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Marquês de Pombal square in LisboaPombal
Pombal is a city half way between Lisboa and Porto which can be easily reached by highway or rail.
The city's most representative monument is its uphill castle.
The name of Pombal is better known because of Marquês de Pombal (Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo) and the square in Lisboa with his name.
"History"
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquês de Pombal (1699–1782), was a Portuguese statesman. After studying law at the University of Coimbra, he served as ambassador to England and Austria, was made secretary for foreign affairs and war by King Joseph in 1750, and became chief minister in 1756. The most dynamic political figure in Portugal since the 16th century, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo was an exponent of absolutism, an anticlerical, and a zealous organizer. When Lisboa was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, he met the emergency and supervised the reconstruction of the city. He curbed the Inquisition by subordinating it to the king's authority, expelled the Jesuits from Portugal and its colonies, and redrafted the property laws to prevent the accumulation of great wealth by the church. A believer in enlightened despotism, he also ended slavery in Portugal, reorganized the educational and military systems, and encouraged agriculture and industry, partly by establishing monopolies. Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo took strong measures to build up Brazil with increased production of minerals, tobacco and sugar. He also sought to regulate Portuguese commerce and strengthen it, thus making the country less dependent on the English. Marquês de Pombal's whole program, however, was executed by ruthless suppression of all opposition. The creation of a wine monopoly caused an uprising in Porto, which was put down (1757) with ferocity. A group of nobles accused of an attempt (1758) to kill the king were tortured to death. Thousands of people were imprisoned. Upon the death (1777) of King Joseph, Marquês de Pombal was deprived of power, his prisoners were freed and many of his measures were revoked. The new ruler, D. Maria I, banished the former minister from Lisboa.
