HISTORY
In 1496 King Manuel I petitioned the Holy See for permission to build a large monastery at the entrance to Lisbon on the banks of the Tagus River. Construction began in 1501 and the work was finished about a century later(...).
(...)King Manuel I poured large sums of money into the building of the Monastery at Belém. A good part of what was called the " Vintena da Pimenta" (approximately 5% of the receipts from the spice trade with Africa and the East, the equivalent of 70kg of gold per year) served to pay for the work which, from the beginning, was strictly dependent on the King.
(...)King Manuel chose the monks of Order of St. Jerome (Hieronymite monks) to occupy the Monastery. Their functions were to pray for the King's soul and give spiritual comfort to seamen and navigators leaving the Restelo beach for the discovery of other lands... The Order lived in the Monastery for four centuries until 1833(...).
(Taken from: http://www.mosteirojeronimos.pt/english/web_mosteiro_jeronimos/html/frameset.html)