[1] Primitive utensils from the Paleolithic era have been discovered on the margins of the Alcântara ravine, and signs in the hilly part of the neighborhood, in the areas of Alvito and Tapada da Ajuda, indicate a level of occupation in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.

Around 1300, Bronze Age farmers and shepherds established small villages in this area, with a subsistence economy based on herding and the cultivation of cereal crops.

[3] This is the name given to the bridge that crossed the river in this part, which ended up being called the Alcântara River in the time of John V. After the Reconquista of Lisbon (1147), the area became integrated into the Reguengos de Ribamar (a reguengo or realengo was, in medieval Portugal, a village directly subject to the jurisdiction of the monarch) that included terrain that extended from the Alcântara ravine to the Laje ravine, in today's Oeiras.

In March 1382, an armada under the authority of John I of Castile entered the Tagus estuary, but was unable to crack the defenses; the force advanced inland attacking, sacking and stealing cattle.

[3] In the 15th century, the exploitation of the Alcântara stone quarries, used for the extraction of building materials or for the production of lime, contributed to the economic development and population of the area (along with the ovens of Cais do Sodré).

A hospital was constructed in 1520 in the garden of Jerónimo de Eça (Horta Navia) in order to combat the plague that was devastating the city of Lisbon.

[4][5] Yet, the plague did not impede nobles from constructing estates along the Tagus; Alcântara was situated near the border of the parish of Ajuda, an extension of the nobility.

Later, the death of King Sebastian at the Battle of Alcácer-Quibir resulted in a crisis in dynastic succession between António, Prior of Crato, Catherine, Duchess of Braganza and Philip II of Spain.

The Portuguese sovereigns had a particular predilection for Alcântara and Peter II of Portugal arranged to have his heart kept in the local Convento das Flamengas.

Between 1690 and 1728 the Fábrica da Pólvora was built by Carlos de Sousa and Azevedo, intended for the production of gunpowder for the Portuguese fleet.

[3] The registries during this era were full of references to families of the upper and lower nobility who began to live in this zone alongside the socially deprived and poor that already existed.

[3] Still, the accentuated industrialization continued to dominate the valley and lasted until the late 19th century, resulting in many small factories and warehouses, including numerous metal-stampers and tanneries.

In fact, the rail-line was completed after public sanitation works along the beach in Alcântara (1876), which resulted in the recovery of an additional 500 meters of land from the Tagus River, which were quickly expropriated by factories, docks and warehouses.

Between 1884 and 1886, the bairros of Santo Amaro and Calvário began to develop as social housing, from lands reserved from the old Quinta da Ninfa.

[3] Alcântara was, at the beginning of the 20th century, a neighborhood of decidedly republican tendencies and home to groups conspiring to overthrow the Portuguese monarchy.

The construction of the 25 de Abril Bridge and its access roads led to the need to demolish some homes and relocate some of the neighbourhood's inhabitants, who were housed in the Bairro do Relógio , in the north-eastern part of Lisbon.

Starting from 1999, the population of the neighborhood was rehoused in new homes and a redevelopment of the area began, which saw the demolition of Casal Ventoso and the construction of public housing .

These measures, combined with the implementation of the policy known as Estratégia Nacional de Luta Contra a Droga (ENLCD) have led to a reduction and greater control of the phenomenon of drug dealing, although without completely eliminating it.

[9][10][11][12][13] Around the early 1990s, Alcântara started to become a place for pubs and discotheques, mainly because its outer area is mostly commercial, and the noise generated at night, and the "movida", would not disturb its residents.