The Kingdom of the Algarve (Portuguese: Reino do Algarve, from the Arabic Gharb al-Andalus غَرْب الأنْدَلُس, "Western al-'Andalus") was a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal, located in the southernmost region of continental Portugal. From 1471 onwards it came to encompass Portugal's holdings in North Africa, which were referred to as "African Algarve" (Algarve Africano) or "Algarve-Beyond-the-Sea" (Algarve d'Além-Mar), in contrast with "European Algarve" (Algarve Europeu; Algarve d'Aquém-Mar, literally "Algarve on this side of the sea"); as such, the name of the kingdom was pluralized to Kingdom of the Algarves (Portuguese: Reino dos Algarves), even after Portugal's last North African outpost was abandoned in 1769.
Despite the name implying a degree of separateness from the rest of Portugal, it lacked any unique institutions, special privileges, or notable autonomy, and was politically very similar to other Portuguese provinces, with "King of the Algarve" being a simple honorific title, based on the Algarve's history as the last area of Portugal to be conquered from the Moors during the Reconquista.
The title King of Silves was first used by Sancho I of Portugal after the first conquest of the Algarvian city of Silves in 1189. At the time of his grandson, Afonso III of Portugal (1210–1279), the rest of the Algarve had finally been conquered, so "King of Portugal and the Algarve" then became a part of the titles and honours of the Portuguese Crown.
In 1835, the Kingdom of the Algarves ceased existing territorially, when, as part of wider administrative reforms, it was replaced by the Faro District, though the title of "King/Queen of the Algarves" remained in use by subsequent Portuguese. Castilian (and later Spanish) monarchs have also claimed the title of "King/Queen of the Algarve" following Alfonso X of Castile's conquest of the region in 1253, though this title has only been held in pretense ever since the 1267 Treaty of Badajoz confirmed Portugal's hold of the regions west of the Guadiana. Ceuta, formerly part of the so-called "African Algarve", was ceded by Portugal to Spain in the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon, as the city had refused to side with the House of Braganza in the Acclamation War, and it remains part of the Kingdom of Spain to this day.
History
Reconquista
During the Reconquista, Portuguese, Castilian and Aragonese conquests went south, to retake lands that had been conquered by Muslim armies in the 8th century. Portugal conquered and secured much of its southern borders during the reigns of King Sancho II of Portugal and King Afonso III of Portugal.
First conquest
In 1189, King Sancho I of Portugal conquered Silves, one of the most prosperous cities in Al-Andalus, aligned at the time with the Almohad Caliphate. Portuguese control over Silves would be short, with the Almohads conquering the city again in 1191 in a massive counter-attack led by Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Manṣūr the Almohad Caliph in person.
The conquest of the Algarve
With the decline of the Almohads, the southern taifa city-states united under a single Emir, Mūsā ‘ibn Muhammad ‘ibn Nassir ‘ibn Mahfūz, former governor of Niebla, and known among the Christians as Aben Mafom.
Ibn Mafūz, King of Niebla and Emir of the Algarve, trying to counter the achievements of the Portuguese in their territories, declared himself a vassal to Alfonso X of Castile (who thus titled himself the King of the Algarve). Through his vassals, Alfonso X hoped to claim dominion over the Algarve not yet conquered by the Portuguese.
The Emir's vow of vassalage to Castile, however, did not stop the knights of the Order of Santiago, under the command of the Grand-Master Paio Peres Correia, from conquering most of the region city by city, between 1242 and 1249, including Silves. In March 1249, King Afonso III of Portugal captured Faro, the last Muslim stronghold in Algarve, ending the Portuguese Reconquista.
The entitlement of Afonso III of Portugal as King of Portugal and the Algarve would serve as a reaction to Alfonso X of Castile's claim to the Algarve, and was meant to demonstrate the Portuguese monarch's rights over the region.
