Huelva

Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The rias are of the Odiel and Tinto rivers and are good natural harbors. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 149,410. Huelva is home to Recreativo de Huelva, the oldest football club in Spain.
While the existence of a pre-Phoenician settlement within the current urban limits since has been tentatively defended by scholars, Phoenicians established a stable colony roughly by the 9th century BC.
History
Protohistory
At least up to the 1980s and 1990s, the mainstream historians' view was that Huelva began as an autochthonous Tartessian settlement (possibly the very same Tartessos mentioned in Greek sources); later opinions have held that it was a multi-ethnic enclave, mixing natives with peoples with a mainly Phoenician, and later Greek, extraction. However, following the finding of Phoenician archaeological materials in the Méndez Núñez-Las Monjas site, the chronology as to the Phoenician presence was reassessed. The evidence favours solely viewing Huelva-Onoba as a very early Phoenician colony, a development which was parallel to a certain "dismantling" of the idea of Tartessos as a mainly autochthonous archaeological culture, even though the tentative identification of Huelva with Tartessos was not discarded, but rather kept. Tartessos has also been identified with the biblical Tarshish.
First contacts with the local Phoenician presence have been hypothesised to have taken place as early as 1015 to 975 BCE. However, remains such as those found in the Méndez Núñez-Las Monjas go so far as to show a likely Phoenician settlement of the 9th century BCE, especially to resemble a founding date of a Tyrian settlement from the reign of Ithobaal I between 875 and 850, although the Méndez Núñez-Las Monjas' archaeological finds have been brought forward as evidence of a 10th-century BCE founding chronology in the era of Hiram I (c. 975–950). The outpost was presumably populated mainly by continental Phoenicians, with some possible addition of the likes of Eteocypriots, Cypriot Phoenicians and Sardinian Phoenicians.
As a Phoenician outpost, it facilitated local exports such as silver, copper, purple dye and salted fish, while it also served as node in the trade routes connecting the Northern Atlantic, the Southern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Population notably increased from the mid-8th century BCE onward, possibly connected to the arrival of refugees fleeing from Tiglath-Pileser III and, overall, from the economic crisis and social unrest induced by the Assyrian subjugation of the Levant.
It was called ʿunʿu baʿl ("Baal's fort") by the Phoenicians, which in most Greek texts corrupted to (Onoba). The Tartessian world entered a crisis in the 6th century BCE. The transition from the Tartessian period to the ensuing Turdetani period was presumably slow and not traumatic, degenerating from an economy based on mining to a new one focused on the trade of agricultural and fishing products. It was in the hands of the Turdetani at the time of conquest by Rome, and before the conquest, it issued silver coins with Iberian lettering.
Antiquity
The place was called both Onoba Æstuaria or Onuba (used on coinage) during Roman times, or, simply, Onoba. It was put in the Roman province of Hispania Bætica. According to the Antonine Itinerary: it was a maritime town between the Anas, (modern Guadiana) and Bætis (modern Guadalquivir); it was on the estuary of the Luxia (modern Odiel), and on the road from the mouth of the Anas to Augusta Emerita (modern Mérida). There are still some Roman remains. Huelva hosted a mint; and many coins have been found there bearing the name of the town as Onuba.
Middle Ages
Soon after the beginning of the Umayyad invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711, Onuba was seized by the troops of Musa ibn Nusayr by April 712. Within a few decades, to both the broader Islamic world and the conquered locals, the town's name had corrupted to ولبة (Walba).
During the fitna of al-Andalus a weak and ephemeral taifa emerged following the demise of local Umayyad control: the bakrid, from 1012 to 1051. In the latter year, it was annexed by the more powerful Taifa of Seville, to be later occupied by the Almoravids in 1091. By 1262, Huelva—then part of the Taifa of Niebla—was taken by Alfonso X of Castile. From 1265 onward, Huelva enjoyed an exemption from the portazgo tribute, a portage tax.
Following the Christian conquest, the town became a royal demesne for a short time, until it was ceded in Lordship to Admiral in 1293 by Sancho IV of Castile. After a period during which Huelva was probably controlled by Seville, the tenencia of the lordship was passed to several lords, including Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán—brother of Eleanor de Guzmán—(in 1338) and Juan Alfonso de la Cerda. Huelva, again a realengo for a short time during the reign of Peter I, saw its privileges confirmed and was granted the right to choose the alcalde and the alguacil in 1351. The lordship was soon given to the king's mistress, María de Padilla.
Early modern history
It suffered substantial damage in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
Huelva became a leading fishing town in Andalusia in the 16th century (thriving in the sardine and tuna markets). The town became a provincial capital in 1833.
Modern history
Mines in the countryside still send copper and pyrite to Huelva's port for export. From about 1873, the major mining company has been Rio Tinto.
Huelva acquired the status of city (ciudad) by means of a royal decree on 17 September 1876.
The ore-smelting caused severe sulfur dioxide pollution and was frequently met by the protests of local farmers, peasants and miners, allied under the anarchist Syndicalist leader Maximiliano Tornet. On 4 February 1888, the Pavi Regiment of the Spanish Army opened fire on demonstrators at the village plaza of Rio Tinto. Historians estimate the number of deaths at 100 to 200. One hundred years later, environmentalists defending the nearby village of Nerva referred to 1888 as the "year of shots", in their protests against the provincial government's plans to site a large waste dump in a disused mine in the 1990s.
The local football club, Recreativo de Huelva was founded in 1889 by workers of Rio Tinto Group. Nicknamed the Decano of Spanish football, it is the longest-playing football club in Spain.
