Lisbon (Port. Lisboa), capital of Portugal, stands on the northern shore of the Tagus (Tejo), at the shoulder of its bottle-shaped bay—an expansion of the river—and 9 miles from the river's mouth; it is 412 miles by rail WSW. of Madrid. The city extends for some 7 miles along the shore, and climbs up the slopes of a low range of hills, occupying a site which for imposing beauty is surpassed by only two other cities in Europe—Constantinople and Naples. The oldest part of Lisbon is that which escaped the earthquake of 1755; it lies on the east, round the citadel, and consists of narrow, intricate streets, not over clean. It is still known by its Moorish name of Alfama. The western portions were built after the earthquake, with wide and regular streets, fine squares, and good houses. The summits are mostly crowned with what were formerly large monasteries, now dissolved. The cathedral of the 'patriarch,' built in 1147, restored after 1755, has a Gothic façade and choir; its interior is gloomy. The large church of St Vincent contains the tombs of the royal (Braganza) family. The church of Estrella has a dome of white marble, and is a reduced copy of St Peter's at Rome. In San Roque is a chapel thickly encrusted with mosaics and costly marbles; it was first erected in Rome, and consecrated by the pope saying mass in it, before it was set up in Lisbon. But the finest structure in the city is the monastery and church of Belem, a monument to the great seamen of Portugal; it was begun in 1500 on the spot from which Vasco da Gama embarked (1497) on his momentous voyage. It is constructed for the most part in the Gothic style, with an abundance—a superabundance—of decorative ornament, and has magnificent cloisters. Inside the church are new tombs (1880) to Camoens and Vasco da Gama, and the grave of Catharine, wife of Charles II. of England. The monastery is now used as an orphanage and founding hospital. Neither of the royal palaces, that of the Necessities, or that of Ajuda at Belem, possesses features of great interest. A fine square facing the bay is surrounded with government offices, the handsome custom-house, and the marine arsenal. The arts and sciences are not in a flourishing condition, notwithstanding the existence of an academy of sciences (1779), with a library of 60,000 vols., an academy of arts, a polytechnic school (chiefly for the technical branches of the army), a medical school, a conservatory of music, a public library of 200,000 vols. and 9500 MSS., natural history and other museums, two observatories, &c. There are also a military arsenal, a mint, a large lazaretto, a military and a naval school, &c. A magnificent aqueduct, completed in 1738, brings water to the city from springs 14 miles to the north-west. It withstood the shock of the great earthquake, although it crosses a valley 263 feet above its lowest point, and on thirty-five arches, the longest 110 feet. In the cemetery of the English church Fielding was buried in 1754. The population of the city was 246,343 in 1878; but the municipal boundaries were enlarged in 1885 so as to include Belem and other suburbs, and in 1891 the population was 308,700. The figures quoted include 35,000 Gallegos or natives of Galicia, who serve as water-carriers, porters, &c. A series of forts protect the seaward approaches to the city. The harbour is one of the finest in the world, deep, well sheltered, and large enough to hold all the navies of Europe. Nevertheless, in 1890-1900, the government were spending £2,400,000 in improving the port, which is entered annually by 2500 to 3000 vessels of about 2,000,000 tons burden (of which 50 per cent. is British), importing principally corn, cotton goods, sugar, fish, coal, timber, tobacco, coffee, and petroleum to a value of between £5,000,000 and £6,000,000 a year. The exports, whose annual value may be £4,000,000, embrace wine, cork, fish, cattle, oil, salt, and fruits. Much of the total trade is from and with the Portuguese colonies—such imports as cocoa, coffee, and india-rubber coming thence. But the trade of Lisbon is small compared with what it was in Portugal's palmy days. The share of the Portuguese in this trade is exceeded not only by the share of Great Britain, but by that of France and that of Germany. The most important industries of the city are in gold and silver wares and in jewellery; next come cotton-spinning and weaving, the manufacture of silk, hemp, chemicals, hats, boots, tobacco, soap, cutlery, and stoneware, and iron-founding.
Lisbon is a contraction of Olisipo, the name by which the place was known when it was the capital of the Lusitanians; it was also sometimes called Ulyssippo, to connect it with a myth about Ulysses. From the Romans it passed to the Goths, and from them was wrested by the Moors in 716. They called it El-Oshbuna, and kept their hold of it down to 1147, when Alphonso I. of Portugal seized it with the help of English, German, and Flemish crusaders. In 1373 the city was captured and in great part burned by the Castilians, who again laid siege to it eleven years later, but without success. It was made the capital of the kingdom by John I. in 1422. In 1580 it was seized by Alva for Philip II. of Spain; and it was from this port that the 'invincible' Armada set sail. When the Duke of Braganza roused his countrymen to shake off the Spanish yoke (1640), he recaptured Lisbon, and once more it was made the capital. But the city was doomed to misfortune: it had been three times taken from the Moors by the Christians previous to 1147, it had suffered from a severe earthquake in 1344, and had been visited by the plague in 1348; but the greatest disaster overtook it on 1st November 1755, when, in less than ten minutes, the greater part of the city was made a heap of ruins, from 30,000 to 40,000 persons were killed, and damage done to the extent of nearly 20 millions sterling—one of the greatest earthquake convulsions on record, the shock being perceptible in one direction as far as Scotland, in another at Mitylene in Asia Minor, and in a third at Fez in Morocco. The French were in possession of the city for ten months during 1807-8. The tale of Lisbon's misfortunes was completed by a series of military revolts during the second quarter of the 19th century, especially in 1831, and by a bad attack of yellow fever in 1859. St Antony of Padua, Camoens, and Pope John XXI. were natives of Lisbon. See Macedo, Guide to Lisbon (1875).