Adolescence

In 1290 the first Portuguese University is founded in Lisbon by King Denis I while the city starts expanding outside its defensive walls due to the rising population, an outcome to a great extent of the expansion of commerce, this time to the Christian areas of Northern Europe that was a sorts of terra incognita a few years earlier due to the religious enmity between Christians and Muslims.

The progress in navigation & ship building, the growing populations of Europe in the 12th and 13th century, the increasing demand for goods introduced in the European continent by the Arabs & vice versa, would benefit the maritime trade of long distances between the Mediterranean & the North Sea that was bound to have the safe port of Lisbon as one of its main stations.

Map showing the main trade routes of late medieval Europe. The black lines show the routes of the Hanseatic League, the blue Venetian and the red Genoese routes. Purple lines are routes used by both the Venetians and the Genoese. Overland and river routes are stippled.

The hostilities of the Kingdom of Portugal with its neighboring unified Kingdom of Leon & Castile were terminated in 1297 by a treaty of alliance which brought about a period of stability, of social reconstruction & homogenization that started right at the beginning of the 14th century for both Lisbon & Portugal. New laws introduced by King Denis I formed the basis of the Portuguese civil and criminal code, creating a safety net for the lower classes of the kingdom and several new castles are built to keep order. São Jorge Castle is reconstructed to serve as the royal palace. The language of Portuguese become the official language of the state, replacing Latin that were widely used in official documents until the end of the 13th century.