Torres Vedras

Torres Vedras lies among hills and valleys north of Lisbon. Afonso Henriques took the town in 1148, and Afonso III granted it a charter in 1250. The castle witnessed struggles for the Portuguese crown: in 1384 the Master of Aviz besieged its Castilian governor, and in 1640 John IV took it from a governor loyal to the Spanish monarchy. During the Peninsular War, Wellington ordered a system of fortifications built across the approaches to Lisbon in 1809–1810. The Lines of Torres Vedras stretched toward the Atlantic, using the hills and a network of forts to bar the French advance. The fort of São Vicente stood above the town as part of this defensive system.