The Arabic name for the settlement founded by Muslims after theconquest of the Iberian Peninsula wasal-Jazīrah al-Khaḍrāʾ (الجزيرة الخضراء, "The Green Island"), in reference toIsla Verde.[3]Al-Jazīra(t) gave the modern SpanishAlgeciras.[4][n. 1] Algeciras' site was also that of Roman cities calledPortus Albus ("White Harbor"),Caetaria (current Getares) andIulia Traducta. In the later"Byzantine" period, the site would come to be known in Greek asMesopotámenoi (Μεσοποτάμενοι), meaning "between rivers/canals".
The area of the city has been populated since prehistory, and the earliest remains belong toNeanderthal populations from thePaleolithic era.
Map of the Roman (purple) and Punic (orange) sites in the municipality of Algeciras.
Due to its strategic position it was an important port under thePhoenicians, and was the site of the relevant Roman port ofPortus Albus ("White Port"), with two nearby cities calledCaetaria (possibly founded by theIberians) andIulia Traducta, founded by theRomans.[5]
Roman coin referencingivlia tradvcta
Recently it has been proposed that the site ofIulia Traducta was theVilla Vieja of Algeciras.[6][7]
Al-Jazira al-Khadrā [es] was founded few years after the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.
In the year 859 AD Viking troops on board 62drekars and commanded by the leadersHastein andBjörn Ironside besieged the city for three days and subsequently laid waste to much of it. After looting the houses of the rich, they burnt the Aljama mosque and the Banderas mosque. Reorganized near the medina, the inhabitants managed to recover the city and make the invaders run away, capturing two boats.
In 914, during a period of civil war (fitna) prior to the proclamation of theCaliphate of Córdoba, Cordobese emirAbd al-Rahman III conquered Algeciras, which had provided rebel elements with key logistic support.[8] Shipbuilding docks for the Umayyad navy were then built in Algeciras, presumably in the form of a fortified port.[9]
It enjoyed a brief period of independence as ataifa state from 1035 to 1058. It was namedal-Jazirah al-Khadra' ("Green Island") after the offshoreIsla Verde; the modern name is derived from this originalArabic name (compare alsoAlgiers andAl Jazeera). In 1055 Emir Al-Mutadid of Seville drove the Berbers from Algeciras, claiming it for Arabs.
Vowing to counter the Castilian expansion initiated by 1265,Nasrid Granada required assistance from Fez in late 1274 and ceded the place of Algeciras (together with Tarifa) to theMarinids.[10]
In 1278, Algeciras wasbesieged by the forces of the Kingdom of Castile under the command ofAlfonso X of Castile and his son,Sancho.[11] This siege was the first of a series of attempts to take the city and ended in failure for the Castilian forces. An armada sent by Castile was also annihilated whilst trying toblockade the city's harbor. Marinid rulerAbu Yusuf built a new walled precinct on the opposing bank of the Río de la Miel circa 1282, al-Bunayya, originally as a military camp site in the context of theBattle of the Strait.[12][13] A substantial share of the workforce dedicated to the former end were Christian slaves.[14] The Marinid grip over the place further increased in the ensuing years, and the place turned into a Marinid stronghold from whichrazzias were launched into the still incipient Christian settlements in the Lower Guadalquivir and the Guadalete area.[15] Having lost interest in Iberian affairs,Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr returned Algeciras to the Emirate of Granada in 1295.[16]
On winning the city, Alfonso XI made it the seat of a newdiocese, established byPope Clement VI'sbullGaudemus et exultamus of 30 April 1344, and entrusted to the governance of the bishop ofCadiz.[17] The bishops of Cadiz continued to hold the title of Aliezira, as it called, until 1851, when in accordance with aconcordat between Spain and the Holy See its territory was incorporated into the diocese of Cadiz. No longer a residential bishopric, Aliezira is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[18] The town's location far from large Christian urban centres (Seville andJerez), the proximity to Muslim naval strongholds (Ceuta and Gibraltar), and the difficulties posed by defending such a long walled perimetre made the Christian settlement a challenge.[19]Genoese andCatalan traders settled in the town.[20]
Left relatively unguarded during theCastilian Civil War, the town was easily seized in 1369 by theNasrids from Granada with assistance from aMarinid fleet.[21] It was destroyed on the orders ofMuhammed V of Granada.[22] While tradition asserts that it was torn down immediately after the 1369 occupation, the Nasridscorched-earth policy has been also dated to 1375, once Granadan repopulation efforts should have failed.[23] The garrison was thus relocated to Gibraltar, with a worse port but more easily defensible, in Nasrid control after the Marinid retreat from the Iberian Peninsula.[24] While the jurisdiction was ceded to Gibraltar in 1462 after the Castilian conquest of the latter place, there are hints about the continued existence of informal settlements by farmers and shepherds in the area, at least after 1466.[25]
Algeciras was refounded after 1704 by refugees from Gibraltar following the territory'scapture by Anglo-Dutch forces during theWar of the Spanish Succession. In 1705, Algeciras was described as "...a heap of stones,...only a few hovels scattered here and there, amidst an infinity of ruins".[25] Though the refugees intended on eventually returning to Gibraltar, such plans were abandoned following the 1713Peace of Utrecht, in which Spain agreed to ceded the territory to Great Britain.[26] Besides them, throughout the 18th century repopulation was also participated by settlers from the rest of the Iberian Peninsula and from elsewhere, standing out Italians in the latter regard.[27] Population rapidly increased (from 1,845 in 1725 to 6,241 in 1787).[28] The Algeciras' social structure featured a comparatively small number of nobles and comparatively larger weight of clergy.[29] Just like the rest of the Campo de Gibraltar,husbandry (cattle in particular) played an important role in the economy during the 18th century thanks to the rich pastures.[30] Given the abundance of international conflicts in the Strait area during the 18th century, corsair activities against ships belligerent with Spain or neutral ships provisioning the enemy also became an important part of the economy.[31]
It was fortified to guard against British raids with installations such as theFuerte de Isla Verde built to guard key points. The city was rebuilt on its present rectangular plan byCharles III in 1760. In July 1801, the French and Spanish navies fought the BritishRoyal Navy offshore in theBattle of Algeciras, which ended in a British victory.[32]
Aerial view of Algeciras taken in May 1928.