The 17–18 July 1936 military coup d'état that started the Spanish Civil War failed in the city and much of the province. However, on 27 July, 500 guardias civiles rose in arms against the Republic in the city, with the authorities escaping and later being shot down. Two days later, on 29 July, a rebel column from Seville on behalf of Gonzalo Queipo de Llano took control of the city. For the rest of the conflict, it remained to the rear of the zone controlled by the Rebel faction. The ensuing Francoist repression took a heavy toll, with an estimated total of deaths all over the province for the rearguard and post-war repression.
During World War II, the city was a hub of espionage activities led by members of the large British and German expatriate communities. German activity centered on reporting British shipping moving in and out of the Atlantic. Most famously, the outskirts was where Operation Mincemeat allowed a cadaver carrying forged identification to wash ashore.{{refn|group=n.|The cadaver, "Major William Martin, Royal Marines" of Operation Mincemeat is buried in the San Marco section of the cemetery of Nuestra Senora under a headstone that reads:
Twenty-five years after the city was declared a Polo de Desarrollo Industrial ("Pole of Industrial Development") in 1964, the population had nearly doubled.
Geography
Location
Huelva is in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the Gulf of Cádiz, facing the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline straddling along the Gulf of Cádiz is known as Costa de la Luz. The city lies next to the estuary formed by the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto, sandwiched in between both rivers.
A rather wide estuary in ancient times, the estuary of Huelva progressively silted up to a large extent.
Transportation
Huelva is home to Grupo Damas, a provincial bus company. Huelva's train station is now a shadow of its former self, and exists on a spur line. There are no trains to Portugal. The Port of Huelva hosts Naviera Armas' ferry Volcan del Teide, on which one can travel weekly to Arrecife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Huelva does not have an airport. The closest airports to the city are Faro Airport (93 km as the crow flies) and Seville Airport (95 km).
Demographics
Huelva had a population of 149,410 in 2010. The city experienced a population boom in the nineteenth century, due to the exploitation of mineral resources in the area, and another with the construction of the Polo de Desarrollo (industrial hub) in the 1960s. It had a population of 5,377 inhabitants in 1787, which had risen to only 8,519 by 1857. From 1887, the city experienced rapid growth, reaching 21,539 residents in 1900, 56,427 in 1940, and 96,689 in 1970. Rapid expansion occurred in the following decades, and the population reached 141,479 by 1991.
From 1997 to 2007, immigration both from abroad and from the surrounding area sustained population growth. In 2007, the city reached a population of 145,000, while the metropolitan area had nearly 232,000 inhabitants, encompassing the surrounding areas of Aljaraque, Moguer, San Juan del Puerto, Punta Umbría, Gibraleón, and Palos de la Frontera. The 2006 census recorded a foreign-born population of almost 5,000 people in the urban centre, the majority of whom were of Moroccan origin.
Climate
Huelva and its metropolitan area have a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), characterized by mild and wet winters and long warm to hot and dry summers. The average annual temperature is during the day and at night. The average annual precipitation is per year, there are about 52 rainy days per year. Extreme temperatures have been recorded on 25 July 2004 and recorded on 28 January 2005 at Ronda Este. Huelva is warmer than places on the immediate coastline, with cooler maritime air warming up in summer over the river delta.
Artists
The most well-known artists in Huelva have been: the poet and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Juan Ramón Jiménez, the sculptor Antonio León Ortega, the writer Nicolas Tenorio Cerero and the painter Daniel Vázquez Díaz.
Other outstanding artists from Huelva include the painters José Caballero, Pedro Gómez y Gómez, Antonio Brunt, Mateo Orduña Castellano, Pablo Martínez Coto, Manuel Moreno Díaz, Juan Manuel Seisdedos Romero, Francisco Doménech, Esperanza Abot, José María Labrador, Sebastián García Vázquez, Pilar Barroso, Juan Carlos Castro Crespo, Lola Martín, Antonio Gómez Feu, Rafael Aguilera, and Florencio Aguilera Correa. Miguel Báez y Espuny , called el Litri, is a retired bullfighter very famous from Huelva, his son, named Miguel Báez Spínola, was also a very renowned bullfighter retired in 1999.
Sports
The city is home to Recreativo de Huelva, the oldest football club in Spain.
Events
Carnaval, fiesta
Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva
Columbian Festivals, fiesta first week of August
Fiestas de la Cinta, between 3–8 September
San Sebastián, festival 20 January
Semana Santa (Easter Week)
Virgen de la Cinta, fiesta 8 September
El Rocio Romeria pilgrimage, every seventh August, a statue of the Virgin of el Rocio travels at night from El Rocio to Almonte.
Nearby
Near Huelva, in the Huelva River estuary, lies Herculis Insula, mentioned by Strabo (iii. p. 170), called by Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v.), now Isla Saltés.
Notable people
Cinta Pérez (born 1985), former footballer
Carolina Marín (born 1993), professional badminton player
Twin towns – sister cities
Huelva is twinned with:
Borgomezzavalle, Italy
Cádiz, Spain
Faro, Portugal
Houston, United States
Vancouver, Canada
See also
Costa de la Luz
Tourist Mining Train
Tharsis railway line
Riotinto Railway
Rio Tinto Company Limited
References
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
References
External links
Información sobre la Sierra de Aracena
Huelva – Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía
City of Huelva Andalucia Destination
Huelva municipal government Official Website
City of Huelva Andalucia Destination
Port Authority of Huelva Official web page with information about the port, its history and technical characteristics.
Maps
Guía de autores onubenses (Local writers) Juntadeandalucia.es. Juan David Ayllón Burguillo
Doñana Natural Park
Sierra de Aracena Natural Park
Moodle Centros Huelva
Municipalities in the Province of Huelva
Phoenician colonies in Spain
Roman sites in Spain