The University of Évora, the second oldest in Portugal, was founded in the 16th century by the Archbishop of Évora Cardinal Infante Dom Henrique, future king of Portugal, and the Pope Paul IV. Its administrative control was granted to the newly formed Society of Jesus.[2] This measure could be seen as part of Henry's policies to attract Jesuits to the kingdom.
The Jesuit college in Évora operated between 1559 and 1759, when it was surrounded by cavalry troops on February 8 of 1759, as a consequence of the Jesuit banishment promoted by the Minister of the Kingdom Marquis of Pombal.