Welcome to Cadiz, Spain
Cadiz is a coastal city in southwestern Spain in the region of Andalusia and the capital of the province of Cadiz. The Phoenicians originally founded the city as Gadir (walled city), who used it in their trade with Tartessos. The Greeks knew it as Gadira or Gadeira. Traditionally, its date of establishment is about 1100 BC, although as of 2004 no archeological finds have been found that date back further than the 9th century BC. One resolution of the discrepancy has been to assume that it was in the initial phase merely a small trading post. It is regarded as the most ancient extant city in western Europe. According to Greek legend, Heracles founded Gadir after killing Geryon. Indeed, one of its notable features during this era was the temple dedicated to the Phoenician god Melqart. Some historians think that the columns of this temple gave origin to the myth of the Columns of Hercules. In about 500 BC the city fell under the sway of Carthage. In 206 AD, the city fell to Roman forces under Scipio Africanus. Under the Romans it was renamed Gades. The city flourished under Roman rule, but with the decline of the Roman Empire, Gades’ commercial importance began to fade. Under Moorish rule, the city was called Qadis and the modern Spanish name Cadiz was derived from this form. cadiz port agent
During the Age of Exploration the city had another renaissance: Columbus sailed from Cadiz on his second voyage in 1495, and the city later became the homeport of the Spanish treasure fleet. Sir Francis Drake destroyed a Spanish fleet in the harbor of Cadiz in April 1587. In the Anglo-Spanish War, Admiral Robert Blake blockaded Cadiz from 1655-1657, during which one of his captains destroyed most of the Spanish treasure fleet. A galleon of treasure was captured and the overall loss to Spain was estimated at £2,000,000. In the 18th century, the city surpassed Seville as the port monopolizing commerce with Spanish America. Also, the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed there.
Pre-spain’s History
The original people of the Iberian peninsula are named Iberians. In the 9th century BC, Celtic tribes entered the Iberian peninsula through the Pyrenees and settled throughout the peninsula, becoming the Celt-Iberians. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading colonies there over a period of several centuries. Around 1100 BC, Phoenician merchants founded the trading colony of Gadir or Gades (modern day Cadiz) near Tartessos. In the 8th century BC the first Greek colonies, such as Emporion, were founded along the Mediterranean coast on the East, leaving the south coast to the Phoenicians. The Greeks are responsible for the name Iberia, after the river Iber (Ebro in Spanish).
Spain’s History
Spain comprises mostly of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic and Canary Islands. Inhabited since the Stone Age, the region was colonized by Phoenicians and Greeks and later ruled by Carthage and Rome (after 201 BC). Barbarians first invaded Spain in 409 AD, but were supplanted by Moors from North Africa (711-719), who organized a kingdom known for its learning and splendor. The Moors were gradually displaced by small Christian states and were ousted from their last stronghold, Granada, in 1492. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile then became rulers of a united Spain, which became a world power through exploration and conquest. After the empire was lost in the 18th and 19th centuries, Spain experienced social and economic unrest that culminated in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the rise of Francisco Franco. After Franco’s death in 1975 the monarchy was restored under King Juan Carlos, who oversaw the creation of a parliamentary democracy.
posted by Hills @ 7:42 AM
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