More Sponsored Links For:
CádizThe Phoenicians founded (c.1100 B.C.) on the site the port of Gadir, which became a market for tin and the silver of Tarshish. It was taken (c.500 B.C.) by the Carthaginians and passed late in the 3d cent. B.C. to the Romans, who called it Gades. It flourished until the fall of Rome, but suffered from the barbarian invasions and declined further under the Moors. After its reconquest (1262) by Alfonso X of Castile, its fortifications were rebuilt.
The discovery of America revived its prosperity, as many ships from America unloaded their cargoes there. Columbus sailed from Cádiz on his second voyage (1495). In 1587, Sir Francis Drake burned a Spanish fleet in its harbor, and in 1596 the earl of Essex attacked and partly destroyed the city. But it continued to flourish and in 1718, after Seville's port had become partially blocked by a sandbar, Cádiz became the official center for New World trade. After Spain lost its American colonies, the city declined. During the siege by the French—which Cádiz resisted for two years (1810–12) until relieved by Wellington—the Cortes assembled in the city and issued the famous liberal constitution for Spain (Mar., 1812). Cádiz fell to the Nationalists almost immediately in the Spanish Civil War.
In 1980 Phoenician sarcophagi were discovered at two different sites, supporting the theory that the city is of Phoenician origin. One of the oldest and best-preserved Roman theaters was discovered in Cádiz in 1980. The clean, white city has palm-lined promenades and parks. Its 13th-century cathedral, originally Gothic, was rebuilt in Renaissance style; the new cathedral was begun in 1722. Cádiz has several museums and an art gallery with works by Murillo, Alonso Cano, and Zurbarán. In the church of the former Capuchin convent hangs the Marriage of St. Catherine by Murillo, who was at work on this painting when he fell from a scaffold to his death.
The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
- Puerto de Santa María
Puerto de Santa María, town (1990 pop. 64,849), Cádiz prov., S Spain, in Andalusia, on the Bay of Cádiz at the mouth of the Guadalete River. It is a commercial center, exporting sherry wine.
- Tarifa
Tarifa, town, Cádiz prov., S Spain, in Andalusia. A minor seaport on the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the southernmost city of the European mainland. It was founded by the Greeks and later becam...
- San Fernando, city, Spain
San Fernando, city (1990 pop. 83,923), Cádiz prov., S Spain, in Andalusia. An Atlantic port, it has a naval academy and arsenal, naval workshops, and an observatory. Salt is commercially obtai...
- Algeciras
Algeciras, city (1990 pop. 102,079), Cádiz prov., S Spain, in Andalusia, on the Bay of Algeciras opposite Gibraltar. A Mediterranean seaport, it is the main Spanish ferry terminal to North Afr...
- Arcos de la Frontera
Arcos de la Frontera, town (1990 pop. 27,722), Cádiz prov., S Spain, in Andalusia, on a rocky hill above the Guadalete River. A Gothic church and the palace of the duke of Arcos are at the sum...
- Badía y Leblich, Domingo
Badía y Leblich, Domingo, 1766–1818, Spanish traveler, known as Ali Bey. Posing as a Muslim, he set out from Cádiz (1803) and traveled through N Africa, Syria, and Arabia, reaching Mecca, of w...
- Borough, William
Borough, William, 1536–99, British naval officer. A younger brother of Stephen Borough, William accompanied him on early voyages and was himself a captain for the Muscovy Company. As a naval o...
- Columella
Columella (Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella), fl. 1st cent. A.D., Latin writer on agriculture, b. Gades (now Cádiz), Spain. Of his work there remains the 12-volume De re rustica, treating gen...
- Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera, city (1990 pop. 186,812), Cádiz prov., SW Spain, in Andalusia. Jerez is an important commercial center noted for its sherry and brandy. Its horses of mixed Spanish, Arab,...
- Línea, La
Línea, La, city (1990 pop. 61,597), Cádiz prov., S Spain, on the Strait of Gibraltar. Situated on the Spanish border north of the neutral zone that separates the city from the British colony o...
