The Barcarena Gunpowder Factory: Its History and Technological Evolution between the Seventeenth and Twentieth Centuries

There is documentary evidence of the use of gunpowder in Portugal since the reign of King Fernando (1367-83), and references to gunpowder makers are known from the middle of the fifteenth century. The Barcarena gunpowder works stand out among the primitive ones being built at the beginning of the seventeenth century. With overseas expansion their importance increased, although other factories were installed in the Portuguese overseas territories, especially in India and Brazil.