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TIMELINE / 1850 to After 1930 / PORTUGAL
Date
Country
Theme
1851
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
Lendas e Narrativas published by Alexandre Herculano (1810–77), a collection of historical short
stories set in the context of medieval times and the “Reconquista” process, the Iberian Christian
military movement to recover Muslim-occupied territories (10th–15th centuries).
1851 - 1868
Portugal
Political Context
Regeneration, led mainly by Minister Fontes Pereira Melo (who gives the period name – Fontism) is a
peaceful political cycle of global innovation started in 1851. The kingdom is tired of political unrest.
Conditions are created for the middle classes and foreign investors to support economic expansion,
the development of infrastructure and industrialisation.
1851
Portugal
Economy And Trade
Launch of an ambitious plan of modernisation and the stable Regeneration period mostly led by
Minister Fontes Pereira de Melo (1819–87) (and named Fontism after him) Infrastructure building,
industrial production and business laws are promoted. Porto wine production and trade thrives and
exports increase until the 1860s.
1851
Portugal
International Exhibitions
At “The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations“ in London, Portugal shows 1,293
products from almost all the regions.
1852
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
13 December: Under the framework of the Regeneration modernisation, the adoption of the decimal
metric system based on the legal mètre of France is decreed by Queen Maria II. This decree
establishes a ten-year deadline for its full enforcement, but the whole process will take longer than
that.
1852
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
Ato Adicional de 1852 (Additional Act) abolishes the death penalty for political crimes, which had not
been enforced since 1834. In 1867, in the reign of King Luís I, the abolition of the death penalty is
extended to all kinds of crime, except for those under military jurisdiction. Only in 1911 will total
abolition be proclaimed by the Republican regime.
1853
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
1 July: Portugal starts to use the first adhesive postal stamps on letters, postcards and parcels, in the
reign of Queen Mary II. Bearing the Queen’ s effigy they are inspired by the first British stamp.
1855
Portugal
International Exhibitions
Portugal is present at “Exposition Universelle des Produits de l’Agriculture, de l’Industrie et des
Beaux-Arts”, with 441 stands, exhibiting agricultural products and commodities. King Pedro V (1837–
61) has a pivotal role in boosting the national presence.
1856
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
The Portugaliae Monumenta Historica is published. Acknowledged as a historian, Alexandre Herculano
is commissioned by Academia das Ciências de Lisboa to compile this collection of old documents that
are at risk of disappearing and being dispersed throughout convent archives. He undertook this task
in 1853–54.
1856
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
Inauguration of the first Portuguese railway between Lisbon and Carregado, 36,454 km north of
Lisbon, by King Pedro V and innumerable guests, transported in 14 wooden carriages pulled by two
locomotives. The first train trip lasts 40 minutes. A steam engine is adapted to move the
locomotives.
1857
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
Creation of the Museum of the Geological Commission currently called the Museum of Geology of
Portugal. It is established under the auspices of the Geological Commission from specimens collected
by the Portuguese pioneers of geology Carlos Ribeiro, Nery Delgado, Pereira da Costa, Paul Choffat
and others.
1857
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
The public telegraph service becomes available, one year after its first official connection between the
Royal Palace and the Parliament. The Morse telegraph system is also used in the international
connection to the telegraphic network in Spain, on the border of Elvas and Badajoz.
1860
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
Under the liberal educational reforms, Lyceu Nacional de Aveiro (Aveiro High School) is the first
school in Portugal to occupy a building designed specifically for this function. Previously schools
occupied existing buildings, often old convents. The school had been created as Colégio de Aveiro in
1848.
1860
Portugal
Travelling
Travelling became a great cultural and social phenomenon with Romanticism. The “Grand Tour”
through the countries of the known world, namely around the Mediterranean, became a means of
developing cultural and social skills. Travel became refined and even a simple journey to the
countryside required such accessories as this travel case for meals.
1862
Portugal
International Exhibitions
The “International Exhibition on Industry and Art” in London distinguishes Portugal with 165 Medals
of Honor and 240 mentions.
1863
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Publication of the novel Amor de Perdição (Fatal Love) by Camilo Castelo-Branco (1825–90). Written
very quickly, this romance has everything to be a major work of passion: tragic intensity, speed of
action, balance of characters and simplicity of style.
