Abrantes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abrantes Municipal flag Municipal coat of arms
Location
- Country	Portugal
- Region	Centro
- Subregion	Médio Tejo
- District or A.R.	Santarém
Mayor	Nélson Carvalho
- Party	Socialist
Area	714.7 km²
Population
- Total	41,326
- Density	58/km²
No. of parishes	19
Coordinates	39º27'33"N 8º11'35"W
Municipal holiday	Promotion to city June 14
Website: http://www.cm-abrantes.pt

Abrantes (pron. IPA: [ɐ'bɾɐ̃tɨʃ]) is a municipality in Portugal on the right bank of the river Tagus,at the junction of the Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon railway with the Guarda-Abrantes line, with a total area of 714.7 km² and a total population of 41,560 inhabitants (up from 7255 in 1900).

The present mayor is Nélson Marques Carvalho, elected by the Socialist Party and the president of the Municipal Assembly is Jorge Lacão Costa, also elected by the Socialist Party.

[edit] Parishes

The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes (administrative districts):

• Abrantes (São João)
• Abrantes (São Vicente)
• Aldeia do Mato
• Alferrarede
• Alvega
• Bemposta
• Carvalhal
• Concavada
• Fontes
• Martinchel
• Mouriscas
• Pego
• Rio de Moinhos
• Rossio ao Sul do Tejo
• São Facundo
• São Miguel do Rio Torto
• Souto
• Tramagal
• Vale das Mós

[edit] History

As it commands the highway down the Tagus valley to Lisbon, occupying the crest of a hill covered with olive woods, gardens and vines, the fortified town has usually been regarded as an important military position.

It is believed that the city was originally established during the Celtic period as an Iberian settlement, about 300 B.C., although the name Abrantes comes from the Latin Aurantes perhaps owing to the alluvial gold (aurum) found along the Tagus. Roman mosaics, coins, the remains of an aqueduct, and other antiquities have been discovered in the neighborhood.

Since 1172 (in the reign of Alfonso I), Abrantes was the Spanish military Order of Saint James of Compostela's first commandery in Portugal, where it soon became a distinct order, which Pope Nicholas IV in 1290 released from the jurisdiction of the Spanish grand master in Uclés.

It was the seat of Portuguese marquesses, one of which was an early patron of the Brazilian-born versatile scientist, naturalist and pioneering inventor-aeronaut Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão.

Abrantes was captured on the 24th of November 1807 by the French under General Junot, for which achievement it was created by Napoleon I a victory title of ducal rank in chief of Abrantès for Jean-Andoche Junot in 1808 (hereditary, extinguished in 1859, but then extended in female line 1869, finally also extinguished in 1985). By the Convention of Cintra (22 August 1808) the town was restored to the British and Portuguese.

Abrantes was made a city in 14 June 1916, which is celebrated every year on this same day.

[edit] Sources and References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

• Heraldica.org- Napoleonic victory titles

Coordinates: 39°27′33″N, 8°11′35″W