Valencia de Alcántara (Population: 6178) is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, in the

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Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

, Spain. It is near the Portuguese border ( District of Portalegre), separated from it by the Sever.

History

From the 16th century to the 18th Valencia was a celebrated border fortress; it was captured by the Portuguese in 1664 and 1698.

Battle of 1762

The Battle of Valencia de Alcántara took place in 1762 as part of the Spanish invasion of Portugal. Portuguese-British troops under John Burgoyne attacked and captured the town, which was a Spanish supply base, setting back the invasion and contributing to the British victory that year.

Nineteenth century

The beginning of the nineteenth century, traditionally associated with the beginnings of the modern age, is particularly troublesome in the case of Valencia de Alcántara as it was caught up in two important conflicts, including the fleeting conflict known as the

War of the Oranges The War of the Oranges ( pt, Guerra das Laranjas; french: Guerre des Oranges; es, Guerra de las Naranjas) was a brief conflict in 1801 in which Spanish forces, instigated by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French mi ...

(1801) or the War of Independence. However, due to its location it became is the second most important

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

for direct traffic between the two kingdoms, after

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populati ...

, and had a flourishing trade in farm produce of all kinds.

Features

There are Roman remains in the district, and the courtyards and windows of many houses are Moorish in style. Nuestra Señora de Roqueamador, the most important church, dates from the 14th century. The church of Encarnacion, the town hall and a fine convent date from the 16th. Valencia de Alcántara is a very important centre of

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were some ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Famous inhabitants

Valencia de Alcántara was the birthplace of

Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador 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, mean ...

, who represented Spain at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

(1814–1815).

Soraya Arnelas Soraya Arnelas Rubiales (; born 13 September 1982), better known by her stage name Soraya, is a Spanish singer. Soraya represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia with the song " La noche es para mí" finishing 23rd w ...

was also born here.

References