1864
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
Creation of the Carmo Archaeological Museum by the Portuguese Association of Civil Architects,
which in 1867 adopts the title of Royal Association of Civil Architects and Portuguese Archaeologists.
The museum is located in the ruins of medieval Convento do Carmo, destroyed by the 1755
earthquake.
1864
Portugal
Economy And Trade
Banco Nacional Ultramarino is established in Lisbon, as the issuing bank for Portuguese overseas
territories. BNU has a significant role in supporting the economic development of the country and the
former colonies. Its savings, investment and issuing role facilitates the currency circulation
throughout them.
1864
Portugal
Economy And Trade
The unpopular tobacco monopoly is ended by parliamentary law. Hereafter tobacco will be auctioned
and exploited by those offering the best price to the state. Some of the main tobacco companies
merge into bigger companies to ensure its exploration. The Companhia Lisbonense de Tabacos,
founded in 1865, becomes a major player.
1865
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
1 May: Santa Apolónia Central Railway Station of Lisbon, connecting to the East and North Railways,
is inaugurated. It is sited in the north bank of the Tagus River, close to Praça do Comércio in Lisbon.
It is an example of 19th-century iron buildings.
1865
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
The stuccoes of the corridor of the Monserrate Palace are inspired by those of Alhambra Palace in
Granada. The profusion of columns is considered to recall those in the Hypostyle Hall of the Cordova
Mosque.
1865
Portugal
International Exhibitions
“A Exposição Internacional”, in Porto, is the first international exhibition organised in Portugal.
Designed by the English architect Thomas Dillen Jones, it follows the London model and was
conceived to accommodate the Portuguese International Exhibition.
1865
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Bom-senso e Bom-gosto (Good Sense and Good Taste) by Antero de Quental (1842–91) is an open
letter published as pamphlet, replying to and ridiculing the poetry of António Feliciano de Castilho
(1800–75) and urging young writers to take a revolutionary position instead. This controversy
became known as the "Questão Coimbrã” (the Coimbra Question).
1867
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
Febo Moniz published by Joaquim Pedro de Oliveira Martins (1845–94). Subtitled "Romance Histórico
Português do Século XVI", the action takes place in Lisbon in 1580. The protagonist is the prosecutor
Febo Moniz, the sole representative of the state to protest against the acclamation of Philip II of
Spain as King of Portugal.
1867
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
The opening of the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory, Portugal’s national observatory, which has legal
responsibility for national timekeeping. It is located in the Tapada da Ajuda, a green area in the west
of Lisbon.
1867
Portugal
Economy And Trade
First phylloxera disease reaches the Portugal countryside. Porto wine and Portuguese wine production
in general is reduced dramatically. This disease causes economic, financial and social distress and
leads to the abandonment of vineyard farms. The loss of revenues and unemployment increases
emigration, especially to Brazil.
1867 - 1880
Portugal
Economy And Trade
Phylloxera Commission created by the government in order to protect vineyards from the disease. To
combat the disease demands new methods of planting and production. New organisations of wine
producers claim from central government the preservation of regional varieties as well as the
definition and defence of Port and Douro wine “Denominação de Origem Controlada”.
1867
Portugal
International Exhibitions
At the “Exposition Universelle” in Paris, the Portugal Pavilion employs a neo-Manueline architectural
style. The exoticism is a symbol of the Portuguese Empire built by the discoveries of the 15th and
16th centuries.
1867
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Birth of the poet António Nobre (1867–1900). Só, written during his exile in Paris (1892), is the only
work published in his lifetime. The nostalgia of this work, a landmark of the symbolist movement, is
tempered by a certain self-irony, alternating a symbolist refined vocabulary with a more colloquial
one. He influenced the work of the main Portuguese modernists.
1867
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
Foundling wheels for babies left anonymously to be cared for were used between the 15th and the
19th century. From 1867 they are gradually abolished and replaced by asylums for orphans,
foundlings and abandoned older children. Organised childcare is promoted from 1870 through the
foundation of childcare centres and public support for families.
