History Articles

Andalucia has a human history going back 1.4 million years and a geological history back to 65 million years ago. This section looks at some of the historical events that do not fit into neat categories.

Amphora from Sumer to Rome

Amphora the container of choice for 4000 years from the Sumerians to the Romans. The ubiquitous amphora carried perishable goods ... >>>

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Calpeia - the first Gibraltarian

Calpeia, the first known Gibraltarian from 5400 BC was found in a cave at Europa Point Gibraltar in 1996. She proves Neolithic pe ... >>>

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Gorgon Medusa in Gibraltar

Gibraltar, Home to the Gorgon Medusa after gorgoneion found in Gorham's Cave shows ancient mariners revered the cave ... >>>

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History of Silk in Andalucia

Untangling the history of the silk industry in Andalucia ... >>>

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History of the Rio Guadalquivir

The Rio Guadalquivir is 657 kilometres long and is the only major navigable river in Spain. Its source is in the Sierra de Cazorl ... >>>

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Las Menas

Visit Las Menas, an abandoned mining town in the Sierra de los Filabres in Almeria province, purpose built in the 19th century by ... >>>

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Mediaeval War Machines

The trebuchet went out of use in the 15th century yet, in 2013, during the Syrian civil war, rebels were filmed using a trebuchet ... >>>

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Redefining the Species

Redefining the species. It is time to change our perception of the people that went before us and those we live amongst ... >>>

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Street Art in Andalucia

Discover the street art of Huelva, Jaen, Malaga, Cadiz, Seville, Granada, Cordoba and Almeria ... >>>

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The 14 Sieges of Gibraltar

‘probably the most fought over and most densely fortified place in Europe, and probably, therefore, in the world’ - Field Mar ... >>>

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The Barbary Pirates

'Beyond doubt the greatest scoundrel that ever sailed from England.' - English Ambassador to Venice 1622, of Jack Ward, an Englis ... >>>

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The Cork Industry in Andalucia

Growing cork oak trees, Quercus suber, for commercial purposes is a long-term project. A cork oak tree is forty years old before ... >>>

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The Duke of Kent and His House

General Barnett, expressing the sentiments of all his fellow officers, suggested that it was ‘the best thing that could have ha ... >>>

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The History of Flamenco

The History of Flamenco, part of the culture of Andalucia Flamenco is regarded as quintessentially Andalucian ... >>>

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The Lure of Gold

The gold brought back from South America by the Spanish between 1495 and 1898 was an irresistible lure for monarchs and pirates a ... >>>

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The Order of Calatrava

The Order of Calatrava is the oldest military and religious Order in Spain, dating to its establishment by Sancho II, King of Cas ... >>>

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The Order of Santiago

By 1492, the Order of Santiago was more powerful even than the unifying monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castil ... >>>

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The Plastic Revolution

You may not find the acres of plastic covering the coastal plains of Almeria the most attractive landscape. A fascinating story o ... >>>

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The Story of Esparto Grass

Esparto grass in Andalucia from the Neolithic to the British involvement in the 19th century ... >>>

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The Story of the Almadraba

Almadraba are fish traps that have been used for thousands of years to catch bluefin tuna off the Atlantic coast of Cadiz, Andalu ... >>>

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The Zanclean Deluge

The Zanclean Deluge - How the Mediterranean Sea was created 5.33 million years ago ... >>>

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Treaty of Utrecht 1713

Treaty that ended the conflict between the Grand Alliance and France and Spain 11th April 1713 ... >>>

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What a Clock Up

The decision to put whole countries in the same time zone came about because of the railways ... >>>

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Why some towns are named 'de la frontera'

The ‘de la frontera’ towns were in the no mans land between the Emirate of Granada and the Christian lands in Andalucia ... >>>

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Gibraltar Officially a City

A royal boob prevented Gibraltar from being recognised as a city for 180 years. ... >>>

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Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat or the man who never was, was a plot to fool the Nazis during WWII, now a 2022 film by Colin Firth, filmed in ... >>>

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