a proper system of sewerage was installed, the condition of
Oporto was most insanitary. Electric lighting and tramways
were introduced a little before this, but the completion of the
tramway system was long delayed, and in the hilly districts cars
drawn by ten mules were not an uncommon sight. Ox-carts are
used for the conveyance of heavy goods, and until late in the
19th century sedan-chairs were still occasionally used. A painful
feature of the street-life of Oporto is the great number of the
diseased and mutilated beggars who frequent the busiest
thoroughfares. As a rule, however, the natives of Oporto are
strong and of fine physique; they also show fewer signs of
negro descent than the people of Lisbon. Their numbers tend
to increase very rapidly; in 1864 the population of Oporto was
86,751, but in 1878 it rose to 105,838, in 1890 to 138,860, and in
1900 to 167,955. Many of the men emigrate to South America,
where their industry usually enables them to prosper, and
ultimately to return with considerable savings. The local
dialect is broader than the Portuguese of the educated classes,
from which it differs more in pronunciation than in idiom.
The poverty of the people is very great. Out of the 597,935
inhabitants of the district of Oporto (893 sq. m.), 422,320 were
returned at the census of 1900 as unable to read or write. Much
had been done, however, to remedy this defect, and besides
numerous primary schools there are in the city two schools for
teachers, a medical academy, polytechnic, art, trade and naval
schools, and industrial institute, a commercial athenaeum, a
lyceum for secondary education, an ecclesiastical seminary, and a
meteorological observatory.
The cathedral, which stands at the highest point of eastern Oporto, on the site of the Visigothic citadel, was originally a Romanesque building of the 12th century; its cloisters are Gothic of the 14th century, but the greater part of the fabric was modernized in the 17th and 18th centuries. The interior of the cloisters is adorned with blue and white tiies, painted to represent scenes from the Song of Solomon. The bishop's palace is a large and lofty building conspicuously placed on a high rock; the interior contains a fine marble staircase. The Romanesque and early Gothic church of São Martinho de Cedo Feita is the most interesting ecclesiastical building in Oporto, especially noteworthy being the curiously carved capitals of its pillars. Though the present structure is not older, except in details, than the 12th century, the church is said to have been “hastily built” (cedo feita, cito facta) by Theodomir, king of the Visigoths, in 550, to receive the relics of St Martin of Tours, which were then on their way hither from France. The Torre dos Clerigos is a granite tower 246 ft. high, built in the middle of the 18th century at the expense of the local clergy (clerigos); it stands on a hill and forms a conspicuous landmark for sailors. Nossa Senhora da Lapa is a fine 18th-century church, Corinthian in style; São Francisco is a Gothic basilica dating from 1410; Nossa Senhora da Serra do Pilar is a secularized Augustinian convent used as artillery barracks, and marks the spot at which Wellington forced the passage of the Douro in 1809. The exchange (lonja) is another secularized convent, decorated with coloured marbles. Parts of the interior are lloored and panelled with pohshed native-coloured woods from Brazil, which are inlaid in elaborate patterns; there is a very handsome staircase, and the fittings of one large room are an excellent modern copy of Moorish ornamentation.
Other noteworthy public buildings are the museum, library, opera-house, bull-ring, hospital and quarantine station. The crystal palace is a large glass and iron structure built for the industrial exhibition of 1865; its garden commands a fine view of the city and river, and contains a small menagerie. The English factory, built in 1790, has been converted into a club for the British residents—a large and important community whose members are chiefly connected with the wine and shipping trades. Lawn tennis, cricket, boat-racing on the Douro, and other British sports have been successfully introduced, and there is keen competition between the Oporto clubs and those of Lisbon and Carcavellos. The English club gave its name to the Rua Nova dos Inglezes, one of the busiest streets, which contains many banks, warehouses and steamship offices. The Rua da Alfandega, skirting the right bank of the Douro and passing the custom house (alfándega), is of similar character; here may be seen characteristic types of the fishermen and peasants of northern Portugal. The Rua das Flores contains, on its eastern side, the shops of the cloth-dealers; on the west are the jewellers' shops, with a remarkable display of gold and silver fihgree-work and enamelled gold. Oporto is famous for these ornaments, which are often very artistic, and are largely worn on holidavs by women of the poorer classes, whose savings or dowries are often kept in this readily marketable form.
Oporto is chiefly famous for the export of the wine which bears its name. An act passed on the 29th of January 1906 defined “port” as a wine grown in the Douro district, exported from Oporto, and containing more than 16.5% of alcoholic strength. The vines from which it is made grow in the Paiz do Vinho, a hilly region about 60 m. up the river, and having an area of 27 m. in length by 5 or 6 in breadth, cut off from the sea, and shut in from the north-east by mountains. The trade was established in 1678, but the shipments for some years did not exceed 600 pipes (of 115 gallons each). In 1703 the British government concluded the Methuen treaty with Portugal, under which Portuguese wines were admitted on easier terms than French or German, and henceforward “port” began to be drunk (see Portugal: History). In 1747 the export reached 17,000 pipes. In 1754 the great wine monopoly company of Oporto originated, under which the shipments rose to 33,000 pipes. At the beginning of the 19th century the policy of the government more and more favoured port wine, besides which the vintages from 1802 to 1815 were splendid both in Portugal and in Madeira—that of 1815 has, in fact, never been excelled. For the next few years the grape crop was not at all good, but the 1820 vintage was the most remarkable of any. It was singularly sweet and black, besides being equal in quality to that of 1815. This was long regarded as the standard in taste and colour for true port, and to keep up the vintage of following years to this exceptional standard adulteration by elder berries, &c., was resorted to. This practice did not long continue, for it was cheaper to adulterate the best wines with inferior sorts of port wine itself. In 1852 the Oidium which spread over Europe destroyed many of the Portuguese vineyards. In 1865 Phylloxera did much damage, and in 1867 the second monopoly company was abolished. From this time the exports again increased. (See Wine.)
A third of the population is engaged in the manufacture of cottons, woollens, leather, silk, gloves, hats, pottery, corks, tobacco, spirits, beer, aerated waters, preserved foods, soap or jewelry. Oporto gloves and hats are highly esteemed in Portugal, Cotton piece goods are sent to the African colonies, and, in small quantities, to Brazil; their value in 1905 was £120,360, but a larger quantity was retained for the home market. The fisheries—chiefly of hake, bream and sardines—are extensive. Steam-trawling, though unsuccessful in the 19th century, was resumed in 1904, and in 1906 there were 136 British, 10 Dutch and 3 Portuguese steamers thus engaged. The innovation was much resented by the owners of more than 350 small sailing boats, and protective legislation was demanded. In 1905 the combined port of Oporto and Leixões was entered by 1734 vessels of 1,562,724 tons, but in this total some vessels were counted twice over—i.e. once at each port. Nearly three-fourths of the tonnage was entered at Leixões. About the close of the 19th century there was an important development of tourist traffic from Liverpool and Southampton via Havre. Reduced railway rates and improved hotel accommodation have facilitated the growth of this traffic. Many tourists land at Oporto and visit Braga (q.v.), Bussaco (q.v.) and other places of interest, on their way to Lisbon. There is also a large tourist traffic from Germany. The exports of Oporto include wine, cottons, wood, pitwood, stone, cork, salt, sumach, onions, oranges, olives and beans. American competition has destroyed the export trade in live cattle for which Great Britain was the principal market. Dried codfish (bacalhão) is imported in great quantities from Newfoundland and Norway; other noteworthy imports are
