The Algarve's rich past

The Algarve is a region with a rich and turbulent past: it has been the scene of many major events that have shaped Portugal into the country it is today. Learn more about the region you are vacationing in with this article: you will learn about the history of the charming Algarve region from antiquity to the present day.

Today, the region of Portugal, with Faro as its regional capital, has long been under the aegis of foreign powers, who have installed real annexes to their country's central power.

Ancient times: Roman rule

Throughout history, the region has been under the aegis of several people, who have taken advantage of its geographical location, the last stop for vessels coming from the Atlantic Ocean prior to their entry into the Mediterranean Sea. 

The Algarve was part of the Roman Empire for almost 600 years, from 200 BC to 410 AD, most of it as part of the province of Lusitania. At the time, the aim was to develop exports of olive oil, a product still widely grown in the region. In addition, the Romans took advantage of the crossroads situation in the centre of the region's maritime routes to develop its trade.

The region passed its control of Wisigoth, a Germanic people, in 469, until the Muslim invasion in 711.

The Arab-Muslim era and the Portuguese reconquest: from the 8th to the 15th century

After having conquered the Maghreb, the Moors conquered the Iberian Peninsula, of which the Algarve region is a part. The name of the region derives from the Arabic "al-Gharb al-ndalus", literally "Western Andalusia", of which it will retain only the first part "al-Gharb", "the West". 
The Emirate's capital is located in Cordoba and covers more than half of the Portuguese and Spanish territories. The caliphate shattered at the beginning of the 11th century.

The Reconquest, also known as the Reconquista, took place from the 8th to the 15th century in the region of the Iberian Peninsula: Catholic kings tried to regain control of cities under Arab control, from north to south.

The Algarve was reclaimed in the 13th century by King Alfonso III, who took the city of Faro in 1249. In the last moments of the Reconquest, the region under Arab domination was tiny and represented a simple strip of land in the south of the country, hence the current name of the region.

Since the 15th century, a coveted region and a source of tension

From 1406 onwards, the Algarve became a comarca, i.e. a territorial division of the Kingdom of Portugal. 
From then on, many religious conflicts aimed at dominating the region took place, particularly with regard to the power of the pope. The region was also the scene of military operations during the Seven Years' War (between 1756 and 1763), due to its strategic geographical position.

In 1807, the region was invaded by Napoleon I's troops. These were pushed back and in 1815, the country became the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and made Rio de Janeiro its capital. The monarchy fell in the 20th century and the First Portuguese Republic was born in 1911, of which the Algarve is a part. 

During the Salazar dictatorship, between 1932 and 1968, the region suffered greatly from the introduction of a tax on tourist buildings. Indeed, tourism is already the main source of income in the region (and represents more than 50% of its GDP today) and tourism infrastructure is under construction at the time.

What about today?

Today, the region is mainly a tourist destination and is the preferred destination of British, Germans and Dutch people who often have a second home there.

It is a lively tourist region: you can admire the wild nature, between olive trees and poppy fields, then go golfing or relax in the pool of one of our villas.

>>> Discover our villas for a dream holiday in Algarve