Kingdom of the Algarve
The Kingdom of the Algarve (Portuguese: Reino do Algarve, from the Arabic Gharb al-Andalus غَرْب الأنْدَلُس, "Western al-'Andalus"), after 1471, Kingdom of the Algarves (Portuguese: Reino dos Algarves), was a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal, located in the southernmost region of continental Portugal, until the end of the monarchy in 1910.
Kingdom of the Algarve Kingdom of the Algarves (after 1471) Reino do Algarve/Reino dos Algarves | |||||||||||
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| 1249–1910 | |||||||||||
Putative flag of the Algarves
Coat of arms
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Kingdom of the Algarves within the Kingdom of Portugal on a map published in 1561 (west is at the top) | |||||||||||
| Status | Nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal (1249–1910) Constituent kingdom of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1815–1825) | ||||||||||
| Capital | Silves (until 1576) Lagos (1576–1746) Tavira Faro (1746–1910) | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Portuguese | ||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy
(1249–1820; 1823–1825; 1828–1834) Constitutional monarchy (1820–1823; 1825–1828; 1834–1910) | ||||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||||
• 1249-1279 | Afonso III | ||||||||||
• 1816-1826 | João VI | ||||||||||
• 1908-1910 | Manuel II | ||||||||||
| Legislature | Cortes (1820–1910) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | March 1249 | ||||||||||
• Treaty of Badajoz | 16 February 1267 | ||||||||||
• United Kingdom | 16 December 1815 | ||||||||||
• Dissolution of the United Kingdom | 15 November 1825 | ||||||||||
| 5 October 1910 | |||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 1820 | c. 500,000 | ||||||||||
| Currency | dinheiro, real | ||||||||||
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It was a dominion of the Portuguese Crown and supposedly a kingdom apart from Portugal, though in fact the "Algarvian kingdom" had no institutions, special privileges, or autonomy. The Algarve was politically very similar to the rest of the Portuguese provinces, and "King of the Algarve" was just an honorific title, based on the Algarve's history as the last area of Portugal to be conquered from the Moors during the Portuguese 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.