page_title: Póvoa de Varzim
section_title: Shipbuilders, seafarers and fishermen
hierarchical_section_title: Póvoa de Varzim / History / Shipbuilders, seafarers and fishermen
caption_attribution_description: English: Povoa de Varzim Marketsquare (Praça) in 1909
context_page_description: Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, 30 km from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers. In 2001, there were 63,470 inhabitants, with 42,396 living in the city proper. The city expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there are about 100,000 inhabitants in the urban area alone. It is the seventh-largest urban agglomeration in Portugal and the third largest in Northern Portugal.
  Permanent settlement in Póvoa de Varzim dates back to around four to six thousand years ago; around 900 BC, unrest in the region led to the establishment of Cividade de Terroso, a fortified city, which developed maritime trade routes with the civilizations of classical antiquity. Modern Póvoa de Varzim emerged after the conquest by the Roman Republic of the city by 138 BC; fishing and fish processing units soon developed, which became the foundations of the local economy.
context_section_description: In the 16th century, the fishermen started to work in maritime activities, as pilots or seafarers in the crew of the Portuguese ships, due to their high nautical knowledge. The fishermen of the region are known to fish in Newfoundland since, at least, 1506. During the reign of John III the Povoan shipmaking art was already renowned, and Povoan carpenters were sought after by Lisbon's Ribeira das Naus shipyard due to their high technical skills. The single floored houses dominated the town's landscape, but there are indications of multiple floored habitations with rich architecture. The seafarers' social class, well-off gentlemen, was associated with this richer architecture around Praça Velha square.
  In the 17th century, the shipbuilding industry boomed in Ribeira, area around Póvoa Fortress in the sheltered bay, and one third of the population had some relation with this activity, building ships for the merchant navigation. During this period there was a relevant urban expansion: the Praça civic center with the town hall and the Madre Deus Chapel, the area of the old town where the Main church was located and the fishermen neighborhood of Junqueira was starting its affirmation as a new urban center.
  In the beginning of the 18th century, there was a decline in the Ribeira shipyard activities, due to the aggradation of the Portuguese coast and the Povoan shipyard started to work in the construction of fishing vessels. There was a significant increase of the fisher community in the middle of the century, becoming the main activity, and during the reign of Joseph I with the country in the middle of an economic crisis, Póvoa started a rapid development. The Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon noticed their overwhelming notoriety in the Minho coast and considered Povoans to be the most expert fishermen from Cape St. Vincent to Caminha, with a sizable number of fishermen, ships and high sea fishing. The result was a very considerable quantity of caught fish.
  The community became wealthier and, following a royal provision by Queen Mary I in 1791, the inspector general Almada reorganized the town's layout, a new civic center with a monumental city hall, streets and infrastructure were built, all of which provided potential for a new business — sea baths.
caption: The market square in 1909.
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