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Glass is one of the most surprising findings of the man and his history is full of mysteries.
Although historians do not have accurate data on their origin, were discovered in glassware Egyptian necropolis. It is thought that glass was known for at least 4,000 years before the Christian era.
Some authors point to the Phoenician navigators as the precursors of the glass industry. The discovery has been casual - a beach back to Syria to prepare a fire, improvised a stove, with blocks of saltpeter and soda. With the heat came to an intensity that was enough to melt the two materials to form the glass.
During the Roman Empire, there was a major development of this activity, with the peak in the thirteenth century in Venice. After fires in glass furnaces, the industry moved to Murano, an island near Venice. The fame of its crystals, mirrors and stained glass continues today.
France has manufactured glass since Roman times, but it was not until the late eighteenth century that the industry has thrived and achieved a remarkable degree of perfection. In the middle of this century, the French king Louis XIV brought some masters and set up the glassware company Saint-Gobain, one of the oldest companies in the world.
The process of large-scale production of plates of glass for windows was not discovered until 1910, while by Irving W. Colburn (1861-1917), USA, and Emile Fourcault, Belgium.
The modern glass industry came up with the industrial revolution and mechanization of processes. In 50 years, England, Pilkington invented the float glass production, also known as crystal, which has revolutionized the technology of this thriving industry. Since it started the manufacture of high quality glass for optical instruments, bottles, jars and other vessels, with consequent improvement of quality of life.
In Portugal
It was only in the eighteenth century the glass industry was established in Portugal. However, there is information referring to the existence of some producers of handmade glass in the fifteenth century. It is well known work of glassmaker William, who worked at the Monastery of Batalha. The glass was obtained by burning natural products with sodium carbonate. There were several ovens to labor in the production of glass in Portugal, but the passing of a cottage industry, very limited, to an industrial production was slow.
During the reign of John V, the Royal Factory Coina was transferred to Marinha Grande. The proximity to the pine forest of Leiria and the abundance of raw materials and fuel, advised the promotion of this industry in the region. Later, the Marquis of Pombal came to provide various supports and subsidies for the development of this factory.
Between 1748 and 1769 settled in Marinha Grande, and the Englishman John Beare William Stephens, where they dedicated themselves to the glass industry. The Royal Glass Factory of Marinha Grande became the second largest producer of glass, then to England.
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