation to the city took place in 1860, by royal letter, after the request of the Chamber, two years earlier, to King D. Pedro V.
At that time, the Barreiro / Setúbal railroad was inaugurated and, in 1863, gas lighting. Landfill works on the river began, giving rise to Avenida Luísa Todi. Setúbal was elevated, in 1926, the district seat and, in 1975, the head of the diocese.
It is now also a district capital, home to a municipality with 230.33 km² in area and 121 184 inhabitants, subdivided into 5 parishes:
- Azeitão;
- Gambia-Bridges-Alto da Guerra;
- Sado;
- San Sebastian;
- Union of Parishes of Setúbal.
The municipality is limited to the west by the municipality of Sesimbra, to the northwest by Barreiro, to the north and east by Palmela and, to the south, the Sado estuary separates it from the municipalities of Alcácer do Sal and Grândola. The peninsula of Tróia, belonging to Grândola, is located in front of the city, between the Sado estuary and the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
This is undoubtedly the perfect setting for the birth of the new Knowledge City in the Lisbon metropolitan area. A new milestone to add to your story.
