THE HISTORY OF ANDALUSIA

The origin of the civilization of the south of Spain                                                                      

Since the first Bronze Age, in the third millennium BC, the land situated between two areas and two continents was the preferred destination of different people an civilizations. The ancient Kingdom TARTESSOS was formed in the South of Spain in the 11th century BC under the influence of the Phoenicians and the Greek. In this epoch the oldest city of the west, Cadiz, was founded. Agriculture, livestock, as well as mining and the production of silver and bronze were the preferred activities by this culture of traders. They were the Turditanids and Iberian people. In that time the Carthagenians also set up their own settlements in this region.

The Roman Empire

In the 3rd century BC ended the sovereignty of the Carthagenians. The Romans,after their victories in the Punic Wars, founded the province Bética and dominated this province during the next 700 years. Andalusia supplied the Roman Empire with food, olive oil, wine and metals. The philosopher Seneca and the two first emperors born outside of Rome came from Italica (nowadays the province Sevilla) Their names were Trajan and Hadrian. The first one gave his name to the famous quarter Triana in Sevilla. Starting the 3rd.century BC the Romans were more orientated to the East (Constantinople)

Epoch Visigoth

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Vandals arrived. They came from the North of Germany. In contradiction with the later to come Muslims they were the first ones to set the base for the todays name Andalusia. They gave this region the name Vandalucía. The German hegemony however did not less for a long time. The Visigoths lead by their king Arlic III conquered the land of the Vandals and settled on the Iberian Peninsula. They held sway till the beginning of the 8th Century and experienced their heydays in the 6th and 7th century in the time of the bishops Leandro and Isodoro.

Al Andalus and the Reconquest

At the beginning of the 8th Century the Arabs crossed the strait of Gibraltar and they conquered the Iberian Peninsula in a  short time. The independent Emirate of Al-Andalus and later the Caliphate of Cordoba were founded and the dynasty of the Umayyad started and with this the Arab culture in Andalusia. Cordoba became the centre of crucible of different cultures and religions.Trade, science, craftmanship and art experience were booming in those days. From the year 1031, the Caliphate was divided in small Islamic Kingdoms. The Almoravids and the Almohad (Berber tribes) were in control of Al-Andalus until the 13th century. In the 13th century starts the reconquest of the country on the Moors by the Christians. After the reconquest of Cordoba (1236) and Sevilla (1248) the Muslim dynasty Nasrid still reigns for two and a half centuries in Granada. The last Moorish King, Boabdil, handed the keys of Granada to the Catholics, queen Isabel and King Fernando and thereafter takes his refuge in the Alpujarras.

Andalusia and Spain after the discovery of the Americas

The crisis in the 18th century begins with the Spanish Succession war. During this war England assaulted and conquered Gibraltar. The court of King Philip V, the first king of the dynasty of the Bourbons was established for some years in Sevilla. In the middle of this century the first ideas of Enlightenment emerged, Cadiz lost its hegemony in the trade with the West Indies and Andalusia suffered the effects of the Napoleonic wars that effected the entire continent. The Spanish colonial empire crumbles as the struggle for the succession of the throne flares up again in the Carlist wars. In the middle of the 18th century a social revolt occurred and with it the liberal revolution. After two years of government of the First Republic, the monarchy was restored. At the end of the 19th century the peasants revolt took place and the uprising in Andalusia returned. The war with the United States of America puts an end to the colonial empire. The Spanish crown lose Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

Twentieth Century to our Days

In the first half of the 20th century Spain is still basically an agrarian country. During this time the country was involved in social revolts and internal conflicts. The dictatorship  of Primo de Rivera was followed by the Second Republic. Where two world wars did not affect Primo de Rivera, he could not avoid a civil war(1936-1939)  between the communists and socialists and the Nationalists lead by General  Francisco Franco. After winning the civil war in 1939 Franco (El Generalissimo) took the power in Spain and reigned as a dictator till his death in 1975. Before his death Franco proclaimed Juan Carlos I as the King of Spain and after the death of Franco the democracy in Spain was restored. The new era offered many new possibilities for the Spanish regions. Andalusia obtains the rights of an autonomic region after a referendum held on February 28th 1982. Social and economic the regions are booming in the sixties and seventies. In the southern regions particularly due to the big increase of tourism. The entry of Spain in the European Union also brings a lot of new perspectives especially in the field of Agriculture, In 2014, Felipe VI succeeds his father Juan Carlos I as king of Spain.

Pictures from left to right: 1 - Tartessos Treasure, 2 - Baelo Claudia Roman Ruins, 3 - Muslim Palace Alhambra, 4 - Muslim Palace Alcazar, 5 - Vessels arriving to Sevilla from the West-Indies, 6 - King Felipe VI