The city became the scene for settling a major international crisis as it hosted theAlgeciras Conference in 1906. The international forum to discuss the future ofMorocco which was held in the Casa Consistorial (town hall). It confirmed the independence of Morocco against threats from Germany, and gave France control of banking and police interests.[33][34] In July 1942 Italian frogmen set up in a secret base in the Italian tankerOlterra, which was interned in Algeciras, in order to attack shipping in Gibraltar.[35] During theFranco era, Algeciras underwent substantial industrial development, creating many new jobs for the local workers made unemployed when the border between Gibraltar and Spain was sealed by Franco between 1969 and 1982.
In 1982 there was a failed plan codenamedOperation Algeciras conceived by theArgentinian military to sabotage the British military facilities in Gibraltar during theFalklands War. The Spanish authorities intervened just before the attack, and deported the two ArgentineMontoneros and military liaison officer involved.[36]
The municipality spans across a total area of 87.96 km2 (33.96 sq mi),[38] bordering with the municipalities ofLos Barrios andTarifa. The lower course of the riverPalmones forms part of the boundary of Algeciras with the municipality of Los Barrios.[39]
The urban agglomeration formed by Algeciras and the surrounding settlements is the sixth largest inAndalusia and the third largest off the region's coast.[37]
Algeciras has aMediterraneansubtropical climate (Köppen:Csa) with very mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers with occasional heat waves, and temperature fluctuations are small because of the strongOceanic influence. There are no snow registers in the city since the 19th century.[40]
Algeciras is principally a transport hub and industrial city. Its main activities are connected with thePort of Algeciras, which serves as the main embarkation point between Spain andTangier and other ports in Morocco as well as theCanary Islands and the Spanish enclaves ofCeuta andMelilla. It is ranked as the 16th busiest port in the world. The city also has a substantial fishing industry and exports a range of agricultural products from the surrounding area, including cereals, tobacco and farm animals.
In recent years it has become a significant tourist destination, with popular day trips toTarifa to see bird migrations; to Gibraltar to see the territory's sights and culture; and to theBay of Gibraltar onwhale watching excursions.
Algeciras is the southern terminus of two principal north–southEuroroutes, theE05 andE15. Both routes, moreover, run to Scotland (the E05 terminates atGreenock and the E15 atInverness) via France and England.
Algeciras BM, the professionalhandball club, played in theLiga ASOBAL between 2005 and 2008. The team was dissolved due to enormous debts after relegation to second level in 2008.
^José Soto Chica y Ana María Berenjeno (2014). «La última posesión bizantina en la península ibérica: Mesopotamenoi-Mesopotaminoi. Nuevas aportaciones para su identificación.».II Jornadas de Estudios Bizantinos: De Roma a Bizancio: el territorio en el sureste peninsular.
^abO'Shea, Henry George (1865).A Guide to Spain. Longmans, Green. p. 91. Retrieved23 August 2012.
^Tomassetti Guerra, José María; Jiménez-Camino Álvarez, Rafael (2012). "Cartografía Histórica de al-Bunayya: imágenes de la ciudad meriní de Algeciras".Aljaranda (84):28–30.ISSN1130-7986.
^López Fernández, Manuel (2012). "Los castellanos en Algeciras, (1342-1349). Entre el relato de la Crónica, los planos de Verboon y la arqueología actual".Aljaranda:35–36.
Ocaña Torres, Mario L.; Sáez Rodríguez, Ángel; Castillo Navarro, Luis Alberto del; Gómez Arroquia, Maribel; Torremocha Silva, Antonio; Vicente Lara, Juan Ignacio de; Pardo González, Juan Carlos; Téllez Rubio, Juan José (2001). "Capítulo V: El siglo XVIII: el resurgimiento".Historia de Algeciras. Tomo II. Algeciras moderna y contemporánea(PDF). Cádiz: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Diputación de Cádiz. pp. 15–118.ISBN84-95388-34-0. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2021-05-03. Retrieved2021-05-03.
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