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Palos de la Frontera, Spain | |
|---|---|
 Panoramic view of downtown Palos de la Frontera | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.png) Location of Palos de la Frontera | |
| Coordinates:37°13′42″N6°53′40″W / 37.22833°N 6.89444°W /37.22833; -6.89444 | |
| Province | Huelva |
| Area | |
• Total | 50 km2 (19 sq mi) |
| • Land | 50 km2 (19 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.00 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Population (2024-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 12,663 |
| • Density | 250/km2 (660/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | palermos (m.),palermas (f.) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Website | www.palosfrontera.com |
Palos de la Frontera (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈpalosðelafɾonˈteɾa]) is a town andmunicipality located in the southwesternSpanish province ofHuelva, in the autonomous community ofAndalusia. It is situated some 13 km (8 mi) from the provincial capital,Huelva. According to the 2015 census, the city had a population of 10,365. It is most famous for being the place from whichColumbus set sail in 1492, eventually reaching theAmericas.
The official date of foundation for Palos is 1322, when the town was granted to Alonso Carro and Carro's wife Berenguela Gómez byAlfonso XI of Castile, although the town may have been occupied during earlier centuries byPaleolithic,Tartessian,Roman,Visigothic, andMuslim inhabitants. Palos's name is derived from theLatin wordpalus (“lagoon”). It acquired its “surname” asPalos de la Frontera in May 1642.
At the time of its establishment as a town by Alfonso XI, Palos was part of theAlmohad kingdom ofNiebla, and was a small nucleus whose population subsisted on fishing and took advantage of the area's geographic protection againstpirates and storms.[2]
Álvar Pérez is considered the city's real founder. He was only fourteen whenJuan I of Castile granted him the towns of Palos andVillalba del Alcor in 1379 to make up for the fact that Pérez de Guzmán was forced to give upHuelva andGibraleón, which had become part of thecounty of Medinaceli. Álvar Pérez de Guzmán received from Juan I the right to tax the first fifty families who settled at Palos, and he began utilizing the lands around Palos for the cultivation ofolive trees and production ofolive oil.[3] After the death of Álvar Pérez de Guzmán, his widow, Elvira de Ayala, daughter of the Chancellor of Castile, continued her husband's work until her death in 1434.
Palos's Golden Age is considered to have occurred in the 15th century (especially between 1470 and 1479), when it increased its population to 2,500 inhabitants and its economy, based on fishing and seafaring expeditions toGuinea, flourished.[4]Palos took advantage of theWar of the Castilian Succession, which became a war betweenCastile andPortugal, to challenge Portuguese domination of theAtlantic trade. Castilian naval forces always included natives of Palos, who were considered navigational experts:
...because only the men of Palos know the ancient sea of Guinea, and were used to fighting the Portuguese from the outset of the war, and to snatch from them the slaves acquired in exchange for vile goods
— Alfonso de Palencia,Crónica de Enrique IV
Nevertheless, the war ended in defeat for the Castilian forces,[5] andFerdinand and Isabella, in theTreaty of Alcáçovas (1479) gave up all rights to Atlantic andAfrican lands and seas, with the exception of theCanary Islands, which remained Castilian. Many natives of Palos nevertheless violated the agreement and encroached upon Portuguese sea routes in the Atlantic.[2]
On August 3, 1492, thePinta,Niña, andSanta María sailed from Palos. On board were the Spanish crew ofChristopher Columbus and thePinzón Brothers, who were natives of Palos. Palos is also the site of theRábida Monastery where Columbus consulted with theFranciscans about his plans for organizing an expedition of discovery. The three Spanish ships landed inAmerica on October 12, 1492. The Santa María foundered in American waters, but the other two ships returned to Palos on March 15, 1493.
Palos would play a pivotal role in the settlement and Christianization of the New World in succeeding centuries.[6] La Rábida would play a central part in the Christian evangelization of the Americas. As La Rábida was a Franciscan monastery, that order would play a dominant role in this Christianization, and some of the first missionaries were natives of Palos, includingJuan Izquierdo,Juan de Palos,Juan Cerrado,Pedro Salvador,Alonso Vélez de Guevara,Juan Quintero [es],Thomás de Narváez, and Francisco Camacho.[7][8]
With the establishment of theCasa de Contratación atSeville in 1503, Palos suffered a decline.[9] Natives of Palos emigrated to America or to Seville, and Palos soon had few sailing vessels of its own.[2] By the 18th century, the town had only about 125 inhabitants. However, during the same century,Catalan investors established aviticultural industry centered at Palos, and the population slowly reached its pre-1492 levels.[2] Palos also transformed itself into a center of theshrimp industries, and also became a center for the cultivation of the “fresón de Palos” (Palos-growngarden strawberries), which are now exported to theEuropean Union.
On June 22, 1926, the firsthydroplane to cross the Atlantic, thePlus Ultra flying boat, took off from Palos. The journey, done in six stages, ended atBuenos Aires,Argentina.[10]Alfonso XIII of Spain gave the Plus Ultra to theArgentine Navy, in which it served as a postal service airplane; the Argentines donated to Spain a statue ofIcarus, which is situated at La Rábida.[11] Alfonso XIII also granted to Palos the status as a city during this time.[11][12]
John Paul II visited Palos on June 14, 1993, the only time apope has visited the city. John Paul symbolically crowned the Palos'spatron saint, theVirgin of Miracles (Virgen de los Milagros).
There is a station in theMadrid Metro named after this town.
In 1850 the small town of Trenton,Illinois, located southwest ofChicago, changed its name toPalos. This recommendation was made by M. S. Powell, the localpostmaster, whose ancestorPedro Alonso Niño sailed with Christopher Columbus from Palos de la Frontera. When it incorporated as a Village in 1914, Palos officially became Palos Park. The neighboring communities ofPalos Hills andPalos Heights incorporated at later points. All three municipalities lie within Palos Township.
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