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MALAGA CAR HIRE
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FUERTE HOTELES
You can find Fuerte Hoteles in Andalusia as: Marbella, Conil de la Frontera, Grazalema and El Rompido; places to discover cities as fascinating as Seville, Cadiz, Granada, and Jerez de la Frontera, or the of North Africa.
El Puerto de Santa Maria - Andalucia Cadiz Spain
El Puerto de Santa Maria Cadiz SpainEl Puerto de Santa Maria - History
According to tradition, it was founded by a hero of the Trojan
War, who called it the Port of Menestheo. Publius Escipion gave
it the name Puerto Gaditano, meaning port of Cadiz. The Moslems
knew the town as Alcanter or Almacia Alcantes, which means “Port
of the Salt Mines”. In the 13th century, Alfonso X changed
its name to Santa Maria del Puerto.
The abundance and significance of archaeological remains such
as those at Aculadero and Doña Blanca illustrates the importance
of this town since the Palaeolithic period, passing through the
ancient Mediterranean world, the Roman era and the Moslem dynasty,
to which it belonged for over five centuries. Conquered in 1250
by Ferdinand III, it was re-settled and fortified in 1254 by Alfonso
X, who respected the Arabs’ administrative organisation,
limiting the Christians to the possession of fortresses and the
collection of a tribute.
Cristopher Columbus lived here and persuaded Juan de la Cosa to
allow him to use his ship, the Santa Maria. With the discovery
of America, commercial traffic with the Indies began, and the
town was the starting point for many an American expedition, such
as the voyage of Alonso Ojeda (1499) and the one undertaken by
Rodrigo de Bastidas and Juan de la Cosa (1504), until Seville
was granted a monopoly of vessel charter and expeditions.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, it was the base of the Royal
Galleys and headquarters of the Captaincy General of the Ocean
Sea.
In 1810, the French made it their headquarters during the siege
of Caádiz.
With the arrival in 1822 of the Hundred Thousand Sons of San Luis
to recover Ferdinand VII’s crown, the king signed the famous
“Puerto de Santa Maria Decree”, which retracted his
acceptance of the 1812 Constitution and led to harsh reprisals
against the Liberals.
The 19th century saw the return of the town’s commercial
activities, with the production, commercialisation and export
of wines which has continued up to the present day.
The town is considered to be one of the birthplaces of flamenco
song.