For almost a century Portugal kept a monopoly of the spice maritime trade with India and the Far East, where our ships arrived in 1498. In 1500 the fleet of Álvares Cabral arrived in Brazil with all its riches. In 1501 the construction of this monastery began and was completed after several decades.
As all major buildings of the time it was built to celebrate spiritual and earthly endeavours. On the northern side of this cloister we find symbols of the Passion of Christ. On the southern side we have the symbols of kingdom and Kings. The concept was that the history of Portugal and our monarchic dynasty interconnected with the history of Christianity.