The issue between the sovereigns of Castile and Portugal was eventually settled by the Treaty of Badajoz (1267), where King Alfonso X gave up his claims of the Algarve, making his grandson Dinis the heir to the throne of the Algarve, which dictated the terms of its absorption into the Portuguese crown. The treaty, though, allowed the use of the title of King of the Algarve by King Alfonso X and his descendants, since King Alfonso X had acquired the territories of Al-Gharb Al-Andalus on the other side of the Guadiana River. The kings of Castile, and later Spain, would add the title to their repertoire of titles until the ascent of Queen Isabel II of Spain to the throne.
Age of Discovery
During the Age of Discovery, many voyages started from the Algarve, mainly those funded by Prince Henry the Navigator (Infante D. Henrique). Prince Henry also set up his school of navigation at Sagres Point, though the idea of a real school building and campus is highly disputed. Most of the voyages set sail from Lagos.
The Algarves of either side of the sea in Africa
The name of the Algarvian Kingdom suffered some minor changes due to the Portuguese North African conquests, which were considered an extension of the kingdom of the Algarve. John I of Portugal added to the title of "King of Portugal and the Algarve", the title "Lord of Ceuta", and his grandson Afonso V of Portugal, in turn, styled himself "Lord of Ceuta and Álcacer-Ceguer in Africa" (after 1458). The 1471 conquest of Asilah, Tangiers and Larache, together with North African previous holdings, led to the creation of the term "Algarve-Beyond-the-Sea" (Algarve de Além-Mar), leaving the European Algarve to become "the Algarve behind the sea" (Algarve d’Aquém-Mar).
Thus, it was not until 1471 that "the Kingdom of the Algarve" led to "the Kingdom of the Algarves", due to the increase of Portuguese possessions in Northern Africa, which were made as possessions of the Kingdom of the Algarve. The Portuguese monarchs therefore adopted the title that they would use until the fall of the monarchy in 1910: "Kings of Portugal and the Algarves of either side of the sea in Africa". The title would continue to be used even after the abandonment of the last North African holding in Mazagan (Portuguese: Mazagão; lost by Portugal in 1769).
19th century
During the 19th century, a serious clash between pro-constitutionalism liberals and pro-absolutism antiliberals, caused a civil war in Portugal (1828–1834), and in Algarve an exodus of people from the Algarvian inlands to the coastal cities. José Joaquim de Sousa Reis, an antiliberal known as Remexido, fought in the inlands and attacked the coastal cities, bringing the urban population into turmoil. The turmoil of the Algarve intensified in the years between 1834 and 1838, when the Algarve saw battles on a level it had never seen before. On November 26, 1836, Miguel I of Portugal, already defeated and living in exile, named Remexido Governor of the Kingdom of the Algarve and Acting Commander in Chief of all the Royalist Troops, Regular and Irregular Armies, and the Operations in the South. Remexido, however, was captured near São Marcos da Serra and shot in Faro on August 2, 1838, after being subjected to a summary trial.
The Kingdom of the Algarve was de facto abolished in 1834 with the extinction of the post of Governor of Arms of the Kingdom of the Algarves. Ceasing to exist as a kingdom after the royal decree of 18 July 1835, which established a system of districts subject to civilian governors, with the territory of former Kingdom of Algarve being replaced by the Faro District. In practice, this changed very little as the "kingdom" appellation was largely a formality and the territory was run like any other Portuguese province throughout its formal existence. Portuguese and Spanish monarchs also continued to style themselves as "Kings/Queens of the Algarve".
List of governors
The day-to-day administration of the Kingdom fell to the Governor of Arms of the Kingdom of the Algarves, which had no special powers when compared to the Governors of Arms of other Portuguese provinces.
The monarch of Portugal was also the monarch of the Algarves, continuing to hold the title even after the Kingdom of the Algarves was nominally abolished in 1835, right up until the implantation of the republic. Castillian (and later Spanish) monarchs also claimed the title of King/Queen of the Algarves, beginning with Alfonso X.
Overall, 56 individuals held the post, 6 of which served only as interim governors. Additionally, governors Duarte de Meneses and Vasco de Mascarenhas served 2 non-consecutive terms each, while Nuno de Mendonça served 3 non-consecutive terms, totalling 60 governorships.