History
From the Roman city of Cetobriga to the 20th-century canning factories.
Setúbal is a city whose history is inseparable from the sea, salt, and fish. The first settlements on the banks of the Sado estuary appeared during the Roman era, when garum — the famous fish sauce exported throughout the empire — was produced here. After the Moorish period and the Reconquista, the city received its charter from the Knights of the Order of Santiago (1249) and became an important port during the Age of Discoveries.
The 1755 earthquake destroyed much of the city, but Setúbal recovered and by the 19th century had become Portugal’s largest canning industry centre. Dozens of factories, thousands of workers, trade union struggles, and political resistance to the Estado Novo dictatorship — all of this shaped the reputation of the “Red City” that Setúbal maintains to this day.
In this section — the key eras and events that defined the face of modern Setúbal.
Articles in this section
- Cetobriga — A Roman City
- The Moorish Period
- The Reconquista and the Medieval Period
- Setubal and the Age of Discoveries
- The Salt Trade of Setubal
- The Restoration War and Setubal (1640)
- The Earthquake of 1755
- The Canning Industry
- Modern Setubal (20th--21st Centuries)
- The Toponymy of Setubal
- The 1249 Charter and the Order of Santiago
- Municipal Governance of Setúbal
- "Red City": Political History of Setúbal
- The 1858 Earthquake
- Estado Novo and Setúbal
- Daily Life under Salazar
- Retornados — Returnees from Africa
- AutoEuropa — Volkswagen's Car Plant in Palmela
- The Migration Mosaic of Setúbal
- The Setnave Shipyards
- The Freguesias of Setúbal
- River Transport on the Sado
- Setúbal in the Age of Discovery
- Dockworkers and Port Labourers of Setúbal
- Underwater Archaeology of Tróia
- Jewish Heritage of Setúbal
- Women in the Canning Industry
- Setúbal History Timeline