Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Founded by Romans, Braga was settled in the 1st century BC, named Bracara Augusta
and made capital of the Roman province of Gallaecia. Braga's position at the intersection
of five Roman roads helped it grow fat on trade, but it fell to the Suevi around AD 410,
and was sacked by the Visigoths 60 years later. The Visigoths' conversion to Christianity
in the 6th century and the founding of an archbishopric in the next century put the town
atop the Iberian Peninsula's ecclesiastical pecking order.
The Moors moved in around 715, sparking a long-running tug of war that ended when
Fernando I, king of Castilla y León, definitively reconquered the city in 1040. The arch-
bishopric was restored in 1070, though prelates bickered with their Spanish counterparts
for the next 500 years over who was Primate of All Spain. The pope finally ruled in
Braga's favour, though the city's resulting good fortune began to wane in the 18th century,
when a newly anointed Lisbon archdiocese stole much of its thunder.
Not surprisingly, it was from conservative Braga that António de Oliveira Salazar, with
his unique blend of Catholicism and fascism, gave the speech that launched his 1926
coup, introducing Portugal to half a century of dictatorship.
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