Alcácer do Sal
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Alcácer do Sal () is a municipality in Portugal, located in
Setúbal District The District of Setúbal ( pt, Distrito de Setúbal ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal. Geography It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Év ...
. The population in 2011 was 13,046,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 1499.87 km2.


History


Earliest settlement

There has been human settlement in the area for more than 40,000 years; archaeological investigations have placed human presence here back to the
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
Period, when the first peoples began to concentrate in the areas around Alcácer. This period was characterized by exploitation of the ecosystem in the Sado Estuary, when the river extended to São Romão, involving fishing, scavenging for shellfish, hunting and foraging in the local forests. The primitive tools, made from
chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a ...
, were adapted from the techniques of the late
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
era. By the late Mesolithic period, people had concentrated in the area of Comporta and
Torrão Torrão () is a civil parish and town, in the municipality of Alcácer do Sal, in the Portuguese district of Setúbal, bordering on the districts of Évora and the Beja. It is crossed by the river Xarrama River. The population in 2011 was 2,295, ...
, later establishing primitive defensive protection to support its communities. These principal settlements were abandoned by the
Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and  ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
, but repopulated during the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, as was the case of Alcácer. Mediterranean trade, pioneered by the
Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
, introduced commercial colonies in Abul and Alcácer (then referred to as ''Bevipo'' or ''Keition''), where a written alphabet and currency allowed commerce to flourish.


Roman Era

After the
Third Punic War The Third Punic War (149–146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between Carthage and Rome. The war was fought entirely within Carthaginian territory, in modern northern Tunisia. When the Second Punic War ended in 201  ...
, with the fall of
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
, Alcácer was annexed to the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
(around 1st-2nd century B.C.). The municipality of present Alcácer became known as ''Urbs Imperatoria Salacia'' in honor of the sea god Neptune's wife, nymph
Salacia In ancient Roman mythology, Salacia ( , ) was the female divinity of the sea, worshipped as the goddess of salt water who presided over the depths of the ocean. Neptune was her consort. That Salacia was the consort of Neptune is implied by Va ...
, for its importance in the Iberian
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
trade and the number of routes that crossed the area. Salatia suffered many of the problems that developed from the Roman ''urbes'' localized between Atlantic routes and Romanized northern Europe, and was made incrementally worse by Emperor Claudius's initiatives into England and Wales. These problems changed during the 3rd Century, when the port of Salatia was devalued, in favor of ''Olisipo'' (
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
). With the rise of
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, most of
Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...
became a vassal state of the larger empire. Returning to the Imperial fold with the 296AD reorganization of Roman territories by Diocletian (in order to subvert the ''Military Anarchy'' that existed at the time), Salatia's role was transformed. Circa 300? it was the seat of a Diocese of Salácia (Portuguese) / Salacien(sis) (Latin) / Salarien(sis) (Latin), which was however suppressed around 350. In the following centuries, Salatia became a poor distant colony of the much larger centers of
Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...
or
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. The only exception was Torrão, which continued to prosper. Until 711, when the region was annexed by the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
of Damascus, the population of the hilltop areas of Salatia left in favor of the low lands along the river.


Al-Andalus

The Ummayad rule on the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, in the reign of Abu-l-Khattar (743-745) over the region of Beja, which included Alcácer, was noted for the recruitment of troops, and for the rising power of Yemeni clans in southern Portugal. The entire region was later administered by Egyptian Arab troops, that selected Beja as their regional seat. Until 844, Alcácer functioned as center for the collection of taxes in the lower Sado valley: collected primarily from the Christians who chose to remain in the valley. The first Viking raids in this year forced a political reorganization, and Alcácer became an important outpost of
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
. After an internal victory over Muwallad rebels in 888, the city was offered as reward to the
Banu Dānis The Banū Dānis ( ar, بنو أبي دانيس), also known as ''Banū Abī Dānis'' or ''Banū Adānis'', were a clan of the Berber tribe of Awsāǧa (also Awsaŷa, 'Awsaja, Aussaya). The 'Awsāǧa, in turn, belonged to the tribal confederation o ...
clan, and its keep was renamed ''Qaşr Abī Dānis'' (قصر أبي دانس ; en, Castle Abu Denis), commonly known simply as ''Al Qaşr'' ( en, The Castle). The village of Al Qaşr was the base for a large fleet and arsenal that was used during the Christian-Moorish
Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
.Revista popular (16 December 1848), p.329 In 997 a Moorish fleet transported troops from Alcácer to
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, to support
Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri ( ar, أبو عامر محمد بن عبد الله بن أبي عامر المعافري), nicknamed al-Manṣūr ( ar, المنصور, "the Victorious"), which is often Latiniz ...
, that culminated in the destruction of the sanctuary of
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...
.Câmara Municipal de Alcácer do Sal, (2007) It was then capital of the Al Qaşr Province, which by the 12th Century was a center of merchant traffic, supported by the opulent tastes of Évora.
Muhammad al-Idrisi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد الإدريسي القرطبي الحسني السبتي; la, Dreses; 1100 – 1165), was a Muslim geographer, cartogra ...
noted that forestry, and in particular pine tree harvesting, was important during this period, as was cattle raising and major agricultural cultivation. During the
Almoravid dynasty The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century tha ...
Al Qasr became the administrative regional seat of an area that extended along the Atlantic coast until Trujillo, Cáceres.