1867
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
July: The first Portuguese major Civil Code is entrusted to António Luís Seabra (1798–1895), the first
methodical code maker in Portugal. It is intended to meet the liberal need to regulate the juridical
system as happened with French Napoleonic Code. One of its main concerns is the regulation of civil
marriage. The Code will remain in force for nearly a century.
1868
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
The birth of José Viana da Motta (d. 1948). Pianist, composer, conductor and pedagogue, he studied
piano and composition in Berlin and performed in concerts around the world. He was professor of
Piano at the Conservatory of Geneva and Director of the Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa,
maintaining his concert career alongside teaching.
1870
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
Publication of Joao de Deus’s Cartilha Maternal, a beginner’s reading book that was to be in use for a
long time. João de Deus was a follower of Maria Montessori’s pedagogical theories and founded in
Portugal the “Escola Nova” movement.
1872 - 1874
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
O Desterrado (The Outcast), a sculpture by António Soares dos Reis (1847–89) is an idealised selfportrait. It conveys the collective feelings of his contemporary intellectuals and the feelings of
loneliness and longing common to those who had left their homeland. The sculptor’s romantic
sensibility enabled him to shape feelings and psychological tensions in the marble.
1873
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
A primary school building to be built in wood attracts the attention of visitors to the Portuguese stand
at the “Weltausstellung” (world exposition) in Vienna.
1875 - 1876
Portugal
Economy And Trade
In 1875 the French government convenes the Diplomatic Conference of the Metre that proclaims the
Metre Convention. Portugal receives the tenth copies of the metric and kilogram standards.
1875
Portugal
Travelling
Aware that Portuguese empirical knowledge of Central Africa was being overtaken by other countries,
the “Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa” is founded to "promote and assist the study and progress of
geography and related sciences in Portugal". To raise awareness of the colonial Portuguese
possessions in Africa and Asia was also a goal.
1876
Portugal
Political Context
Partido Histórico and Partido Reformista merge into the Partido Progressista in September. Power
alternation with the Partido Regenerador framed rotativism. They were able to carry out some urgent
reforms but in the end the system soon degenerated into political conformism.
1876 - 1881
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
The "Urban General Improvements Plan for Lisbon" (Commission of 1876–81) designs wide, straight
roads – modern boulevards – to define orthogonal blocks for buildings, with roundabouts,
pavements, vegetation and street furniture namely at Avenida 24 de Julho, Avenida da Liberdade and
covering the area from Picoas to Campo Grande.
1876
Portugal
International Exhibitions
“Centennial International Exhibition” Philadelphia, USA. Support for visitors and accommodation of
the Portuguese Commissariat were the main purposes of a stylish and exotic Portugal Pavilion.
1877
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
Ponte Dona Maria Pia, a bridge over the Douro River, completes the Lisbon–Porto railway line.
Designed by Gustave Eiffel and Théophile Seyrig, the bridge keeps the beauty of the Douro
unchanged. It was built where the banks are closer. It was named after the Queen.
1877
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Birth of Teixeira de Pascoaes (d. 1952). This poet was the main representative of the aesthetic and
doctrinal movement called “saudosismo”, a form of existentialism, and a leader of the movement
Renascença Portuguesa. In 1910 he launched in Porto the magazine A Águia, the main resource of
the “saudosismo” movement .
1877
Portugal
Travelling
Hermenegildo Capelo, Roberto Ivens and Serpa Pinto appointed to organise an expedition to southern
Africa. After a briefing by Silva Porto in Bié, they chose separate itineraries. Capelo and Ivens focus
on the Kwanza and Kuangu rivers and on the Yaka people. Serpa Pinto picks the Zambezi River and
eventually reaches the Transvaal.
1878
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
28 September: The first electric lighting on the terrace of the Citadel of Cascais to celebrate the 15th
birthday of future King Carlos I (ruling from 1889). A ball commemorates the electric lighting
premiere. The daily press celebrate the occasion, saying that the electric light turned the entrance
and the royal residence balconies into “a clear and luminous day’’.
1878
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
Opening of Lisbon Botanical Garden. During the 19th century Portugal aspires to reach the level of
economic and social “progress” of other European countries in, for example, education and teaching.
Natural History Museum and the Lisbon Botanical Garden were important institutions for scientific
research and the exchange and circulation of ideas and natural knowledge.
