page_title: Albacete
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Albacete / History
caption_attribution_description: Español: Vista general de la Feria de Albacete, en el El Museo Universal.
context_page_description: Albacete is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.
  Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llanos. Halfway between Madrid and the Mediterranean coast, it enjoys connections by motorway, railway, and air. With a population of 173,329, it is the largest municipality of Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality of Albacete is also the seventh-largest in Spain by total area, being 1,125.91 km². Albacete is the seat to the regional High Court of Justice.
  The origins of the city are uncertain, with the earliest proof of settlement dating to the time of Al-Andalus, when the settlement was originally named البسيط, meaning "The Flat" in Arabic, referring to the flat land around. Albacete was the main headquarters of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
  Part of the historic region of La Mancha, Albacete has a reputation as producer of clasp knives. Its flat area and the removal of architectural barriers have reportedly made it one of the most accessible cities across the country.
context_section_description: The origins of the city are uncertain, although the first few confirmations of its existence are found during the Moorish domination of the area, when it was a small Moorish village. Its name is derived from the Arabic البسيط‎ Al-Basīṭ, "El Llano" ("the plain") referring to the planiform nature of the geography of the area.
  In 1240, Albacete capitulated to Ferdinand III, who had support from the Order of Santiago and knights from the land of Alarcón. Soon after, in 1241, in return for help provided, the monarch donated the place to Alarcón. The hamlet of Albacete was transferred from Alarcón to Chinchilla by Alfonso X in 1269.
  Albacete was granted the privilege of town (villa) in 1375 by Don Juan Manuel, prince of Villena, becoming independent from Chinchilla. also being granted a fuero in that time. A century later, in 1476, the Catholic Monarchs rewarded Albacete for supporting the Crown by granting it a licence to hold a market once a week.
  During the Revolt of the Comuneros (1520–22), after initial protests, Albacete supported the new emperor Charles V who, in 1526, granted the feudal estate of the town to his wife, the Empress Isabella of Portugal. During this period, building started on the church of San Juan Bautista (St John the Baptist), which was later to become a cathedral.
  Albacete is located in a strategic position between Madrid and the east coast of Spain and its agricultural wealth led to the growth of the borough during the next few centuries until Philip V granted permission for an annual fair (1710). This fair was later held in an enclosure built by Charles III (1783).
  In the early 19th century, in the context of the discussion for the creation of a new province upon territory belonging to New Castile and Murcia, Albacete vied for the capital status of the intended demarcation against nearby Chinchilla. They had a similar population at the time, although Albacete probably had the edge in economic prowess. Chinchilla briefly became head of province during the trienio liberal before the absolutist crackdown of Ferdinand VII, but the definitive 1833 territorial division devised by Javier de Burgos established Albacete as capital of the new province of Albacete.
  Soon after, in 1834, an Audiencia Territorial (a regional court) was established in Albacete, exercising jurisdiction over a demarcation comprising the provinces of Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Murcia and Albacete.
  Railway reached Albacete on 18 March 1855, as the Alcázar de San Juan–Albacete stretch of the Madrid–Almansa line was opened on that day. Albacete was granted the title of city (ciudad) through a Royal Decree issued in November 1862, during the reign of Isabella II. Following the opening of the Chinchilla–Cartagena railway in 1865, Albacete also became connected to the latter city.
  Social inequality in the 19th century was rampant, with overwhelming rates of illiteracy in areas dwelled by day laborers. Meanwhile, the "middle class" consisted chiefly of civil servants and lawyers (thanks to hosting the seat of the Audiencia) as well a reduced number of merchants. Street electric lighting was inaugurated in 1888, thus being the first capital of a province in Spain with electric lighting in its streets.
  Throughout the 19th century, the population of the town doubled from the 10,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the century to around 21,000 by the beginning of the 20th century. During this period, Albacete defended Queen Isabel II against the Carlists (the supporters of Charles, the pretender to the Spanish throne), supported Espartero and, just like other Spanish cities, constituted a revolutionary junta. During the long period of the Restoration (1875–1923), symptoms of caciquismo (the network of social relations based on clientelism underpinning the political life in the rural areas) became pervasive in the political and social life of Albacete.
  Between 1900 and the end of the Spanish Civil War (1939), the population tripled. A number of basic public works date back to that time: the water supply and sewer system (1905), the Abelardo Sanchez Pa
caption: The Fair of Albacete in the mid-19th century.
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