Setúbal

Setúbal lies at the mouth of the Sado, where the river opens onto a sheltered Atlantic harbor. The Romans established fish-salting works and pottery kilns here, and in the Middle Ages the port grew under the protection of the Order of Santiago. The order granted it a charter in 1249; after disputes with neighboring towns, its territory was demarcated in 1343.

In the fifteenth century shipbuilding and maritime trade brought wealth to Setúbal. Afonso V sailed from its harbor with his army to attack Ksar es-Seghir in 1458. The convent of Jesus, begun at the end of the century, was designed by Diogo Boitaca. In 1580 the town backed António, Prior of Crato, and was besieged by Spanish troops during the struggle for the Portuguese crown.