1878
Portugal
International Exhibitions
At the Paris “Exposition Universelle”, the Portuguese Pavilion sets up a sophisticated, emblematic
scenario, portraying the monasteries of Batalha and Jerónimos, two of the magnificent symbols of the
15th and 16th Portuguese Discoveries.
1879
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
11 October: The labour association Voz do Operário is founded in Lisbon by Custódio Gomes and
Custódio Braz Pacheco, two factory workers in the tobacco industry, to defend the rights of the
workers more disrespected and threatened than ever by the tobacco industry crisis of 1879.
1880
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
Celebration of the third centenary of the death of Luís de Camões. His poetry is considered the
epitome of Portuguese literature both for The Lusiads, the epic national poem in which Vasco da
Gama tells the history of Portugal to the Samorim (king) of Calcutta upon his arrival in India in 1498,
and for his love sonnets.
1880
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
The 11th International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology is held in Lisbon. This
important conference gives international recognition to the dynamism that Portuguese archaeology
has demonstrated since 1850.
1880
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
The remains of the poet Luís de Camões and the explorer Vasco da Gama are moved to the
Jerónimos Monastery. Vasco da Gama and Luís de Camões (north and south side respectively), the
two main representatives of the 16th-century The Lusiads epic poem, are honored and rest beside
members of the Avis dynasty buried in Jerónimos.
1880
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
3 October: Barbadinhos steam pumping station is inaugurated. The water from the Alviela Canal
starts to be pumped thus increasing the water supply to Lisbon.
1880
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Publication of the novella O Mandarim (The Mandarin) by Eça de Queirós (Queiroz) (1845–1900).
1881
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Publication of Portugal Contemporâneo, by Joaquim Pedro de Oliveira Martins (1845–94). Detailed
analysis of the events between 1826 and 1868, it is considered the most clear-sighted study of
Portugal in the 19th century. The author makes a general criticism of Portuguese liberalism,
presented as a historical account.
1881
Portugal
Travelling
With a thorough knowledge of the African hinterland, António da Silva Porto appeals to the Sociedade
de Geografia to sponsor a plan for the scientific and commercial exploitation of Africa. The remote
hinterland was about to be discovered by explorers and Africa’s boundaries defined by the colonial
powers.
1882
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
The concession for telephone lines is signed and they are first installed in Lisbon and Porto. The first
telephone list of Lisbon is published with 22 numbers located around 1.5 km from the telephone
exchange. Public telephone cabins were installed and opened from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. though always
available to firemen, police and doctors.
1882
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
White Houses of Capri by naturalist painter António Carvalho da Silva Porto (1850–93) represents the
new interest in travelling and other cultures.
1882
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
Inauguration of the first public kindergarten in Lisbon and Porto by followers of the Froebel method.
The pupils, aged from 3 to 7 years, are divided into four age groups, each with a classroom; the plan
includes a games room, toilets, offices and a refectory. The method respected the learning rhythm of
the children and created didactic tools.
1883
Portugal
Travelling
A Commission of Cartography is created to prepare an atlas of all Portuguese colonies and map three
expeditions to Africa. The first expedition (1884–85), undertaken by Roberto Ivens and Hermenegildo
Capelo, starts in Moçâmedes in Angola (in present-day Namibia) aiming to reach to the east coast.
The expedition members would face risks from hunger, cold, harsh nature, the wildlife and the tsetse
fly.
1884 - 1885
Portugal
Political Context
Berlin Conference called by Portugal to regulate European colonisation and convened by German
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The Portuguese government presents the "Pink Map”, a project uniting
the colonies of Angola and Mozambique through the corridor of land that separates them. The
proposal is rejected by England although endorsed by the majority of countries.
1884
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
Estacio Pharmacy in Porto founded in 1883 starts to produce the first pills for medication. The
preparation of manipulated medicines in the apothecaries of the Catholic monasteries and convents
(Boticas de Convento) is replaced by the production of medicines by laboratory pharmacies.
1884 - 1888
Portugal
Travelling
The Muatiânvua Expedition to Angolan’s Lunda territory led by Major Henrique de Carvalho provides
exceptional scientific data on meteorology, zoology, ethnography and linguistics and photographic
records. This second great expedition aims to counter the diversion of trade from Malanje to Zaire
implemented by other colonial countries.