Crusades and Reconquista

Records of the
Norwegian Crusade The Norwegian Crusade, led by Norwegian King Sigurd I, was a crusade or a pilgrimage (sources differ) that lasted from 1107 to 1111, in the aftermath of the First Crusade. The Norwegian Crusade marks the first time a European king personally ...
, held from 1107 to 1110, in the aftermath of the
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...
, and led by
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
king Sigurd I, include a reference to the Norwegians winning a battle in the town of Alkasse (which is possibly a reference to Al Qaşr) - where they killed such a large number of people that the town was said to have been left empty, and looted many treasures. However, the Norwegians then sailed on to the Holy Land and the town - with whatever inhabitants survived - remained Muslim. During the
Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by Al-Adil I, al-Adil, brothe ...
, when Afonso II of Portugal had a truce with the
Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire f ...
, Sueiro Bishops of
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
and
Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...
joined the Cistercian
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of Alcobaça, the commander of
Palmela Palmela () is a town and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 62,831, in an area of 465.12 km². The municipality is located in the Lisboa Region and Setúbal District, about south of Lisbon. The municipal holiday is 1 ...
, the
Templars , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...
, the
Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
, and
magnates The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
, in an attempt to persuade the crusaders to attack the
Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...
in Alcácer do Sal. The city of Alcácer had been lost since 1191 in the aftermath of the Third Crusade campaigns of Alvor and Silves. The keep in Alcácer was conquered for the first time by the Portuguese in 1160. In 1191, it returned to
Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...
hands under the direction of
Yaqub al-Mansur Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; c. 1160 – 23 January 1199 Marrakesh), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad Caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 11 ...
, who transformed it into the military garrison of ''Garb al-Andalus''.Villegas-Aristizábal, Lucas, "Was the Portuguese Led Military Campaign against Alcácer do Sal in the Autumn of 1217 Part of the Fifth Crusade?" Al-Masaq 30:1 (2019), 57, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2018.1542573 According to
De itinere Frisonum ''De itinere Frisonum'' ('Of the Frisian itinerary') is an eyewitness account written in Latin of the Frisian crusaders' journey from Friesland to Acre during the Fifth Crusade (1217–1218). The narrative was composed by an anonymous participant ...
the Frisian
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
refused to help on account of Innocent III prohibition to Bishop Souiro, and departed for the Holy Land, even after being provided food, expenses, and rousing oratories about the Almohads' annual demands for 100 Christians in tribute. Meanwhile, ships under the command of
William I of Holland William I (c. 1167 – 4 February 1222) was count of Holland from 1203 to 1222. He was the younger son of Floris III and Ada of Huntingdon. Early life William was born in The Hague, but raised in Scotland. He participated in the Third Cru ...
and Count George of Wied arrived in Alcácer do Sal on 2 August 1217. They were joined by the Portuguese sent to lay siege to the castle.Joseph F. O'Callaghan (2003), p.79 Muslim governors in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, Córdoba, Jaén and
Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...
attempted to relieve the garrison but their reinforcements were defeated on 11 September. The castle surrendered on 18 October 1217, with additional Christian troops provided by Pedro Alvítiz from Castile.Joseph F. O'Callaghan (2003), p.80 Once the castle was taken, many of the northern Crusaders requested
Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of impor ...
allow them to remain for a year ''"for the liberation of Hispania"'' and ''"the extirpation of the perfidious cult of the pagans"''. The victory in Alcácer do Sal also motivated
Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the Universit ...
,
Sancho VII of Navarre Sancho VII ( eu, Antso VII.a; 11577 April 1234) called the Strong ( eu, Azkarra, es, el Fuerte) was King of Navarre from 1194 until his death in 1234. He was the son and heir of Sancho VI, whom he followed as the second king to hold the ti ...
, in addition to Iberian prelates and nobles, to break their truces with the Muslim leaders, in hopes that the northern Crusaders would continue their campaigns the following summer. But, the Pope granted only absolution from their vows to those who could not continue to the Holy Land, and the Crusaders left the ''Castle'' to the Portuguese and continued on to
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
. The capture of Al Qaşr was the only permanent conquest of the Fifth Crusade. In 1218, Alcacer do Sal received its
foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The word ''foral'' ({{IPA-pt, fuˈɾaɫ, eu, plural: ''forais'') is a noun derived from the Portuguese word ''foro'', ultimately from Latin ''forum'', equivalent to Spanish ''fuero'', Galician '' foro'', ...
from King
Afonso II Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
, and handed over to the Knights of Santiago, who made it their headquarters during their advance into the Alentejo and
Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...
. The Order of Santiago dominated an area from
Sesimbra Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Setúbal Bay, near the mouth of the S ...
until the Algarve, controlling the lower Sado, Alentejo Litoral and coast of
Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...
. At the end of the 13th century, the Order advanced to
Mértola Mértola () is a municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2011, the population was 7,274, in an area of approximately : it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal. Meanwhile, it is the second-lowest popula ...
to support reconquest of the Algarve, but later retreated to Alcácer and remained there until 1482, when they returned to
Palmela Palmela () is a town and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 62,831, in an area of 465.12 km². The municipality is located in the Lisboa Region and Setúbal District, about south of Lisbon. The municipal holiday is 1 ...
. Along with the Christians and the town's small population of Jews, the remaining Muslims in Alácer do Sal begin to occupy the low country along the river, and vacate the Castle. The Muslims, under the "King's protection" remained in the community. In 1495,
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: * Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), wa ...
was acclaimed King by the residents of the village.


