Description
Ancient Phoenician and Roman port on the Atlantic coast of Andalusia, it became Spain's main port for trade with the Americas in the 18th century, succeeding Seville as the headquarters of the Casa de la Contratación and center of the Indies fleet.
Year of Foundation or Oldest Source
Founded by the Phoenicians as Gadir around 1100 BC, being one of the oldest cities in Western Europe. It became the main port of the Spanish monopoly in 1717.
Country (State or Region)
Spain
Location
Cádiz, Andalusia, located on a peninsula in the Bay of Cádiz.
Structuring
Natural sheltered port in the Bay of Cádiz. It had defensive walls since ancient times, rebuilt and expanded over the centuries. Headquarters of institutions such as the Casa de la Contratación (from 1717) and the Consulado de Cargadores a Indias. Notable buildings related to trade and administration, such as the Casa das Quatro Torres (current Provincial Historical Archive). Navigation support infrastructure, such as watering places. Archaeology reveals ancient port structures submerged or filled in the bay.
Notes
It inherited the monopoly of trade with the Indies from Seville in 1717, becoming the "Global Emporium" and the richest and most cosmopolitan city in Spain in the 18th century. Center for the departure and arrival of silver and goods fleets. It was the scene of important historical events, such as naval attacks (Drake in 1587, Essex in 1596), the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) nearby, and the long siege during the Peninsular War (1810-1812), during which it hosted the Cortes that drafted the first Spanish liberal constitution (1812). The bay has a rich underwater and terrestrial archaeological heritage, testimony to millennia of human occupation and maritime activity. The Provincial Historical Archive of Cádiz preserves crucial documentation about the port and the city.
Sources
ARCHIVOS DE ANDALUCIA. The Goods that Passed Through Cádiz. Google Arts & Culture. [s.d.].; ARCHIVOS ESTATALES. The Casa de Contratación de las Indias. Google Arts & Culture. [s.d.].; BERNAL-CASASOLA, D.; et al. The oldest Phoenician harbour of Gadir (Cádiz, SW Spain): Geoarchaeological research at the Casa del Obispo site. Journal of Maritime Archaeology, v. 15, p. 303–325, 2020.; ESPANHA. Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Archivo General de Indias. [s.d.].; JUNTA DE ANDALUCIA. Archivo Histórico Provincial de Cádiz. [s.d.].; MARNOT, Bruno. Ports as Tools of European Expansion. Encyclopédie d'histoire numérique de l'Europe [online], 2020.; MARTÍNEZ-SÁNCHEZ, R. M.; et al. Geomorphological evolution and historical occupation of the northern Bay of Cádiz (SW Spain) during the last 3 ka. Journal of Maps, v. 19, n. 1, 2023.; O'FLANAGAN, Patrick. Port cities of Atlantic Iberia, c. 1500-1900. London: Routledge, 2008.; PUERTO DE CADIZ. Archivo histórico del Puerto de Cádiz. 2019.; WIKIPEDIA. Historia de Cádiz. [s.d.].