1885
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
O Grupo Do Leão painted by Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro is a landmark in 19th-century painting both
for its quality and for its subject matter. The depicted group of artists in the Leão beer house were
linked to the Portuguese Naturalist and Realist painting movement. This work became famous and
marked the beginning of a period of great artistic activity.
1885
Portugal
International Exhibitions
“Exposition Universelle”, Antwerp. Sponsored by the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa and Banco
Nacional Ultramarino, the Portuguese Pavilion reflects a strong Islamic influence.
1885
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
The birth of Guilhermina Suggia (d. 1950). This great Portuguese cellist was a pupil of Pablo Casals,
with whom she lived for some years. The two were considered the world’s greatest cellists. She
played as a soloist with prestigious orchestras. She devoted the last years of her life to teaching but
continued to give concerts.
1885
Portugal
Travelling
20 September: After their return to Lisbon a triumphal reception was offered to Capelo and Ivens by
several Portuguese associations. During the solemn session organised by the Sociedade de Geografia
de Lisboa (SGL) at the Teatro Real de S. Carlos, following their lectures, the explorers receive the
SGL gold medal from King Luís I.
1885 - 1887
Portugal
Travelling
The third great expedition, undertaken by Serpa Pinto and Augusto Cardoso, aims to establish a
trade corridor between the eastern region of lakes, and the coast of Mozambique. Major Serpa Pinto
fell ill and was replaced by Augusto Cardoso who reached Quelimane after a journey of 2,500 km
lasting 20 months, during which some agreements were signed with African chiefs.
1885
Portugal
Travelling
21 June: the expedition of Roberto Ivens and Hermenegildo Capelo reaches Quelimane, Mozambique,
after 14 months. Throughout their 8,300 km expedition across the African hinterland, Ivens wrote
and drew sketches and maps, while Capelo collected specimens of plants, rocks and animals. The
constant desertions and sickness and death of the bearers increased the danger and uncertainty.
1886
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
Completion of the construction of Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon. Engineer Frederico Ressano Garcia
(1847–1911) followed Joseph Pezarat’s plans. Inspired by Haussmann’s Parisian boulevards, Avenida
da Liberdade is testimony to the economic boom of the Fontismo period, with new residential areas
built for investment and profit.
1886
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
Opening of D. Luís I road bridge over the Douro River in Porto. At the time this iconic bridge held the
record for the longest iron arch in the world (180 m.) It was a huge advance for the urban traffic
network since it allowed a road connection between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia over the Douro.
1886
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Augusto Hilário (1864–96), the quintessential fado singer of Coimbra, enrols at the University of
Coimbra and became a symbol of “Coimbra Serenade”. "Fado Hilário" is his best known work as a
composer and writer.
1887
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Publication of A Relíquia (The Relic) by Eça de Queirós. The novel criticises the hypocrisy of the
Portuguese society.
1887
Portugal
Travelling
The Naval Academy is founded for teaching and research on Portuguese tropical medicine. Its
purpose is to provide access to tropical medicine for general medical students and as a specialty for
naval doctors. The Academy had a small laboratory for some diagnostic tests.
1888
Portugal
International Exhibitions
Portuguese Industrial Exhibition in Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon.
1888
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Birth of Fernando Pessoa (d. 1935) is the classic author of Portuguese modernism. His books are
published under different names, which he called heteronyms (not pseudonyms), each one
corresponding to a cycle of experimental attitudes, which unfold in contradictions.
1888
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Publication of Os Maias by Eça de Queirós. A mature romance and perhaps his best known. Focused
on the saga of the Maia family through three generations, it debates the issue of the country’s
destiny, in the context of the Constitutionalist ennobled bourgeoisie, whose good intentions end up
capsizing.
1888
Portugal
Travelling
The neo-Manueline Palace of Bussaco, modelled on the Manueline Belém Tower of Lisbon is
commissioned by King Carlos I as a royal retreat. It combines the architectural fashion of castle
romanticism (German Burgenromantik) with the neo-Manueline gothic style that evokes the
Portuguese Discoveries.
