The city of Évora had once been the seat of a Jesuit university, the University of the Holy Spirit of Évora , founded in 1559 and succeeding the former college of Jesuits. This university was abolished in 1759 following the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal.
In 1973, the Portuguese government decided to create a new state university in the same city, the Instituto Universitario de Evora ("University Institute of Évora"), an institute that will be reorganized in 1979 to form the new (and present) Universidade de Évora ("University of Évora").