The Development of Industrial Activity in Tomar: a Study on the Unpublished Document of Bernardo Daniel de Moraes Requirement

The exploration of the Nabão River in Tomar, Portugal, and its resources was an exclusive right of the Order of Christ, and it was constantly evoked by the religious of this order when there were disputes over the right to build water wheels, mills, and other structures along the river. This singular relation of power over the territory led to also a unique urban occupation in the Portuguese panorama. These interactions of power were documented in the unpublished manuscript of “Bernardo Daniel de Moraes’ Requirement” of the year 1799. The manuscript allows to cross boundaries between the political, economic and social context and the Order of Christ and their impact on the use of the Nabão River. Therefore, with this document as main source for this paper, we seek to demonstrate the relations between industrial activity, the Nabão River and the development of the city of Tomar in the turn to the nineteenth century, having the Order of Christ as a constant and structuring element in this gear.