evidence: In 1640 Portugal had once again a Portuguese King, D. João IV, who restored the country’s independence. In the 18th Century art-lover, absolutist King D. João V ordered the construction, in Mafra, of a giant Convent and palace and, in Lisbon, the Aqueduct of Águas Livres. However, the luxurious and exotic capital of the kingdom almost completely vanished in 1755 due to a devastating earthquake. It was Marquês de Pombal, Prime Minister of King D. José, who recreated a new Lisbon, monumental and ready to take on the furies of nature. [...] However, on 25 April 1974 the «Carnation Revolution» returned freedom and democracy to the Portuguese, swiftly recognizing the independence of the former African colonies.