HOLIDAY HOUSE to RENT in TAVIRA - MAISON de VACANCES à LOUER à TAVIRA
ALGARVE - PORTUGAL

Founded in 1520, Tavira was the first and main town in the Kingdom of The Algarve. At the time, the town had over 6.000 inhabitants and used to shelter in its harbour 44 high tonnage ships from Flanders, Germany, Great Britain and Biscay. With its men involved in North Africa conquest (Ceuta, Arzila and Tanger), and later in the discovery and colonization of the whole African coast the town became the main harbour supporting the Portuguese maritime expansion. At the beginning of the XVllth century, the nobility counted 49 families enjoying special rights and royal privileges, and among other things, the right to a 3 month, tax-free fair, the right to bring slaves from Africa three times a year for farm work, and the right to sell their merchandise in all African harbours as far as Mecca. The progressive abandonment of all African market-places by the Portuguese, the growing development of Seville, a key town of trade with the West Indies, the increase of ship tonnage, the silting up of the river, the devastating effects of the plague of 1645 largely contributed to the decrease of population, the weakening of trade and a pronounced decrease of harbour traffic. In the 1960's, the end of tuna fishing reduced commercial fishing to a more modest local activity, at present, agriculture, trade and recently tourism are the areas of major economic importance in the region.