Guadalcanal () is a village in the

province of Seville The Province of Seville ( es, Sevilla) is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Málaga, Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and ...

, in the autonomous community of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

, Spain. The name was given to the island of

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the s ...

in the Solomon Islands in 1568. The name was chosen by Pedro de Ortega Valencia who had been born in the village. He was a subordinate of Spanish explorer and navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira.

Location and population

In 2006 there were 2,970 inhabitants. It has an area of 275 square kilometres and a population density of 10,6 people per square-km. It is at an altitude of 662 metres, in a valley between the Sierra del Agua and the Sierra del Viento, in the region of the Sierra Norte of Seville. Guadalcanal is 80 kilometres north of Seville, it depends to the judicial party of Cazalla de la Sierra.

Etymology

The name, etymologically, comes from the Arabic phrase '' wādī al-qanāl'', meaning 'river of the stalls' or 'valley of stalls', referring to the refreshment stalls set up there during the Muslim rule in Andalusia. Other names were ''Tereses'' or ''Tereja'', or ''Canani'' with the Iberians.

History

It was reconquered by the Order of Santiago in 1241 from the Moors, then Guadalcanal belonged to the Kingdom of León as well as other parts of

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Loc ...

. In ecclesiastical terms, it belonged to the Santa María de Tendudia vicary. Guadalcanal was fortified by means of a now-ruined wall which was demolished because the village took part in the Guerra de las Comunidades de Castilla. In the mid-16th century, the area had some silver mines financed by the Fugger family. The village suffered a crisis in the 19th century, which caused the four nunneries in the village to close. As other rural communities in Spain, it faced a massive exodus of its inhabitants to the cities in the 20th century.

References

External links

Página web oficial del Ayuntamiento de Guadalcanal
– Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía
Guadalcanal Cofrade
– Página con la actualidad cofrade de Guadalcanal.
Página web del pintor Fernando Díaz MirónMirador La Capitana en el término municipal de GuadalcanalVídeos de Guadalcanal
{{authority control Municipalities of the Province of Seville