Palos de la Frontera () is a town and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
located in the southwestern
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
province of
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 ...
, in the autonomous community of
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, 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 ...
. It is situated some from the provincial capital,
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 ...
. According to the 2015 census, the city had a population of 10,365. It is most famous for being the place from which
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
set sail in 1492, eventually reaching America.
History
The official date of foundation for Palos is 1322, when the town was granted to Alonso Carro and Carro's wife Berenguela Gómez by
Alfonso XI of Castile, although the town may have been occupied during earlier centuries by
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
,
Tartessian,
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
,
Visigothic
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
, and
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
inhabitants. Palos' name is derived from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word ''palus'' (“
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
”). It acquired its “surname” as ''Palos de la Frontera'' in May 1642.
At the time of its establishment as a town by Alfonso XI, Palos was part of the
Almohad
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...
kingdom of
Niebla, and was a small nucleus whose population subsisted on fishing and took advantage of the area's geographic protection against
pirates
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and storms.
Álvar Pérez is considered the city's real founder. He was only fourteen when
Juan I of Castile
John I ( es, Juan I; 24 August 1358 – 9 October 1390) was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile.
Biography
His first marriage, to Eleanor of Aragon on 18 June 1375, ...
granted him the towns of Palos and
Villalba del Alcor
Villalba del Alcor is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2008 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given pop ...
in 1379 to make up for the fact that Pérez de Guzmán was forced to give up
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 ...
and
Gibraleón
Gibraleón is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. ...
, which had become part of the
county of Medinaceli
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
. Álvar Pérez de Guzmán received from Juan I the right to tax the first fifty families who settled at Palos, and he began utilizing the lands around Palos for the cultivation of
olive trees
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...
and production of
olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
. After the death of Álvar Pérez de Guzmán, his widow, Elvira de Ayala, daughter of the Chancellor of Castile, continued her husband's work until her death in 1434.
Palos' Golden Age is considered to have occurred in the 15th century (especially between 1470 and 1479), when it increased its population to 2,500 inhabitants and its economy, based on fishing and seafaring expeditions to
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, flourished.
Palos took advantage of the
War of the Castilian Succession
The War of the Castilian Succession was the military conflict contested from 1475 to 1479 for the succession of the Crown of Castile fought between the supporters of Joanna 'la Beltraneja', reputed daughter of the late monarch Henry IV of Castile ...
, which became a war between
Castile and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, to challenge Portuguese domination of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
trade. Castilian naval forces always included natives of Palos, who were considered navigational experts:
Nevertheless, the war ended in defeat for the Castilian forces,
[ ↓ Historian Malyn Newitt: ''“However, in 1478 the Portuguese surprised thirty-five Castilian ships returning from Mina '' attle of Guinea/nowiki>'' and seized them and all their gold. Another...Castilian voyage to Mina, that of ]Eustache de la Fosse
Tassin or Eustache de la Fosse (also spelled Delafosse) (ca. 1451 - 23 April 1523) was a Flemish-speaking sailor and merchant from Tournai, who traveled with Portuguese sailors from Palos to territories of West Africa (1479–80) in what are now ...
, was intercepted ... in 1480. (...) All things considered, it is not surprising that the Portuguese emerged victorious from this first maritime colonial war. They were far better organised than the Castilians, were able to raise money for the preparation and supply of their fleets, and had clear central direction from ... '' rince/nowiki>'' John.”'' I
''A history of Portuguese overseas expansion, 1400-1668''
Routledge, New York, 2005, p.39,40. and
Ferdinand and Isabella, in the
Treaty of Alcáçovas
The Treaty of Alcáçovas (also known as Treaty or Peace of Alcáçovas-Toledo) was signed on 4 September 1479 between the Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon on one side and Afonso V and his son, Prince John of Portugal, on the other sid ...
(1479) gave up all rights to Atlantic and
African
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
lands and seas, with the exception of the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, which remained Castilian. Many natives of Palos nevertheless violated the agreement and encroached upon Portuguese sea routes in the Atlantic.
On August 3, 1492, the
Pinta,
Niña
''La Niña'' ( Spanish for ''The Girl'') was one of the three Spanish ships used by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in his first voyage to the West Indies in 1492. As was tradition for Spanish ships of the day, she bore a female saint's n ...
, and
Santa María sailed from Palos. On board were the Spanish crew of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
and the
Pinzón Brothers
The Pinzón brothers were Spanish sailors, pirates, explorers and fishermen, natives of Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain. Martín Alonso, Francisco Martín and Vicente Yáñez, participated in Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the ...
