Tomar

From Freepedia

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Tomar, also known in English as Thomar, is a city of some 20,000 and also a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 351.0 km² and a total population of 43,054 inhabitants.

It was founded as head-quarters of the Templar knights in Portugal in the 12th century and contains some of the most significant Templar monuments in Europe. Tomar was especially important in the 15th century when it was a centre of Portuguese overseas expansion under the then Great-Master of the Order of Templars Henry the Navigator.

Contents

Geography

Tomar lies in the most fertile region of Portugal, and one of the most fertile in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula: the Ribatejo ("by the river Tagus") meadows. It is located in the district of Santarém. The predominant arborization is agricultural and comprises the olive tree, the pine and the fig tree.

The seat of the municipality is the city of Tomar (which comprises the parishes of Santa Maria dos Olivais and São João Baptista). Tomar is also the capital of the Médio Tejo (Mid-Tagus river) region.

The Nabão river cuts across what was the ancient city of Nabantia: its inhabitants are called Nabantinos.

Economy

Tomar is historically one of the prime industrial and commercial centres of Portugal. Tourism is an important source of revenue, since the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a commercial centre with many shops and considerable local attractiveness. The main industries today are paper, wood products, foodstuffs, ceramics, and other light industries. The main agricultural products of the municipality are olive oil, wine, wheat and nuts.

History

Under the modern city lie the Roman cities of Nabantia and Sellium. After the conquest of the region from the moors in the Portuguese Reconquista, the land was granted in 1159 as a feud to the Order of Templars. Its then Great-Master in Portugal, and Tomar's somewhat mythical founder, Dom Gualdim Pais, laid in 1160 the first stone of the Castle and Monastery that would become the Head-Quarters of the Order in Portugal. The Foro or feudal contract was granted in 1162 by the Great-Master to the people. The Templars ruled from Tomar a vast region of central Portugal which they pledged to defend from Moorish attacks and raids. Like many lords of the unpopulated former frontier region of central Portugal, the villains were given relatively liberal conditions in comparison with those of the northern regions of Portugal, in order to attract new immigrants. Those inhabitants which could sustain a horse were obliged to pay military service in return for privileges. They were not allowed the title of Knight which was reserved to the monks. Women were also admitted to the Order, although they didn't fight.

In 1190 the town was besieged by the Muslim Almohad King Yakub of Marocco but the Knights successfully defended it.

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In 1314, under pressure from the Pope, who wanted the Templars banned throughout Europe, King Dinis negotiated instead to transfer the possessions and personnel of the order in Portugal to a newly created Order of Christ. This Order in 1319 moved south to Castro Marim, but in 1356 it returned to Tomar. In the 15th century the (cleric) Great-Master began to be nominated by the Pope, and the (lay) Master or Governor by the King, instead of being elected by the monks.

Henry the Navigator was made the Governor of the Order, and it is believed that he used the resources and knowledge of the Order to succeed in his enterprises in Africa and in the Atlantic. The cross of the Order of Christ that was painted in the sails of the caravels that crossed the seas, and the catholic missions in the new lands were to be under the authority of the Tomar clerics until 1514. Henry, enriched by his overseas enterprises, was the first ruler to ameliorate the buildings of the Convent of Christ since its construction by Gualdim Pais. He also ordered dams to be built to control the river and swamps to be drained. This allowed the burgeoning town to attract more settlers. Henry ordered the new streets to be designed in a rational, geometrical fashion, as they can still be seen today.

In 1438 the King Duarte, away from Lisbon because of the Black Death, died there instead.

Just after 1492 with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the town increased further with Jewish refugee artisans and traders. The very large Jewish minority dynamized the city with new trades and skills. Their experience was vital in the success of the new trade routes with Africa. The original synagogue still stands. In the reign of King Manuel II of Portugal the convent took its final form within the Manueline renaissance style. With the growing importance of the town as master of Portugal's overseas empire, the leadership of the Order was granted to the King by the Pope.

However, under pressure from the Monarchs of Spain, the King soon proclaimed by Edict that all the Jews remaining within the territory of Portugal would be after a short period considered Christians, although simultaneously he forbade them to leave, fearing that the exodus of Jewish men of knowledge and capital would harm Portugal's burgeoning commercial empire. Jews were largely undisturbed as nominal Christians for several decades, until the establishment of a Tribunal of the Inquisition by the initiative of the Catholic Clergy in the town. Under persecution, wealthier Jews fled, most others were forced to convert. Hundreds of both Jews and New-Christians were arrested, tortured and burned at the stake in Autos-de-Fé, in a frenzy of persecution that peaked in around 1550. Many others were expropriated of their property. Jewish ascendancy, more than Jewish religion, together with personal wealth determined whom would be persecuted, since the expropriations reverted to the institution of the Inquisition itself. The town lost then with the persecution of its merchants and professionals most of its relevance as a trading centre. New-Christian names among the inhabitants are very common today.

In 1581 the city was the seat of the Cortes (Feudal Parliament) which acclaimed the King of Spain Felipe II as Portugal's Felipe I.

During the 18th century Tomar was one of the first regions of Portugal in industry. In the reign of Maria I, with royal support, a textile factory of Jácome Ratton was established against the opposition of the Order. The hydraulic resources of the river Nabão were used to supply energy to this and many other factories, namely paper factories, foundries, glassworks, silks and soaps. Tomar was occupied by the French during the Napoleonic invasions, against which it rebelled. Wellington with his Portuguese and English troops liberated the city afterwards. In 1834 all the religious orders, including the Order of Christ, were extinguished.

Attractions

Tomar attracts many tourists, because of its varied monuments, such as the Convent of Christ, a Unesco World Heritage Site, built as headquarters of the Knights Templar order. Other monuments in the city are the Jewish synagogue, the oldest in the country and the Castle. Other places to visit are the garden of Mouchão and the Forest of Sete Montes. In the outskirts of the city you can also visit the Aqueduct of Pegões.

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The still standing Church of Santa Maria do Olival was built as Mother Church to all the new churches in the Azores, Madeira, Africa, Brazil, India and East Asia. It bears the templar symbols in its façade, notably the Signum Salmonis.

Politics

The present Mayor is António Paulino Silva Paiva (Social Democrat).

Holidays

The municipal holiday is March 1.

There is an important festival every four years, the Festival of the Tabuleiros.

Parishes

The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém.

External links

Disambiguation

Tomar is also surname found in India. Tomar surname is common in Jat as well as in Rajput castes.

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