Inside EICF A Brief History of the City of Santander By Dr. María Jesús Pozas Pozas, History Professor, University of Deusto
administrative, commercial and, above all, touristic centre, thanks to the charm of its surroundings and its splendid cultural offer. However, it is a city which, like other cities in northern Spain today, is affected by the economic recession, and there has also been a certain degradation of the urban landscape. In 2021 the total population amounted to 172,221 inhabitants, having lost population in recent decades. In principle, we are going to refer to the knowledge of the history of the city of Santander and its transformation in space and time. It should be noted that its origins date back to the second half of the 1st century B.C. thanks to the discovery of Roman archaeological remains, which identify the city of Santander as the ancient “Portus
S Victoriae
Iuliobrigensium” in 26 B.C. In the 8th century, King Alfonso II
of Asturias founded a monastery, and in 1131 the Abbey of the Holy Bodies (“Los Cuerpos Santos”) was created, which is today’s cathedral. However, it was in 1187 when King Alfonso VIII of Castile endowed the town of Santander with a charter, which was intended to facilitate maritime traffic, fishing and trade. From the late Middle Ages, Santander was the main bastion of Castilian interests in the Cantabrian; the distribution network for imports and exports was organised from its port: wool, wheat, wine and manufactured products. From the 13th century onwards, it became the most
18 ❘ May 2022 ®
antander is currently the capital of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria; it is also the
Detail of the Church of “Los Cuerpos Santos” and the castle of San Felipe according to George Braun’s engraving “Civitates Orbis Terrarum” from 1575.
important port of the “Cuatro Villas de la Mar” (Castro, Laredo, Santander and San Vicente de la Barquera), and was transformed, thanks to trade, into the natural port of Castile. The port of Santander became a privileged place, where men attracted by the waters flowed. In the 16th century, it became the main port for the export of Castilian wool to north-western Europe; it was also the favourite port of the royal navies. Between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, the port and the town collapsed, which led to a long period of contraction throughout the 17th century. The terrible plague of 1596 depopulated the town, more than half of the 4,000 inhabitants who lived there died. This was the beginning of
a reversal of trends; among the most notable signs of the collapse was the demographic and economic crisis. After almost a century and a half of silence (1600-1750), Santander laid the foundations for its growth; this was a break with the previous century and a half; the change was due to Santander being part of the periphery, which would enjoy the favourable international situation of the 18th century, with a strong increase in commercial and human relations throughout the Cantabrian. One of the decisive factors in this
growth in the 18th century was the opening of the Reinosa road in 1753 to link Santander with the northern plateau for the purpose of exporting Castilian wool and flour. Also decisive was the governmental support of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
