HISTORY OF SEVILLE

The Legends tells that Seville was founded by Hercules. But according to historians, the Seville area flourished during theTharsis reign. The Phoenicians and Greeks maintained commercial relations with Tharsis. During the 8th century BC, their descendants created a city on the shores of the Guadalquivir and named it Ispal. It would be later called Hispalis and is the origin of Seville. From the 3rd century BC, the Carthaginians occupied the area, but they were defeated by the Roman, Scipio Africanus in 206 BC. From then on, Seville entered an age of splendour. This was even truer when Julius Caesar gave Seville the status of colony in 45 BC. The surprising fact is that, nowadays, there is little rest of this flourishing roman period.

During that period, various invasions took place, particularly Vandals and Visigoths. The latter dominated Seville during the 6th and 7th centuries. This is when Seville became the most important cultural area in the Occident. The great figure of that time was the archbishop San Isidoro, who wrote Etymologies, the encyclopedia gathering all the knowledge of those days.

In 712 started the domination of the Arabs over Sevilla, that they called at that time Isbiliah. The Betis river was also renamed Guad el Kevir. Those two names are the origin of the current names of Seville and Guadalquivir river. Under the Arab ruling, Seville entered another age of splendour. When the Almohades arrived in 1147, they transferred the centre of the power from Cordoba to Seville and made it their capital. From this last period of the Arab-Andalusian domination remain the Giralda, the Torre del Oro, the Alcazar (later rebuilt by the Christian kings) and the Macarena wall (Muralla de la Macarena).

In 1248, Ferdinand III The Saint conquered Seville for Christianity. Muslims were forced to leave whereas Mudejars and Hebrews stayed. Seville was repopulated with some 24.000 Castilians who grouped together in different neighbourhoods according to their occupations. This led to the creation of brotherhoods that still exist nowadays and to the attribution of patron saints for each. 
A lot of churches were built to replace the mosques. Ferdinand III transferred the Kingdom of Castile Court to the Alcazar of Seville. He stayed there until he died in 1252 and is considered as Seville’s patron saint. 
Ferdinand III’s son, Alfonso X, continued his father’s work. He established a tolerant reign which enabled the Jewish, Arab and Christian’s knowledge to boom.

Under Peter I of Castile (1350-69), the city grew in an extraordinary way. The Alcazar was rebuilt and transformed in a beautiful mudejar palace.

In 1401, started the Gothic-style Cathedral  that was built over the Big Mosque. However the Giralda as well as the patio de los naranjos (Orange trees courtyard) were kept.

The overtaking of Granada in 1492 marked the end of the Reconquest process; the Jews were expelled and Seville became the headquarters of the Inquisition. In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered America. From then on, Seville experienced its apogee. Indeed, the Chamber of Commerce was created to deal with the trade relations between Spain and the overseas territories. 
The new American market as well as the monopoly of Seville on the trade relations brought it much wealth. Seville became the wealthiest city of Spain as well as the most cosmopolitan.  In the XVI Seville was the capital of the world. Most of important countries made trade with Seville because of the spices, gold, silver etc... It was the main reason of this rich age of culture at the city. 

In 1519, Carlos I of Spain (Carlos V of Germany) became emperor. Spain became the most powerful nation in Europe, although the constant wars of the empire ruined a big part of the wealth coming to the port. 
The territory of the city expanded, and the population grew up to 150.000 inhabitants at the end of 15th century. Three famous painters were born in Seville at that time: Velazquez (1599), Murillo (1617) and Valdes Leal (1622). 

Nonetheless, the 17th century saw the decline of Seville. After a plague epidemic in 1649 divided the population by two, the Guadalquivir got stuck in 1680. The India fleet was moved to Cadiz, soon followed by the whole Chamber of Commerce. Seville however kept its monopoly on tobacco and a huge plant was built to this end. Nowadays, this plant houses Seville’s university.

After the Independence war and another plague epidemic in the 19th century, Seville experienced another period of prosperity under Queen Elisabeth, who implemented urban reforms, in particular the construction of the Elisabeth II bridge (Puente Isabel II) in 1845 and the collapse of the wall around the city in 1869, which gave birth to new roads and squares.

During the 20th century, Seville hosted two expositions that modified its landscapes. In 1929, Seville welcome the Latin-American exposition, the aim of which was to strengthen the Andalusian economy. Several houses representing various countries were built for this exposition and still exist nowadays. 63 years later, in 1992, Seville hosted another big exposition: The Universal Exposition  

SEVILLE ON 17 TH CENTURY (LIFE AND LEGACY OF MIGUEL MAÑARA)  

The 17th century Seville was a city of contrasts. On the one hand powerful, colourful, full of wealth and beautiful monuments and on the other hand a city characterized by poverty and disease. If in 1700 Charles II of Spain dies childless the succession war in starts in Spain t (1701-1714)  During this war the English occupied Gibraltar. When peace is concluded in 1713 (Treaty of Utrecht), Spain becomes a centralized state with the house of Bourbon at the head under King Philip V.  The court disappears from Seville and the city loses its important position in the country.

