History
Human presence in the area dates back to Paleolithic times. Several Neolithic era villages have been unearthed in the area including that of La Mesa. During the 1st century, the Phoenicians settled near the town, particularly in the small island, Islote de Sancti Petri, founding a temple dedicated to their God, Melqart. When the Romans arrived they dedicated the temple to Hercules. A marble statue of a Roman emperor deified during the 2nd century was found in the waters of Sancti Petri in 1905. A ancient stronghold of the Phoenicians, remains from the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans unearthed in Chiclana are in the Museum of Cádiz.
The foundation of the current town of Chiclana occurred in 1303 by Captain Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (1256-1309), when King Ferdinand IV of Castile gave land to the House of Medina-Sidonia. The Battle of Barrosa, a French defeat by the Anglo-Spanish army, took place 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Chiclana on 5 March 1811. During the Spanish War of Independence came the Battle of Chiclana took place here between French and Anglo-Spanish allies. In 1900, tenders were invited by the municipal authorities, Le Secretariat del Ayuntamienti de Chiclana de la Frontera, for an electric lighting concession of the town. In the early 20th century, seasonal Algarvian migration brought workers to Chiclana's cereal fields. Sancti Petri was visited in 1930 by Manuel de Falla, seeking inspiration.
Read more about this topic: Chiclana De La Frontera
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“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
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