1889
Portugal
Political Context
10 October: Coronation of King Carlos I (28 September 1863 – 1 February 1908) Despite the King’s
attempt to reform the political system, the growing urban influence of the Republican Party and the
people´s discontent were fostered by cash payments made to the Royal House.
1889
Portugal
International Exhibitions
At the Paris “Exposition Universelle” Bordalo Pinheiro’s (1846–1905) famous ceramics decorating the
interior of the Portuguese Pavilion are a main attraction for the cosmopolitan visitor.
1890 - 1908
Portugal
Political Context
The British Ultimatum (11 January 1890) pressures Portugal to withdraw from southern Africa
resulting in popular outrage and unrest. The bankruptcy of 1892, anti-monarchic sentiment against
King Carlos I, the cost of living and unfulfilled popular needs are major drivers of the Republican
movement.
1890
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
The railway station of Rossio (Lisbon) designed by the Portuguese architect José Luís Monteiro, begun
in 1886 and inaugurated on 23 November of 1890. Located in the historical centre, the Rossio station
follows the neo-Manueline architectural style and is an important building of the 19th-century late
Romantic style.
1891
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
October: Domitilia de Carvalho is the first woman to study at the University of Coimbra. She is
obliged to wear black, sober costumes and a discreet hat to go unnoticed among her male
colleagues. A brilliant student she graduated in mathematics (1894), philosophy (1895) and medicine
(1904).
1892
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
18 August: Praça de Touros do Campo Pequeno (Campo Pequeno Bullring) opens its doors with a
gala show. Built in an area assigned to the Casa Pia (educational establishment for children in need)
by the city of Lisbon in 1889 the bullring was designed by the architect António José Dias da Silva
(1848–1912) and inspired by Madrid's bullring.
1892
Portugal
Economy And Trade
13 June: bankruptcy is declared in Portugal causing tremendous popular outrage. The deficit in the
public finances, the dependence on foreign funding and incipient industrialisation are contributing
factors to this crisis.
1893
Portugal
Rediscovering The Past
Creation of the Portuguese Ethnological Museum, which in 1906 opened its doors to the public at the
Jerónimos Monastery in the Belém area of Lisbon. The museum is currently designated the National
Museum of Archaeology.
1895
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
The first car in Portugal, a Panhard et Levassor, is personally imported from Paris by the fourth Count
of Avilez. The Lisbon Customs did not know how to tax this awkward item. Was it a farm machine or
a locomotive? They chose the second option. Count Jorge Avilez drove from Lisbon to his farm in
Santiago do Cacém at 15 km an hour.
1896
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
First X-ray made in Portugal by Henrique Teixeira Bastos, Professor of Physics at Coimbra University.
In 1895 Roentgen had discovered X-rays and the news was published in Portugal in the newspaper
Novidades in January 1896. This first X-ray of the right hand of a boy with bone tuberculosis was
made one week after.
1898
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
The teaching of astronomy as an individual science starts, taking advantage of the astronomy
teaching experience acquired since 1837 at the Lisbon Polytechnic School. This school was meant to
provide training for cartography surveys and military preparation.
1898
Portugal
Economy And Trade
Industrialist Alfredo da Silva refounds CUF (Companhia União Fabril), in Barreiro in the beginning of
the 20th century. CUF produced soap, candles and vegetable oils, later becoming a leader of the
fertilizer and other chemical products sector. Da Silva gave residential quarters and free education to
all his employees nationwide.
1900
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
By this year Portugal has 8,345 km of telegraphic lines and 443 telegraphic stations. The telegraph is
an urban phenomenon hand in hand with city development. Due to the demand for telegraphic
operators, several schools were created. Submarine cables assured the telegraphic service between
Portugal and the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Africa.
1900
Portugal
International Exhibitions
At the Paris “Exposition Universelle et Internationale”, the Portuguese pavilion is called “Portugal and
Portuguese Overseas Colonies”. Inside, on the ground floor, are two main exhibitions: one on the
works of João Vaz (1859–1931) painter of harbours and fishing scenes, the other on natural forest
products such as cork.
