The Phoenicians arrived on the coast of the province around 1.000 B.C., creating the city-factory of Malacca. The confrontations between the Carthaginians and Romans since the mid 4th century for the dominion over the Mediterranean caused the notable Roman influence with the massive arrival of the Romans during the second Punic war. During the Roman rule, life in the province of Malaga developed in some cities and country villas.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Visigodes ended up imposing over the Andalusian territory. But the confrontations between the rivals favoured the Byzantine’s entrance on helping one of the parties in the conflict, and achieving a special intervention in Malaga in the year 552. The internal confrontations between the Visigodes continued, and like the Byzantines, the request of help to the Muslims by one part of the conflicting parties favoured their entrance into the peninsular.
After the defeat of the Visigodes in the Guadalete battle, Abdalaziz, son Muza, with an army composed of Berbers, Jews, freed slaves and renegade Visigodes, conquered Malaga and penetrated the interior of the province, taking nuclei such as Nescania. The present province of Malaga was included in the Cora division of Rayya, establishing the capital in Medina Arxiduna (Archidona).
The city of Malaga, which already had an important commercial port, had a citadel in the mid 9th century for detaining the frequent invasions of the Norman pirates.
With the fall of the Caliphate, the Taifas kingdoms emerged, and two important and influential ones appeared in our province: Ronda and Malaga which was later incorporated into the Granada kingdom.
From the 10th century onwards, two communities were found in the province: the Arab-Berber (in which Christians converted to Islam-Muladi were incorporated, as well as those who wanted to live with them), and the Mozarabic
In the mid 14th century, the Christians began to conquer Malaga’s lands with the fall of El Burgo, Cañete la Real, Arcales and other places.
The Castilian repopulation produced after the Christian’s conquest of the province.
Certain recuperation was appreciated with the illustrious governors in the 18th century. The port in Malaga was enlarged, the cultivation of the vine was favoured, an ample protection was created for fishing, and the export of silk was reactivated. Finally, in 1785 a sea consulate was created in Malaga which favoured the large exportation boom.
In the Low Empire, and especially from the times of the Visigode presence, many archaeological Christian testimonies appear, such as bricks with inscriptions, ceramics with symbols and reliefs, especially in Malaga, Cartama and Torox. The long presence of the Muslims in these lands allows us to have a rich historic-artistic heritage which starts to form much before the Al-andalus splendour gave way to the large Muslim art works.
During the 13th and 14th century, a proliferation of defence towers are massively built over older castles. Other were built with double precincts, rounded passage ways, homage towers such as Gaucin, Casares, Cartama, Comares or Alora. Christian military influenced architectures also appear in the 13th century such as the vaulting of the towers in Teba and Cañete la Real.
Independence
In the 19th century, the Napoleonic invasion and consequent reaction of resistance left a deep mark in the economy and people of the province.
The events lived by the country from the return of Fernando VII had great after-effects in Malaga, such as the execution of Torrijos and his followers on the beaches of San Andres, the revolts against the Royal Statue, the participation in the Gloriosa and the events of the Republic and the cantonal insurrection. But parallel to this, Malaga knew a notable economic boom in the 19th century in which the commercial activity of the port intervened, the wine production, citrics, raisins, dried fruits and sugar, and the creation of large industries and businesses: refineries, textile factories, wine cellars, dockyards, and even ironworks.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the province continued to live a situation which didn’t favour its development, such as the Phyloxera plague at the end of the 19th century, which destroyed most of the vines, or the earthquake, also at the end of the 19th century, which caused great losses in the Axarquia region. Also the incipient iron and steel industry began to weaken due to the lack of coal and the technological backwardness which finally closed it down. And as if all this was not enough, the consequence of the civil war in 1936 was the last straw which submerged the province into a long period of economic suspension. It was in the 60’s and the first part of the 70’s that through tourism, the economic activity was reactivated in an important way, provoking important migration movements in the interior of the province, with the agricultural population moving to the construction and hostelry sector and a notable transformation of the coastal territory. |
