ALGARVE

historical province of southern Portugal, corresponding to the modern administrative distrito of Faro, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean (south and west) and the lower Guadiana River (east). Much of the interior upland region is of low productivity and is sparsely populated; the fertile coastal lowland is more densely inhabited. The Phoenicians established bases in the area, and the Romans later conquered it; Visigoths ruled the region until Muslims took control in the early 8th century. After nearly five centuries of Muslim rule, Algarve was taken into the Portuguese kingdom in 1189. Algarve (Arabic: al-Gharb, meaning the west) remains Moorish in appearance. The economy is based on agriculture (corn , figs, olives, almonds, grapes, pomegranates, and carobs). Fishing (tuna, anchovies, mackerel, and sardines) is also important; industries include the processing of fish, cork, and wine, as well as mining. In recent years tourism in the Algarve region has increased greatly. Prince Henry the Navigator established his school of navigation at Sagres Point about 1418. After Portugal granted independence to Angola and Mozambique in the 1970s, about 500,000 retornados (returnees) fled to Portugal. The Portuguese government, with assistance from the United States, subsidized housing in Algarve's hotels for the retornados, at costs that nearly collapsed the economy. These problems, however, did not hamper development of the tourist industry.