3 - Concerning the places which the king gave to Lisbon for inclusion within the city limits

Summary

If it is claimed that a true favour is one which is granted without being asked for and which originates in the kindness of the person who grants it, then this can indeed be said of the noble King João. That is because, when he realised that the city of Lisbon had been the true mother and creator of what had been achieved, he was not fully satisfied with the privileges and freedoms which he had granted to it; rather, he took the view that they fell short of what the city truly deserved. Thus, in order to enhance the city's noble and honourable status and to commemorate its truly remarkable service for all time, he decided to extend the city limits well beyond what existed and authorised this in a charter which begins in the following way:

King João, by the grace of God King of Portugal and the Algarve: We inform all those who read this charter that we recognise the many great services that the very noble city of Lisbon has rendered to us, to these realms and to their inhabitants. It exposed itself to every danger in order to save every one of us from the evil subjection which, against all reason and the rule of law, the King of Castile was so keen to inflict on us, as is now widely known throughout the whole of Spain. Indeed, as a reward for those services, the city deserves to receive from us something which will make it the most noble and honoured city within these realms. Accordingly, in recognition of our need to grant favours to this city, we honour it, extend to it a privileged status, and give, donate and encompass within its borough boundary as its affiliate our township of Sintra, along with its respective boundary and villages. Furthermore, it is our wish and command that the aforesaid city of Lisbon be enabled to decide everything which the township of Sintra is currently able to do within its present borough boundary.

Contained in this charter there were further clauses and conditions. In addition, Lisbon's borough boundary was extended to include Torres Vedras and Alenquer, along with all their villages, as well as Mafra, Colares, Ericeira, Vila Verde [dos Francos]