, who were natives of Palos. Palos is also the site of the
Rábida Monastery where Columbus consulted with the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
about his plans for organizing an expedition of discovery. The three Spanish ships landed in
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on October 12, 1492. The Santa María foundered in American waters, but the other two ships returned to Palos on March 15, 1493.
Palos would play a pivotal role in the settlement and Christianization of the New World in succeeding centuries.
La Rábida would play a central part in the Christian evangelization of the Americas. As La Rábida was a Franciscan monastery, that order would play a dominant role in this Christianization, and some of the first missionaries were natives of Palos, including
Juan Izquierdo,
Juan de Palos,
Juan Cerrado,
Pedro Salvador
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
,
Alonso Vélez de Guevara, ,
Thomás de Narváez, and
Francisco Camacho.
With the establishment of the
Casa de Contratación
The ''Casa de Contratación'' (, House of Trade) or ''Casa de la Contratación de las Indias'' ("House of Trade of the Indies") was established by the Crown of Castile, in 1503 in the port of Seville (and transferred to Cádiz in 1717) as a cr ...
at
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
in 1503, Palos suffered a decline.
Natives of Palos emigrated to America or to Seville, and Palos soon had few sailing vessels of its own.
By the 18th century, the town had only about 125 inhabitants. However, during the same century,
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
investors established a
viticultural
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
industry centered at Palos, and the population slowly reached its pre-1492 levels.
Palos also transformed itself into a center of the
shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
industries, and also became a center for the cultivation of the “fresón de Palos” (Palos-grown
garden strawberries), which are now exported to the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
On June 22, 1926, the first
hydroplane to cross the Atlantic, the
Plus Ultra flying boat, took off from Palos. The journey, done in six stages, ended at
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Alfonso XIII of Spain gave the Plus Ultra to the
Argentine Navy, in which it served as a postal service airplane; the Argentines donated to Spain a statue of
Icarus, which is situated at La Rábida.
Alfonso XIII also granted to Palos the status as a city during this time.
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
visited Palos on June 14, 1993, the only time a
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
has visited the city. John Paul symbolically crowned the Palos’
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
, the
Virgin of Miracles
The Virgin of Miracles or Saint Mary of La Rábida ( es, Virgen de los Milagros or ) is a religious Roman Catholic image venerated at the La Rabida Monastery in the city of Palos de la Frontera (Huelva (province), Huelva, Spain).
The image is in ...
(''Virgen de los Milagros'').
There is a station in the
Madrid Metro named after this town.
In 1850 the small town of Trenton,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, located southwest of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, changed its name to
Palos. This recommendation was made by M. S. Powell, the local
postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
, whose ancestor
Pedro Alonso Niño
Pedro Alonso Niño (c. 1455 – c. 1505) was a Afro-Spanish explorer. He piloted the '' Santa María'' during Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in 1492, and accompanied him on his third voyage in 1498 to Trinidad.
Biography
N ...
sailed with Christopher Columbus from Palos de la Frontera. When it incorporated as a Village in 1914, Palos officially became Palos Park. The neighboring communities of
Palos Hills and
Palos Heights incorporated at later points. All three municipalities lie within Palos Township.
Sister Cities
*
Cali, Colombia
Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...
*
Latina, Italy
Latina () is the capital of the province of Latina in the Lazio region, in central Italy. , the city has 126,612 inhabitants and is the second-largest city of the region, after the national capital Rome. It was founded in 1932 under the Italian f ...
*
Lagos, Portugal
See also
*
Lugares colombinos
The ''Lugares colombinos'' ("Columbian places") is a tourist route in the Spanish province Huelva, which includes several places that have special relevance to the preparation and realization of the first voyage of Cristopher Columbus. That voy ...
*
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
*
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
*
The Pinzon Brothers
*
Monument to the Discoverers
References
Bibliography:
Articles
* Izquierdo Labrado, Julio
''Relaciones de Palos de la frontera con el Algarve a finales del siglo XV'' La Rábida, 1993.
Books
* , Malyn (2005
''A history of Portuguese overseas expansion, 1400-1668'' New York: Routledge.
Chronicles
*
Palencia, Alfonso de – ''Gesta Hispaniensia ex annalibus suorum diebus colligentis, Década III
and IV''(the three first ''Décadas were'' edited as ''Cronica del rey Enrique IV'' by Antonio Paz y Meliá in 1904 and the fourth as Cuarta Década by José Lopes de Toro in 1970).
External links
- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía
Ayuntamiento de Palos de la Frontera Historiador de Palos de la Frontera: Julio Izquierdo Labrado
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palos De La Frontera
Municipalities in the Province of Huelva