ABSTRACT
The nation’s 737-kilometer Atlantic coastline, with its dozens of snug harbors, forms the southwest corner of Europe. Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, shelters behind a windward line of hills on the northern bank of the Tagus River; the city overlooks a perfect natural harbor where the Tagus opens into the sea. Lisbon, the westernmost capital in Europe, sits neatly on the eastern edge of the hemispheric weather system. Medieval and early modern navigators voyaging from northern Europe, the Mediterranean, or the Americas, therefore, was often obliged to include Lisbon in their itineraries. The chapter outlines Lisbon’s strategic significance in the Atlantic World and considers that significance as it applies to several spheres of human endeavor. It also considers Lisbon as a strategic haven in the military sense; a port that, time and again, proved pivotal in European conflicts, often with global implications.
