Portugal 1000 Escudos banknote 1932
Obverse: Portrait of Dom Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor at left and Panoramic view of the National Palace of Sintra. In the top, the issuer name "BANCO DE PORTUGAL" and Coat of Arms of Portugal.
Reverse: In the top, the issuer name "BANCO DE PORTUGAL". View of the beautiful Almourol castle located on a small island on the middle of the Tagus river, Portugal & head of an ancient warrior at upper left.
Watermark: Head of Hannibal.
Printer: Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, New Malden in Surrey, England.
Portugal banknotes - Portugal paper money
1932 & 1934 "Chapa 5" Issue
50 Escudos 500 Escudos 1000 Escudos
Dom Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor
Dom Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor (1636 – August 15, 1720) was a Portuguese politician and prime minister.
Portuguese royal favourite who, as effective governor of Portugal from 1662 to 1667 during the reign of Afonso VI, was responsible for the successful prosecution of the war against Spain, which led, in 1668, to Spanish recognition of Portugal's new ruling dynasty.
Shortly after Afonso VI's coming-of-age in 1662, Castelo Melhor saw an opportunity to gain power at court by befriending the mentally unstable king. He managed to convince the king that his mother, Luisa of Medina-Sidonia, was out to steal his throne and exile him from Portugal. As a result, Afonso took control of the throne and his mother was sent to a convent.
The King appointed Castelo Melhor his secret notary (escrivão da puridade), a position in which the favourite was able to exercise the functions of first minister.
Castelo Melhor overcame the difficulties which had hitherto beset Portugal in the war against Spain, reorganizing the troops (now reinforced by an English contingent by virtue of the English king Charles II's marriage to Catherine of Braganza) and entrusting their command to competent generals. Consequently the Portuguese Restoration War entered a victorious phase for Portugal (1663–65) and Spain began peace negotiations.
Agreement proved difficult to attain and meanwhile the internal political situation in Portugal deteriorated. Castelo Melhor and his Francophile party were losing ground to the Anglophile party. The King was obliged to dismiss Castelo Melhor on September 9, 1667, in a palace coup organized by the king's wife Maria Francisca of Nemours and brother Pedro . Shortly afterwards, the king himself was also deprived of power.
Castelo Melhor went into exile in Paris and then London, but in 1685 he was permitted to return to Portugal and, two years after that, to court. On the accession of John V (1706), he was appointed a councillor of state and he continued to occupy a position of distinction until his death in 1720.
He was also the 12th captain-major of Santa Maria Island in the Azores from 1667 to 1720.
Sintra National Palace
The Sintra National Palace (Portuguese: Palácio Nacional de Sintra), also called Town Palace ("Palácio da Vila", Vila = Town), located in the plaza main is a building of undeniable artistic value that combines Gothic, Manuelineand Renaissance architectural styles and even presents ways romantic. From the 15th century it was the residence of the Portuguese royal family. One of the most characteristic elements of this construction are its two large conical chimneys of no less than 33 meters high. Another of the many wonders that holds this impressive Palace is the collection of Moorish tiles, one of the most important in the world. It is an significant tourist attraction, and is part of the cultural landscape of Sintra, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Castle of Almourol
The Castle of Almourol is a medieval castle, located on a small islet in the middle of the Tagus River, in the civil parish of Praia do Ribatejo, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the municipal seat of Vila Nova da Barquinha, in the Portuguese Centre Region. The castle was part of the defensive line controlled by the Knights Templar, and a stronghold used during the Portuguese Reconquista.
It is believed that the castle was constructed on the site of a primitive Lusitanian castro that was later conquered by the Romans during the 1st century B.C.E. It was later remodelled by successive invading forces, including the Alans, Visigoths and Moors, although it is unclear when the actual castle was established. In excavations carried out in the interior and exterior enclosures, various vestiges of Roman occupation were discovered, that included coins, millennium markers and Roman foundations, while medieval remnants such as medallions and two marble columns were also discovered in the castle's vicinity.
The castle of Almourol is one of the more emblematic and cenographic medieval military monuments of the Reconquista, and best representation of the influence of the Knights Templar in Portugal. When it was conquered in 1129, by forces loyal to the Portuguese nobility, it was then known as Almorolan, and placed in the trust of Gualdim Pais, the master of the Knights Templar in Portugal, who rebuilt the structure. The structure was reconstructed, starting in 1171 (from an inscription over the principal gate) and restored during the subsequent reigns.
Losing its strategic place, it was abandoned resulting in its fall into ruins. In the 19th century, it was "reinvented" by idealistic romantics, which eventually led to interventions in the 1940s and 1950s, and its adaption as Official Residence of the Portuguese Republic. During this period, restorations had proceeded, transforming the physical appearance of the structure, including the addition of crenellations and bartizans.
Around 1940-1950, the spaces were adapted for its use as an official residence of the Portuguese Republic. At the end of this short term, the building's furniture was acquired by the Commission for Furniture Acquisition (Portuguese: Comissão para a Aquisição de Mobiliário) in 1955, while an electrical grid was installed.
Between 1958 and 1959, there was some consolidation of the keep with concrete straps, a project to diminish the permeability of the courtyard and reconstruction of the interior walls of the tower by the Escola Prática de Engenharia (Practical School of Engineering), as well as the reconstruction of a door that included doorposts and lintels. In subsequent years, other projects occurred: in 1959, the repair of the facade of one section of wall; in 1960, with the conclusion of the repairs to the exterior walls, the pavement and road access was improved by the Direcção da Arma de Engenharia de Tancos (Tancos Directorate for Weapons Engineering). But, this roadway was improved with the reconstruction of a road that skirted the islet from the quay to the southern end of the castle, by theServiços de Engenharia do Estado Maior do Exército (Service of the Army Corp of Engineers).
By 1996, the walls were repaired, sections of the keep were preserved and the pavement in the castle restored.
Owing to water infiltration, the castle began to show some signs of degradation by 2004, including a few of the exterior walls.