1901
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
31 August: Inauguration of the first electric tram route in Lisbon, connecting Cais do Sodré to
Ribamar (Algés). The more efficient electric tramway, with tracks, overhead power lines and the
construction of Santos Central Power Station, replaces the popular “Americanos” horse-drawn trams
of Lisbon.
1901
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
The Sociedade Promotora de Belas Artes (1861) and the Grémio Artístico (1890) created by the
Grupo do Leão (1880) merge into the National Society of Fine Arts (SNBA) headed by Malhoa
Columbano and António Ramalho. In Porto, the Centro Artístico Portuense (CAP) (founded in 1870)
did not survive the death of the painter Silva Porto in 1903.
1901
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Posthumous publication of the Livro de Cesário Verde, a compilation of the poetry of Cesário Verde
(1855–86) by his friend, Silva Pinto, author of the Preface. An original poet who described a world
previously unknown to poetry, Cesário Verde completely modernised the traditional style of the
Portuguese lyricism.
1902
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
Opening of Santa Justa Lift, an iconic example of iron architecture. Planned since 1874, it was
designed to bridge the 25 metre gap in height between Ouro and Carmo streets, thus making
pedestrian traffic between Lisbon’s hills easier. The inauguration of the gangway by King Carlos I is
held on 10 July.
1902
Portugal
Travelling
Inauguration of the Escola de Medicina Tropical de Lisboa (Lisbon Academy of Tropical Medicine),
founded like its European counterparts to provide specialised training, spread knowledge and
undertake field research. One of its main subjects was sleeping sickness for whose treatment the
Academy undertook five field missions (1904–11) to São Tomé and Mozambique.
1904
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
Avenida Ressano Garcia, a main residential area and development axis opens in the north of Lisbon
as part of the “Avenidas Novas” plan. Part of a later phase of the Lisbon Improvements Plan, led by
Frederico Ressano Garcia, it also included sanitation improvement. Today the street is known as
Avenida da República.
1906
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
Opening of the Lyceu Maria Pia, Lisbon, the first secondary school for girls. Though planned since
1887, female access to secondary level education faced lengthy resistance from Parliament. In 1888
the government was authorised to set up girls’ secondary schools run by district, municipal and
charitable entities in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra.
1907 - 1920
Portugal
Cities And Urban Spaces
In Aveiro, art nouveau buildings are associated with a local middle class looking for cultural and
social status. Some are “brasileiros”, coming back from Brazil to their homeland, and investors in
trade and industrial businesses, thus contributing to local economic development. The art nouveau of
Aveiro is inspired by French patterns.
1908
Portugal
Political Context
1 February: The assassination of King Carlos I and his heir-apparent Prince Royal Luis Filipe in
Terreiro do Paço in central Lisbon, fomented by, among other things, the King’s appointment of João
Franco as head of government in 1906; with the King’s consent he set up a dictatorship one year
later. Queen Amelia and Prince Manuel escape and the prince is enthroned as King Manuel II.
1910
Portugal
Political Context
The Republic is proclaimed in Lisbon on 5 October. King Manuel II is forced to exile in England
together with his mother Queen Amelia who ends up in her homeland France. A Provisional
Government is set up, headed by Teófilo Braga, a well-known respected jurist and writer. The new
cabinet ruled until the first republican Constitution was enacted.
1911
Portugal
Political Context
April: First Republican Constitution enacted. Manuel de Arriaga is elected as the first President. It is
believed that the Republic will address the economic crisis and promote progress. Though bringing
together political forces, the regime is too vague to achieve the necessary economic and social
reforms and soon ends up in political fragmentation and infighting.
1911
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
The painters Dórdio Gomes (1890–1976) and Guilherme de Santa Rita (1889–1918) introduce
modernism in Portugal. Largely unaccepted by the critics, as was happening in other European
countries, the main focus of the modernists was to fight against the conservatism of techniques and
themes still cherished by Portuguese art consumers.
1911
Portugal
Reforms And Social Changes
28 May: Carolina Beatriz Angelo (1878–1911), a gynaecologist, succeeds in voting in the 1911
elections. Challenged at the poll because she is a woman and therefore ineligible to vote, she insists,
replying that she is “a doctor, over 21 and head of a family” and therefore she fulfils all the
conditions required to vote. The electoral law is revised soon after this event.
