Human settlement of the territory today known as Cascais dates to the late
Paleolithic, as indicated by remnants encountered in the north of Talaíde, in Alto do Cabecinho (Tires) and south of Moinhos do Cabreiro. It was during the
Neolithic that permanent settlements were established in the region, their inhabitants utilizing the natural grottoes (such as the
Caves of Poço Velho in Cascais) and artificial shelters (like those in
Alapraia or São Pedro) to deposit their dead. The bodies were buried along with offerings, a practice that continued to the
Chalcolithic. as well as in the late-Roman and medieval necropolis of Talaíde. Similarly, Muslim settlers in the region left their mark on local place names, including "Alcoitão" and "Alcabideche", where the romantic poet Ibn Muqana al-Qabdaqi, who wrote of the region's agriculture and windmills, was born at the beginning of the 11th century. The development of Cascais began in earnest in the 12th century, when it was administratively subordinate to the town of
Sintra, located to the north. In its humble beginnings, Cascais depended on the products of the sea and land, but by the 13th century its fish production was also supplying the nearby city of
Lisbon. The toponym "
Cascais" appears to derive from this period, a plural derivation of
cascal (
monte de cascas) which signified a "mountain of shells", referring to the abundant volume of marine mollusks harvested from the coastal waters. During the 14th century, the population spread outside the walls of its
fortress castle. statue). The settlement's prosperity led to its administrative independence from Sintra in 1364. On 7 June 1364, the people of Cascais obtained from
King Peter I the elevation of the village to the status of town, necessitating the appointment of local judges and administrators. The townspeople were consequently obligated to pay the Crown 200 pounds of gold annually, as well as bearing the expense of paying the local administrators' salaries. Owing to the regions' wealth, these obligations were easily satisfied. The town and the surrounding lands were owned by a succession of feudal lords, the most famous of whom was
João das Regras (died 1404), a lawyer and professor of the
University of Lisbon who was involved in the ascension of
King John I to power as the first King of the
House of Aviz. The castle of Cascais was likely constructed during this period, since by 1370, King
Ferdinand had donated the castle and Cascais to Gomes Lourenço de Avelar to hold as a seigneurial fiefdom. These privileges were then passed on to his successors, among them João das Regras and the Counts of Monsanto, and later the Marquess of Cascais. Meanwhile, despite its conquest and sack by
Castilian forces in 1373, and blockade of the port in 1382 and 1384, Cascais continued to grow beyond its walls. By the end of the 14th century, this resulted in the creation of the
parishes of Santa Maria de Cascais,
São Vicente de Alcabideche and
São Domingos de Rana. From the
Middle Ages onward, Cascais depended on fishing, maritime commerce (it was a stop for ships sailing to Lisbon), and agriculture, producing
wine,
olive oil, cereals, and fruits. Due to its location at the mouth of the
Tagus estuary, it was also seen as a strategic post in the defence of Lisbon. Around 1488,
King John II built a small fortress in the town, situated by the sea. On 15 November 1514,
Manuel I conceded a
foral (
charter) to Cascais, instituting the region's municipal authority. It was followed on 11 June 1551 by a license from
King John III to institutionalise the
Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Cascais. The
Mother Church of Cascais, the
Church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção, dates back to the early 16th century. The town's medieval fortress was inadequate to repel invasions, and in 1580 Spanish troops led by the Duque of Alba took the village during the conflict that led to the
union of the Portuguese and Spanish crowns. The fortress was enlarged towards the end of the 16th century by
King Philip I (Philip II of Spain), turning it into a typical
Renaissance citadel with the characteristic flat profile and star-shaped
floorplan. Following the Portuguese restoration in 1640, a dozen bulwarks and redoubts were constructed under the direction of the
Count of Cantanhede, who oversaw the defences of the Tagus estuary, the gateway to the city of Lisbon. Of these structures, the
citadel of Cascais, which was constructed alongside the fortress of Our Lady of Light, considerably reinforced the strategic defences of the coast. in Cascais, Portugal. In 1755, the great
Lisbon earthquake destroyed a large portion of the city. Around 1774, the
Marquis of Pombal, prime-minister of
King José I, took protective measures for the commercialisation of the wine of
Carcavelos and established the Royal Factory of Wool in the village, which existed until the early 19th century. During the
invasion of Portugal by Napoleonic troops in 1807, the citadel of Cascais was occupied by the
French, with
General Junot staying some time in the village. In 1862, the
Visconde da Luz built a summer house in Cascais. He and a group of friends also organized the construction of a road from Cascais to
Oeiras, effectively linking Cascais to Lisbon, and also promoted other improvements to the town. As a result of these improvement,
King Luís I decided to make Cascais into his summer residence and, from 1870 to 1908, the Portuguese royal family from the
House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha spent part of the summer in Cascais to enjoy the sea, turning the quiet fishing village into a cosmopolitan address. Thanks to King Luís, the citadel was equipped with the country's first
electric lights in 1878. Cascais also benefited from the construction of a better road to Sintra, a
bullfight ring,
a sports club, and improvements to basic infrastructure for the population. Many noble families built impressive mansions in an eclectic style commonly referred to as
summer architecture, many of which are still to be seen in the town centre and environs. The first railway arrived in 1889. Another important step in the development of the area was made in the first half of the 20th century with the building of a casino and infrastructure in neighbouring
Estoril. In 1882, Cascais installed one of the first
tide gauges in Europe in order to assist with navigation into the port of Lisbon. In 1896,
King Carlos I, a lover of all maritime activities, installed in the citadel the first oceanographic laboratory in Portugal. The King himself led a total of 12 scientific expeditions to the coast; these ended in 1908 after his
assassination in Lisbon. Due to Portugal's
neutrality in World War II and the town's elegance and royal past, Cascais became home to many of the exiled royal families of Europe, including those of Spain (
House of Bourbon), Italy (
House of Savoy), Hungary and Bulgaria. Their stories are told at the
Exiles Memorial Centre. Nowadays, Cascais and its surroundings are a popular vacation spot for the Portuguese as well as for the international
jet set and regular foreign tourists, all of them drawn by its fine beaches. The town hosts many international events, including sailing and surfing. In 2018 it was the
European Youth Capital. ==Geography==