Rates is a medieval township that developed around the
Monastery of Rates, established by
Henry, Count of Portugal in 1100 AD on the site of an older temple dating to the 9th century or earlier and with sculpture elements dating to the Roman empire. A Roman road crossed near the monastery. Rates naming seems pre-Roman in origin. The town gained importance due to the legend of
Saint Peter of Rates, mythical first bishop of
Braga and martyr while attempting to convert Roman pagans to
Christianity, becoming in a central place in the Portuguese
Way of Saint James. The local myth was used by the
archbishops of Braga to justify their
primacy in Hispania, by claiming that an older Christian tradition existed in the city than in other places. Rates township, a municipality, already existed in the 13th century and the ecclesiastical parish exists from time immemorial, while the earliest record dating to the 11th century. In the 16th century, the monastery was dissolved and a commendation of the
Order of Christ was created. Its first knight commander was
Tomé de Sousa, who
John III of Portugal made the first Governor of Brazil. The town was extinct as it lost its municipal status in 1836 and was annexed to Póvoa de Varzim. It then became just a simple civil parish, and gained town status on July 2, 1993, due to its historical importance. however, the new status is merely honorary in nature and has no administrative significance. ==Geography==