Slave trade

By the 16th century, the whole Sado Basin, where Alcácer do Sal is located, had experienced an important African immigration as a way to compensate for the demographic deficit that accompanied the Portuguese overseas expansion. Later, in the 18th century, a new wave of slaves was recruited to Alcácer do Sal to work the salt fields and cultivate rice, the two important economic activities in the region. A recent genetic study in 2010 found in Alcacer the highest frequencies (22%) of Sub-Saharan maternal lineages reported so far in Europe and, according to the authors, likely associated with the influx of African slaves between the 15th and 19th centuries.


Geography


Physical geography

A few kilometres from the city of Alcácer, along the course of the Sado, is the '' Reserva Natural do Estuário do Sado'' (''Sado Estuary Nature Reserve'') which covers an area of , comprising marshes, canals, streams and mangroves.


Human geography

The municipality is bounded to the north by the municipalities of
Palmela Palmela () is a town and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 62,831, in an area of 465.12 km². The municipality is located in the Lisboa Region and Setúbal District, about south of Lisbon. The municipal holiday is 1 ...
,
Vendas Novas Vendas Novas () is a municipality in the District of Évora in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 11,846, in an area of 222.39 km2. The city has 10,235 inhabitants. The present Mayor is Luís Dias, elected by the Socialist Party. The munici ...
and
Montemor-o-Novo Montemor-o-Novo () is a municipality in the District of Évora in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,437, in an area of 1232.97 km2. The city itself had a population of 8,928 in 2001. The present Mayor is Olímpio Manuel Vidigal Galvão, ...
; northeast by
Viana do Alentejo Viana do Alentejo () is a municipality in the District of Évora in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,743, in an area of 393.67 km2. The present Mayor is Bernardino Bengalinha Pinto, elected by the Socialist Party. The municipal holiday ...
; east by Alvito; south by
Ferreira do Alentejo Ferreira do Alentejo (), or simply Ferreira, is a town and a municipality in Beja District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,255, in an area of 648.25 km2. The present Mayor is Aníbal Coelho Costa, elected by the Socialist Party. ...
and
Grândola Grândola () is a town (''vila'') and municipality in Setúbal District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,826, in an area of 825.94 km2. Included in this municipality is Tróia (part of Carvalhal parish), a peninsula between the At ...
; to the west, also by Grândola, along a branch of the Sado Estuary; and northwest by the
Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...
. Alcácer do Sal is a historical city and municipality that overlooks the
Sado River The river Sado () is a river in southern Portugal; it is one of the major rivers in the country. It flows in a northerly direction (the only major Portuguese river to do so) through from its springs in the hills of Ourique before entering the A ...
; its medieval town developed from barrios that surrounded an ancient Muslim castle. Alcácer do Sal is the municipal seat, which includes two civil parishes, both having a population of 6002 residents. The second-largest municipality ( pt, concelho) in the country, it is administratively subdivided into four civil parishes ( pt,
freguesias ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...
): * Alcácer do Sal (Santa Maria do Castelo e Santiago) e Santa Susana * Comporta - part of the larger Comporta Coast region; although a traditional a centre of rice cultivation and fishing, the parish and villages have seen more interest recently with luxury tourism, associated with the white-sand beaches of the Sado estuary, and its proximity to the coastal beaches of the Atlantic. Its resident population is less than 1400 permanent inhabitants, although throughout the summer these numbers increase with the influx of vacationers and tourists; * São Martinho *
Torrão Torrão () is a civil parish and town, in the municipality of Alcácer do Sal, in the Portuguese district of Setúbal, bordering on the districts of Évora and the Beja. It is crossed by the river Xarrama River. The population in 2011 was 2,295, ...
- Torrão received a
Manueline The Manueline ( pt, estilo manuelino, ), occasionally known as Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese architectural style originating in the 16th century, during the Portuguese Renaissance and Age of Discoveries. Manuel ...
foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The word ''foral'' ({{IPA-pt, fuˈɾaɫ, eu, plural: ''forais'') is a noun derived from the Portuguese word ''foro'', ultimately from Latin ''forum'', equivalent to Spanish ''fuero'', Galician '' foro'', ...
in 1512, that later disappeared. The parish, 35
kilometer The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...
s from the municipal seat, was the birthplace of Bernardim Ribeiro, 15th Century poet and writer and has in the Trigo de Morais Dam one of its main tourist attractions. A very interesting museum, documenting the occupation of the city since the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, exists under the castle, now a
pousada Pousadas de Portugal () is a chain of luxury, traditional or historical hotels in Portugal. Formerly run by the Portuguese State, they are now run by the Pestana Group, which in September 2003 won a public bid for the sale of 37.6% of parent comp ...
hotel. Santa Susana includes many white-painted houses, and is the location of the municipalities principal dam, Pego do Altar, and tourist-friendly water activities and forests.


