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The Historical Beginnings pre-Roman times The first known inhabitants of the area lived in caves around what is now Málaga province, leaving wall paintings dating from 25,000BC at Nerja, east of Málaga and at Pileta, near Ronda, of the animals they hunted. Early architecture dating from 2500BC is evident at Antequera, an hours drive north of Málaga, where primative Iberian tribes built the dolmens: cave tombs guarded by massive stones.
The Greeks were soon ousted by the Carthaginians, people fron Carthage (near present day Tunis) in North Africa, who moved in and occupied most of Andalucía, using the regions mineral wealth to finance a huge military presence. Under the General Hannibal, they prepared to attack Rome but were defeated in the Second Punic War in 214BC. The Romans, vandals and visigoths The Romans, welcomed by the Andalucían people in 210 BC, after years of oppression, begain to build on an unprecedented scale, transforming Andalucía into one of their richest and best organized colonies, which they called Betis, crisscrossing the region with paved roads. Roman galleys sailed up its main river, now called the Guadalquivir, as far as Córdoba. Remnants of which can be seen in the aquaduct of Nerja, the roman theatre of Málaga and even in the N340 coastal highway, an early version of which connected Cádiz with Rome. The region was named Baetica with Córdoba as its capital and 400 years of prosperity followed during which time the Latin language, Roman law and Christianity became firmly established. The people enjoyed the fruits of a thriving industry in wine, olive oil, wool and grain. Eventually however the Roman Empire crumbled and Baetica was invaded by Barbarian tribes from northern europe. First to arrive in 409AD were the Vandals, who named the area Vandalusia, and shortly afterwards the Visigoths, a Germanic race of Aryan Christians ostensibly allied with Rome, who promptly claimed Roman lands for themselves and ruled for 300 years. The Moors
The tolerant attitude of the Moors meant that Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in harmony and a period of great wealth and cultural development began, during which time the architecture, philosophy and learning developed quickly. Oranges and peaches were cultivated and ceramics, leather and silverware were crafted. Rather than destroying what had gone on before them, the Moors used Roman buildings as a basis for further development, adding their own style to form the astonishingly beautiful monuments that can be seen today in Córdoba, Granada and Sevilla. Everything begain to slowly fall apart around the 11th century. The ruler Abd-ar-Rahman III had established himself in 928 as Caliph of Córdoba but his weaker successors let the caliphate disintergrate until 1031AD, when it split up into a series of taifas, small kingdoms which were constantly squabbling. The Christian armies of Northern Spain moved in and captured the Taifa of Toledo. The Moors had to call for reinforcements, which brought a wave of Islamic fanaticism as the puritanical Almoravids from North Africa came into power in 1086. After 60 terrifying years, a more tolerant sect, the Almohads drove them out and set about rebuilding al-Andaluz, only to be defeated themselves by the Christians in 1212, which was the beginning of the end for Moorish Spain. Over the next 290 years the Moorish taifas of al-Andaluz were captured one by one by the Christian forces. The last enclave, Granada, was conquered in 1492, the same year that Columbus landed in the West Indies. The New World had been discovered and Spain entered a new era under they dynastic partnership of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, Los Reyes Catolicos, or the Catholic Kings, as the were dubbed by the Pope. The History of Spain under Christian rule
Moorish land and possessions were divided among wealthy Christians, creating a system of land ownership which has dogged Andalucía ever since. While the rest of Spain basked in the glory of overseas conquests and their subsequent wealth, Andalucía deteriated and was subject to frequent Barbary pirate raids. People fled inland to the Sierras, neglecting the coast which once again became an uncultivated desert. In 1516 Carlos I, came to the throne a member of the Haspburg dynasty, and was elected, Carlos V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. During his reign he neglected Spain in favour of Rome and the countries wealth was further drained.
For the next 200 years, Spain was viewed by the rest of the World as a backward, insignificant place. The Bourbon dynasty replaced the Spanish Kings during the War of the Spanish Succession and the English took Gibraltar in 1704. Spain fell under the influence of France for nearly 100 years and following the Spanish defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 off the coast of Cadiz, the French proceeded to ransack the country of its wealth and architecural treasures. The French were finally driven out in the War of Independence in 1814, aided by Britains Duke of Wellington. Then followed an era of coups and minor civil wars and the American colonies asserted their independence one by one, Cuba being the last to shake off Spanish rule in 1898.
Spanish government was decentralised and Andalucía became an Autonomous Region in 1982, with its own regional administration, the Junta de Andalucía (Assembly of Andalucía). Since then, Spain, as an active member of the European Union, has experienced a dramatic improvement in the standard of living. The poverty of the Andalucían countryside has been largely eliminated and its people have regained their pride in the local culture, which flourishes alongside the benefits of improved roads, modern health care and high-tech infrastructures. The romantic image of Andalucía, in spite of progress, is still very much a thing of the present. Andalucía in the 21st century....... |     | |||||||||||||
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