The Seville of Miguel Mañara

The riots of 1642, the Black Death of 1649, the drought of 1682 along with the floods of 1683 caused the exodus of a large amount of the inhabitants of Seville. This exodus is reinforced by the gradual weakening of the social and economic situation that arose in the 17th century. All this led in 1717 to the relocation of the Casa de Contratación (employment office) to Cádiz. In relation to art and culture, nothing changes due to the presence in the city of great artists such as Murillo, Roldán or Valdés Leal, who worked among other things on the decoration of the Hospital de Santa Caridad, the city remains the cultural center of Andalusia.  The 17th century is the century of splendour and decadence, the sunrise and sunset, as defined by proffessor Domínguez Ortiz. We are faced with a century divided into two parts the heyday and the change as the Black Death appears (Plague epidemic of 1649).  Gold and silver from India gave way to fear of death.  In this century came the best works of art in the history of the Baroque and an artistic movement connected with the counter reformation All this offers Seville an artistic heritage unique in Europe. 

On the one hand, luxury and pomp and circumstance,on the other hand, a demographic-  and social economic crisis, that puts the city in a state of depression. The restoration of this would take centuries. This is the 17th century the century of Mañara, Velázquez, Martínez Montañés, Juan de Mesa, Alonso Cano and Pedro Roldán,

Venerable Miguel Mañara. Life and death.

Miguel Mañara was born in Seville on March 3, 1627 as a member of a Corsican merchant family. His father Tomás Mañara, married to Doña Jerónima Anfriano Vicentelo, made his fortune in the trade and gained a prestigious position for his family. Miguel Mañara received from an early age the typical education corresponding to his status as a nobleman, only ten yearsold he became a member of the Order of Calatrava. At the age of thirteen after his older brothers had died, he became the sole heir to the family capital because of the rights of birth. When his father dies in 1648 he married by proxy with Doña Jerónima Carrillo de Mendoza, she takes over all the duties of his father, provincial member of the Hermandad de Santa Caridad (Brotherhood of the Holy Charity), mayor of Seville and the management of the family business. In 1661, after the death of his wife, Miguel Mañara got into a deep personal crisis that led him to question his lifestyle. Until then, he had lived a life that we would describe in the present day as the life of a Playboy. In a short time he began a process of true repentance and penance. Miguel Mañara understood how transient earthly life was and decided to embrace religious life. As a hermit he retreated in the Sierra de Ronda in Málaga. After several months of isolation, tempered by penance, he returned to Seville as a completely reborn and renewed man. He had a clear conscience because of the penance and was now ready to carry out God's work. At that time, he discovered the quiet and humble work of the Brotherhood of Holy Charity and joined this Brotherhood. As a Brother of the Holy Charity, aware of the misery and difficulties of the poor in his city, he began to propose new ideas to help the displaced. Although his ideas were shared by other brothers they could not be achieved by the lack of economic resources of the brotherhood.

A in 1663 Miguel was elected president of the Brotherhood, a post he would hold until his death, he made his entire wealth available to the Brotherhood of the Holy Charity. Miguel Mañara was responsible for a huge boost regarding the works of the Brotherhood. He drew up a new regulation and became the re-founder of the Brotherhood of The Holy Charity. Under his leadership, the church of San Jorge and the Holy Charity hospital were built.  In the holy charity hospital, the poor inhabitants of Seville received all the necessary medical care they needed. 

Miguel Mañara died on May 9, 1679 and was buried in the entrance of the church of Saint Jorge in Seville, If you enter this church you walk over his tomb stone in which his last will has been engraved.

CITY LOGO

The symbol of the Municipality of Seville is NO8DO. You will encounter it in many places, on facades of buildings, flags and on the pavement. In fact it says NO8DO, the 8 in the middle is a knot wool (in Spanish madeja) and so it says 'NO MADEJA DO', that is; no me ha dejado. The meaning is: 'she/he did not leave me', but it is not entirely clear where this text originally came from. There are several theories:

• It was said by King Fernando III during the conquest of Seville on the Moors referring to the help of the Virgin Mary.  
•  Also is said It refers to Seville's loyalty to King Alfonso X, the Wise, when it was at war with his son Sancho in the 13th century.   Sancho then gave permission to the Church to use these signs as an honor to his father Alfonso, because Seville remained faithful to him asking
•  Another theory is that the 8 is not a sphere of wool but alejandro Magno's knot and knot is nudo (nodo) in Latin.

NO-DO was also used in other religious European cities in the Middle Ages. They are the first letters of Nomine Domine either translate as "in the name of God." The 8 sign would then stand for 'nodus': knot.