Andalucia History

Pre 20th Century

A flourishing culture rich in agriculture, animals and metals, and largely made up of first Phoenician and then Greek traders, developed between 1000 BC and 600 BC. The Carthaginians toppled this society in the 6th century BC, and by 206 BC the area was in Roman hands. One of the wealthiest parts of the empire, Andalucía, gave Rome two emperors: Trajan and Hadrian. In return Rome gave Andalucía aqueducts, temples, theatres, amphitheatres, circuses, baths, its language (Spanish) and its religion (Christianity).

The Romans' successors, the Visigoths, were ousted in 711 AD by a Moorish invasion that was to begin four centuries of Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula. In their main cities (Córdoba, then Seville, then Granada), the Muslims built beautiful palaces, mosques and gardens, established large markets and founded universities. Al-Andalus, the name given to the Muslim territories, became the most civilised society in medieval Europe.

During the Islamic era, Christians were persecuted, and many rebel groups formed. Portugal took Lisbon in 1147 and Seville (then capital of Al-Andalus) was taken by the Christian state of Castile in 1248. In 1482, the Reconquista (Christian reconquest), led by husband-and-wife team Isabel and Fernando (the Catholic monarchs of Castile and Aragón), launched a crusade on the last Muslim stronghold of Granada, finally conquering the province in 1492.

The monarchs revived the Inquisition (founded in the 13th century to root out heretics in France), and ordered the expulsion of every Jew who refused Christian baptism. Islamic books were burnt, the Arabic language was banned and any remaining Muslims were forced into conversion.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas and a government office was founded in Seville to control commerce with the new colonies. But the riches (silver and gold) brought back from America were not managed well, and the Hapsburg kings who followed Isabel and Fernando spent too much money on European wars; by the 17th century Spain was going into decline. Epidemics and bad harvests killed thousands of people, leaving Andalucía's population seriously depleted.

Spain made some degree of recovery in the 18th century under the new Bourbon dynasty (still in place today); new towns and roads were built and the monarchy gave industries a cash injection. Trade through Andalucian ports (including Málaga) grew and Cádiz experienced an economic boom. But when Louis XVI of France (a cousin of Spain's Carlos IV) was guillotined in 1793, Spain waged war on France, and lost. Spanish people rose up against Napoleon's French occupation and the ensuing war for independence lasted five years. This time the Spanish won and a new constitution asserting sovereignty for the people was drawn up in Cádiz.

This set the scene for a century of struggle between the liberals and the conservatives. During his reign King Fernando VII (1814-33) revoked the constitution, reinstated the Inquisition, and persecuted liberals; Spain entered a severe economic recession and the American colonies won their independence. The dichotomy between the rich bourgeoisie and the poor labourers was particularly marked in Andalucía. In 1873 a liberal government proclaimed the First Republic, but it was overthrown 11 months later when the army reinstated the monarchy. The misery of the poor continued and many Andalucian peasants migrated to Latin America. Others joined popular anarchist movements, staging uprisings and strikes that were quickly quashed.

Modern

In 1923 general Miguel Primo de Rivera began a mild military dictatorship and the anarchists went underground. King Alfonso XIII dismissed him in 1930. Municipal elections in 1931 resulted in the Second Republic and King Alfonso fled to Italy.

The Second Republic (1931-36) was headed first by a leftist government, then a right. By 1936 violence caused by these factions had escalated into a brutal and bloody civil war. The Nationalists, supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, gradually took Andalucía's cities, murdering thousands on their way. By 1936 General Franco had emerged as the undisputed Nationalist leader. After battles in Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid he declared the war won on April 1, 1939.

Franco's rule (from 1939 until his death in 1975) was characterised by repression and suffering. He was leader of the army, the government and the only political party, the Movimento Nacional (National Movement). Catholic orthodoxy was restored, army garrisons kept the people down and jails were full of political prisoners. Although he kept Spain out of WWII, a United Nations trade boycott in 1940 hit poor areas such as Andalucía particularly hard. Between 1950 and 1973 around 1.5 million left Andalucía in search of work elsewhere.

Franco's successor Prince Juan Carlos (Alfonso XIII's grandson) is largely responsible for the subsequent transition to democracy. During his reign Franco's party was abolished and a multi-party system introduced; divorce, homosexuality, and contraception were legalised; and relaxed laws allowed the late-night bar and club scene to emerge. In 1982 Spain finally broke with the past by voting the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), led by Felipe González from Seville, into government. The PSOE eradicated much of Andalucía's poverty with grants. In 1986 Spain joined the EC (now the EU), and in 1992 Seville hosted the Expo world fair. In 1996 the centre-right Partido Popular (People's Party) won the elections under the leadership of José María Aznar. After four years of steady economic progress, Aznar and the PP won again in 2000.

Recent

When former tax inspector José María Aznar's Partido Popular (PP; People's Party) won national office in 1996, Spain entered an eight-year period of sustained growth. Although the registered unemployment rate in Andalucía remained the highest in Spain (18% in 2003), the rate halved during this period. The region benefitted from steady growth in industry and tourism, massive EU subsidies for agriculture (which still provides one job in eight) and a decade-long construction boom intensified by the introduction of the euro in 2002, which saw large amounts of 'black cash' invested in property.

But José María Aznar's high-handed style of governing did not go down well with a lot of Spaniards. His support for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq was unpopular as was his decision to send 1300 Spanish troops to Iraq after the war. The PP was unseated by the PSOE in the high-drama 2004 national election which took place only three days after the shocking Madrid train bombings of March 11 in which 191 people were killed and 1755 injured. The new PSOE government led by José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero pulled Spain's troops out of Iraq within two weeks of taking office. In April 2006, 29 accused were ordered to stand trial for involvement in the bombings.

Under Zapatero, relations between the central government and Andalucía have improved as both levels of government are of the same political persuasion. This has, perhaps, contributed to the police-led crack down on illegal construction and the associated crime, corruption and degradation of the environment that have for so long been rampant on and near the Andalucían costas. Construction, however, continues as the backbone of the Andalucían economy. Unemployment was 14% in 2006. Spain is set to become a net contributor to the EU budget and soon its two decades of large-scale recipient funds will beome a memory. This will inevitably have an impact on Andalucía.

Although Andalucía still lags behind the rest of Spain, poverty is down, education is up, and tourism and gradual industrial growth are giving the region a welcome prosperity.