Algarve historian Peter Kingdon Booker will be presenting a talk entitled ‘A Social History of Tavira’ on Tuesday, January 26 in Lagoa and Friday, January 29 in Tavira.
Both talks, organised by the Algarve History Association, will be held in the towns’ municipal libraries at 6pm in Lagoa and 11am in Tavira.
In May last year, Peter discussed the built environment of Tavira and this lecture will concentrate on the people of the town. How highly did they rate in the social strata of Portugal?
Tavira has been a town of great significance in the history of Portugal, but is much less so nowadays. When did its importance wane, and why? Who built the 21 churches in the town? How did the people of Tavira make their living, and what problems did they encounter through the years? How important have the fisheries on this coast been to the town, and how has the town coped with the moving sandbanks?
There have, of course, been invasions and wars and civil disturbances which inevitably affected the town, but what was the role of the people of Tavira in these upheavals? Lastly, what role does the town play in the present day Algarve?
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