Lisbon: Descubridores Monument Blog Post



This monument is a huge tall tower of cement.  It is shaped like a large rectangle.  There is a slight curve that look somewhat like waves.  There is a group of men slanted up toward the river.  All of the men are looking toward the river.  Around the statue there is a board walk next to the river and the river is quite expansive.  All the men look like they are in another time period.  It is a powerful looking statue that is very imposing on the area.  There is also nothing else around that size so it draws your eye straight to you and is very imposing to everything around you.  

This monument is so important to Lisbon and Portugal because it is seen as soon as you get in by the river.  The monument represents and shows you Henry the Navigator who was a big deal to the people of religion.  The reason this monument is so important and Henry the Navigator was so important was because Henry the Navigator and his crew made Portugal what it was as a sea port.  Portugal is known for finding and exploring other places as well as being able to use the sea to their advantage.  This monument shows the people their importance as soon as they arrive in Portugal.  

In my opinion this monument contributes to this city as a cultural capital because it makes this area important in a lot of ways.  It shows the people arriving from the Tagus River that Portugal is important and the men depicted on the statue is part of what made Portugal important.  Other reasons this monument contributes to the city as a capital is because it shows Henry the Navigator and his team who helped to give Portugal a lot of its power.  Because of their ability to explore and find other places it helped to give Portugal resources and power from finding more land.  

Comments

  1. Lilly PetersonMay 22, 2024 at 3:05 PM

    I love what you say about how this monument contributes to a cultural capital because it shows the history of Portugal. The men on this statue are definitely important for Lisbon's history and show us its claim to legitimacy. Portugal definitely gained a lot of power from this new technology, like you said, and I think that it is awesome that this achievement is immortalized in this monument.

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  2. Meg KiehlJune 2, 2024 at 4:17 AM

    Elease, I really like how you talked about how important Henry the Navigator was and how this monument commemorates him well. Even though colonialism has many negative consequences on the world, there were also positive ones that you highlighted with the exploration that he supported. The Descubridores Monument contributes to Lisbon as one of the cultural capitals of the world because of its prominence, its position on the river in a major port and the discoveries it represents.

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