In 1931, the monarchy in Spain was abolished and the new republic ended with the Civil War of 1936-1939 when General Franco, El Gaudillo, took power and Spain became a fascist state. When Franco died in 1975, he was succeeded by Juan Carlos I, who introduced a democratic monarchy and was the son of the Count of Barcelona and the grandson of Alfonso XIII. In 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated and surrendered the throne to his son Rey Felipe VI de Borbón who is married to Letitzia of Spain and they have children Leonor de Borbón of Spain, Princess of Asturias and sister Sofia of Spain.
In 1986, Spain joined the EU and in 2002, the euro was introduced and the peseta was abolished.
Spain has a population of about 46 million and is divided into 15 regions on the Iberian Peninsula, as well as 2 regions in the Balearic Islands (Mallorca and others) and the Canary Islands. In addition, there are 2 enclaves in Africa, called Ceuta and Melilla. Each region has its own government with its own flag and laws. The capital is called Madrid.
In our province of Granada, there are about 900,000 people and here are the mountain range Sierra Nevada (snow mountain) and the coast Costa Tropical de Granada, which consists of 19 municipalities located at: www.costatropical.se . Granada is the capital of the province
In our region called Andalucía, there are about 8.5 million and it consists of 8 provinces: Huelva, Cadiz, Malaga, Granada, Almeria, Jaen, Cordoba and Seville. In these provinces there are 771 municipalities. The region’s capital is Seville.
Almuñécar municipality with the 2 cities Almuñécar and La Herradura has about 29,407 inhabitants on an area of 83 km2 with 26 beaches.
Almuñécar was recaptured by the Christians in 1489 and since 30-40 years the tourists come. In summer, there are over 100,000 people who like the coast and the heat.
Spanish coast
The Spanish coast has always been of great importance to the Spaniards. It was there that most of the attacks began. Even the Vikings advanced along the coasts. This is also where all sun-worshiping people go.
Along the coast, from the French border and all the way to Portugal, there are still 58 functioning lighthouses and a large number of, more or less razed guard lighthouses from the past. At that time, they were signaled with the help of fires and smoke to other lighthouses to warn of pirate ships and assault.
The Costa Brava is located between the French border and roughly down to Barcelona. There are the famous cities of Figueres, Girona and Lloret de Mar.
Costa Daurada goes from Barcelona down to the Ebre Delta and there are Tarragona, Salou and Cambrils.
The Costa del Azahar continues down to Valencia with the villages of Alcossebre and Castello de la Plana.
The Costa de Valencia goes down to the cape Cap de la Nau.
The Costa Blanca with Benidorm, Alicante and Torrevieja goes down to Cabo de Palos.
Costa Calida goes down to Cabo de Gata and there is Cartagena.
The Costa de Almeria goes to the border of the Province of Granada.
Costa Tropical de Granada is the name of our coast which is about 80 km long and here are La Rabita, Melicena, Castillo de Baños, Castell de Ferro, Calahonda, Carchuna, Torrenueva, Motril, Salobreña, Almuñécar and La Herradura.
The Costa del Sol starts at Maro and Nerja and passes Malaga, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Marbella and Gibraltar and extends all the way to Tarifa.
The Costa de la Luz is the only coast that lies on the Atlantic Ocean and also borders Portugal. There are Cadiz and Huelva.
Spain has a very interesting history. So interesting that you almost have to limit yourself to a certain area if you want to do more research. A lot has happened since the first humans came from Africa many 10,000s of years ago and lived in caves. Paintings have been found in the caves of Maro that have been dated to about 43,000 years and the Altamira cave to 30,000 years. They were called Iberians.
The Phoenicians were the first known people to come to Spain and they were traders and started trading places along the Spanish south coast 3,500 years ago. In the north came the Kelter and with it followed the Celtic culture.
The Roman Empire spread throughout southern Europe and built aqueducts and fortresses that you can see so much of, especially in Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y Leon. Castillo is Spanish for castle, castle or fortress. They also built a road network that still works. “All roads lead to Rome”. The Roman Empire was dissolved at the end of the 400s.
Jews began to come to Spain, which at that time was called Hispana. They are known for being good merchants and starting businesses.
Visigoths, that is, Goths from the north, have not added anything special. They were considered dirty because the Romans had their Roman thermal baths. Hot baths. They were also the ones who let the Muslims into the country. They had been in Tarifa and checked the situation the year before.
The Muslims invaded Gibraltar in the spring of 711, and spread across the country, but as early as 722 they were stopped by King Pelayo I of Asturias, in northern Spain. They were definitely stopped at the Pyrenees. Then La Reconquista / The Recapture began. After that, war was fought between Muslims and Christians until 1492. Cordoba fell in 1236, having been one of Europe’s largest cultural centers between 929-1031, ever since the Muslims occupied the city in 716. After the return of occupied territories and Ronda in 1482, there were only the great Muslim kingdom of Granada remains. The Alhambra was built in 1238, just 2 years after leaving Cordoba and the Caliphate.
Fortress Sohail in Fuengirola was conquered August 7, 1485.
Malaga was conquered in 1487 after a 3-month siege of the Gibralfaro fortress (the lighthouse on the cliff), built in 929 by Abd al-Rahman III.
Almuñécar and Salobreña were liberated in 1489
The last stronghold of the Alhambra and Granada fell on January 2, 1492, and with that one can say that Spain, or Castile as it was then called, became a united country. Cousins Ferdnando II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile, married October 19, 1469 and titled Los Reyes Católicos. They provided Cristofer Columbus from Genoa, Italy (actually named Cristoforo Colombo) with 3 ships, Santa Maria, Pinta and Niña, so that he could sail to America on August 3, 1492. An event that changed Spain and the rest of the world. Spanish conquistadors ravaged South America for many years and got a lot of gold with them and in this way Spain became a great power and a rich country. Now are the other times. Gold disappeared in the Civil War 36-39 and unemployment is high. Spain is really a rich country. Not for money,because of all the corruption, but on castles, art treasures and their opportunities as a tourist country. Since the 1970s, Spain has been the most popular tourist destination for us tourists.
All warfare did not end after 1492. For example, the Muslim uprising in Andalusia took place in the late 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They had settled on the southern slope of Sierra Nevada and would become Spaniards. They tried to return Granada, but failed, but were shipped to Africa.
In different places and times there have been, among other things: Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Visigoths, Romans, Jews, Arabs and even Vikings. The Basques were a people of their own.
The fine climate, fertile lands and the fine coast invited constant attacks by Turkish pirates (whose head can be seen in Almuñécar’s flag) so King Carlos III in the 18th century made sure that the entire coast had watchtowers (Atalayas) and defenses. France and England have been at war with Spain and Almuñécar. The result was that one of the towers collapsed on our fortress Castillo de San Miguel in the early 19th century.
Gibraltar became English at the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, due to the War of Succession.
In 1931, the monarchy in Spain was abolished and the new republic ended with the civil war of 1936-1939 when General Franco, El Gaudillo, took power and Spain became a fascist state. When Franco died in 1975 he was succeeded by Juan Carlos I, who introduced a democratic monarchy and was the son of the Count of Barcelona and the grandson of Alfonso XIII. In 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated and handed over the throne to his son Rey Felipe VI de Borbón.
Almuñécar has been peacefully occupied by tourists since the 70’s.
Read more about Spain’s history at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaniens_historia