Climate

Alcácer do Sal has a
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Csa'') with hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The highest recorded temperature in the city was on 4 August 2018.


Architecture


Civic

* Archaeological site of Senhor dos Mártires ( pt, Estação Arqueológica do Senhor dos Mártires)


Military

* Castle of Alcácer do Sal ( pt, Castelo de Alcácer do Sal)


Religious

* Convent of Nossa Senhora de Ara Caeli ( pt, Convento de Nossa Senhora de Ara Caeli/Pousada de D. Afonso II)


Notable citizens

* Bernardim Ribeiro (1482 in Torrão – 1552), poet and writer, wrote ''Livro das Saudades''. * Pedro Nunes (1502 – 1578 in
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
), was a
mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...
,
cosmographer The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-scal ...
, and
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
; best known for his contributions in the technical field of
navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
*
Manuel de Brito Camacho Manuel de Brito Camacho (12 February 1862, Aljustrel — 19 September 1934, Lisbon) a Portuguese military officer, writer, publicist and politician, who among other positions, was Minister of Public Works, Commerce and Industry (1910–1911) a ...
(1862 – 1934), was a military officer, writer,
publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...
and politician during the
Portuguese First Republic The First Portuguese Republic ( pt, Primeira República Portuguesa; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the period of constitutional monarchy ...
; worked in Torrão * Francisco Gentil, (Wiki PT) (1878 – 1964), was a medic, professor, and director of the Institute of Oncology in Lisbon * Ruy Coelho, (Wiki PT) (1886 – 1986), composer of innovative symphonies and operas * João Branco Núncio (1901 – 1976) equestrian and
bullfighter A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...
, known as ''Califa de Alcácer'' *
Maria Rosa Colaço Maria Rosa Colaço (19352004) was a Portuguese teacher, writer and journalist. Maria Rosa Parreiro Colaço was born in Torrão in the municipality of Alcácer do Sal in the Setúbal District of Portugal on 19 September 1935. She trained to be ...
(1935 in Torrão – 2004) - a writer, known for ''A Criança e a Vida'', an anthology of children's texts. *
José Mamede José Mamede Aleixo Ferreira (born 24 February 1974), known as Mamede, is a Portugal, Portuguese retired Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. During his professional career he played mainly in Italy (nine years), but almo ...
(born 1974) a retired footballer with 292 club caps, known as ''Mamede'' * Filipe Brigues (born 1990) a Portuguese footballer with over 250 club caps


References

;Notes ;Sources * * * * *Villegas-Aristizábal, Lucas, "Was the Portuguese Led Military Campaign against Alcácer do Sal in the Autumn of 1217 Part of the Fifth Crusade?" ''Al-Masaq'' 30:1 (2019). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2018.1542573


External links


Photos from ALCÁCER DO SAL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcacer Do Sal Cities in Portugal Populated places in Setúbal District Municipalities of Setúbal District