1911
Portugal
Travelling
12–20 May: The 4th International Congress of Tourism is held in Lisbon organised in collaboration
with the Sociedade de Propaganda (founded 1906). Before the end of the meeting (18 May), the
provisional government of the newly proclaimed Portuguese Republic (5 October 1910) creates a
Bureau of Tourism at the Ministério do Fomento (Ministry of Development).
1912
Portugal
Great Inventions Of The 19th
Century
The first Portuguese experimental psychology laboratory is created in the new Faculty of Humanities
of the University of Coimbra by Professor Joaquim Augusto Alves dos Santos (1866–1924). The
laboratory enabled the development of research on knowledge and memory and had a major impact
on pedagogy and republican didactics.
1912
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
A reaction to academic teaching of the National Society of Fine Arts (SNBA) emerges in 1911 with the
first free exhibition of young modernist painters. This is highlighted in the first Exhibition of the
Humoristas of 1912, which includes painters Cristiano Cruz, Almada Negreiros, Eduardo Viana, Stuart
de Carvalhais, José Pacheko and Emmerico Nunes and sculptor Diogo de Macedo.
1913 - 1914
Portugal
Political Context
Afonso Costa is appointed Prime Minister. Republican achievements fall short of people’s
expectations, fuelling the resistance of monarchists, capitalists and landlords. Inflation, public debt,
trade deficit, strikes, the rise of anarcho-syndicalism, middle-class disillusion, and fear of communism
will invite the establishment of the 1915 military dictatorship.
1913
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
February–March: Amadeo Sousa Cardoso, at the invitation of Walter Pach (1883–1958), exhibits
eight works at the Armory Show (1st Show of European Art, USA) in New York, Chicago and Boston.
The Chicago art collector Arthur J. Eddy acquires three paintings by Cardoso and promotes his work
in his book Cubists and Post-Impressionism book, emphasising his colour techniques.
1914
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
With the outbreak of World War I, the modernist movement thrives in Portugal with the return from
France of a group of avant-garde artists including the painters Manuel Bentes (1885–1961), Eduardo
Viana (1881–1967), José Pacheko (1885–1934) and Amadeo de Souza Cardoso, and the sculptors
Diogo de Macedo (1889–1959), and Francisco Franco (1885–1955).
1914 - 1926
Portugal
Economy And Trade
Crisis of the First Republic (1914–26). Lack of political stability due to the absence of parliamentary
majorities able to undertake much-needed reforms, together with the political consequences of
Portugal’s participation in World War I from 1916, contributes to the deterioration of the economic
situation, hastening the fall of the Republican regime.
1915
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
In the 1910s several modernist painters such as Eduardo Viana rejected the current teaching of
academic naturalism, still deeply rooted in the national taste. Their focus was the cubism, futurism
and Dada movements in Paris, but also the Orphism of French painters Sonia and Robert Delaunay,
living in Portugal in 1915–16.
1915
Portugal
Music, Literature, Dance And
Fashion
Publication of the only two issues of Orpheu magazine, thanks to the contribution of the most gifted
figures of the modernist group. Without anything specifically programmatic, the magazine shows an
iconoclastic irreverence, seeking notoriety by scandalising those holding traditional attitudes and
customs.
1916
Portugal
Political Context
Germany declares war on Portugal. Portugal enters World War I, complying with international
commitments in Europe and defending the Portuguese strategic possessions in Africa, mainly Angola
and Mozambique. The Portuguese army fought on the western European Front and in the south of
Angola (border with Namibia) and the north of Mozambique (Nevala).
1917 - 1968
Portugal
Political Context
Major Sidónio Pais takes power on 5 December and is elected President on 21 April 1918. Continuous
unrest leads to a military coup by General Gomes da Costa in 1926 followed by a dictatorship.
António de Oliveira Salazar become Finance Minister (1928–32) and then Prime Minister until 1968.
The Estado Novo dictatorship lasted for 48 years.
1920
Portugal
Fine And Applied Arts
Although it reproduces a traditional technique, the use of azulejo (ceramic tilework) meets the need
for modernisation of shops and public buildings in main cities throughout Portugal at the beginning of
the 20th century.