Lisbon: City of the Sea: A History

by Jack Malcolm

" City of the Sea" is a beautifully written portrait of a much loved city, from its origins in Greek legend to the present day. Malcolm Jack vividly captures the rich and unique history of this haunting and attractive port whose prominent position on the Tagus estuary has inextricably bound its character with the sea. Lisbon is a city of steep inclines and complicated, unsymmetrical streets that criss-cross the hills only in the Baixa area near the river and in the more modern, northern part of the city does any form of a grid system appear. It has enjoyed a political history that has directed Portugal's focus more overseas than inland towards continental Europe, in part because of Spain's geographical position. Thus, the city has been stretched in one direction toward Brazil and in another toward the Cape of Good Hope and from there to Asia and the East. Beginning with its earliest inhabitants, Jack traces the city's life through its imperial success in the sixteenth century and the devastating earthquake that humbled the city and shocked Europe in 1755 to its current position as a vibrant and successful European capital.
Lisbon's romantic atmosphere has captured the imaginations of foreigners through the ages. Poets, writers and musicians have all drawn inspiration from different parts of Lisbon. This sensitive exploration of the city's many aspects draws out its cosmopolitan nature, as well as its colourful culture and self-image and brings us closer to understanding its true spirit. Engaging and accessible, this book will appeal to Lisbon's many visitors as well as anyone interested in European history.

Genres: History, Portugal

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2007

Reviews

[Diogo Almeida · Rating 3 out of 5]

A straight to the point history of Lisbon and, in a way, Portugal, with a focus on the English community and the historical links to England. Interesting introduction to Lisbon for a tourist or a newcomer.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine history of Lisbon, a bit dry maybe, published in 1988. I wish it had more history of the 20th century.

[Kevin de Ataíde]

This book is well presented as a publication and reasonably informative. It is as biassed as they come, pro-rationalist, pro-Enlightenment, often pro-Moorish in its appreciation of the a few centuries of Moorish rule. It is relatively short and easy to read, but its arrangement of material in terms of different aspects of the city means apparent anachronisms (such as, for example, the description of the Marquês de Pombal's atrocities against the old families; the author first presents the whole of Pombal's program of development of the city before describing the enemity with the aristocracy, but wait, hold on, the elimination of families like the Tavores took place very early on and, oh, how confusing these jumps back and forth in history get) and repetition of items and trips up and down the time-line. This can be annoying and distractive.



Similar to the Pombal thing are other anomalies, possibly a a result of the repetition of items: the author seems to mention the knights of the Temple long after the suppression of the Order in the thirteenth century. There is also something odd about the assertion that the Inquisition was set up in the sixteenth century and was an instrument of persecution of the Jews. He may be referring to the New Christians, Jewish converts who had returned to Judaism in private but unfortunately remained subject to the Church courts. Conversion to Christianity for material benefit has never been appreciated by the Church.



It must be noted that the Portuguese kings were among the most tolerant of the Jews and of the Muslims (even if these were treated as second class citizens and forced to wear distinguishing marks on their persons), who were both recognised by the monarchy as an important part of society.



The author has a barely hidden contempt for the Portuguese kings, who he always portrays as trying to appear regal and dressing up their palaces and cities to compete with other kingdoms in Europe. A certain grandeur belongs, I suppose, to London and Paris, but is out of place in Portugal? Possibly true, but I'd like to see him describe the other monarchs of Europe like this. There is also a dislike of the Church, as given by this one description of English Jesuit Fr. Henry Floyd (p.72), as a cunning predator on the 'most vulnerable;' this because he tried to bring Englishman back to the Catholic Church and they were, oh, so vulnerable because they were homesick bachelors living in Lisbon. There is an assertion that this priest was allegedly involved in the Gunpowder Plot to assassinate the English King, but without references.



Lovely book. Read it, but take its information with a pinch of salt.

[Mattias Appelgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one right before I went to Lisbon for the first time. Or I started on it before I left and never finished until about 3 weeks after I came back again. Thought it would give be a brief description and history, which I guess it did. You get a bit about how the city began, how it grew, a few of the major character in it's history. Maybe it was that my interest faded slightly after my visit, but the book just got that engaging to me.