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Cádiz Through the Ages: A Timeline by Era

Follow Cádiz from Phoenician Gadir through Roman Gades, the Islamic centuries and the Atlantic trade to the Cortes of 1812 and the modern city. Each era gathers the people, the monuments still standing and the articles that go deeper.

Meet the people of each era

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c. 1100–237 BCE

Phoenician Gadir

Gadir, the Phoenician trading post traditionally dated to about 1100 BCE.

Phoenician traders from Tyre founded Gadir on the islands of the bay, and ancient writers dated it to about 1100 BCE. It became the western end of their trading network, shipping Iberian silver and tin, and the Temple of Melqart at Sancti Petri made it a pilgrimage site.

Articles

  1. How Phoenician Gadir Built Tyre's Atlantic Port in Cádiz

    1100–237 BCE Article

    Phoenician Gadir turned the Cádiz archipelago into Tyre's Atlantic port. Explore the Temple of Melqart, the 9th-century BC streets and the Dama de Cádiz.

237 BCE–5th century CE

Roman Gades

Gades, a wealthy Roman port with a theatre among the largest in Hispania.

In this era

After Carthaginian rule and the Roman takeover, Gades became a municipium under Julius Caesar and Augustus, famed for its fish sauce, merchants and dancers. Its theatre, built in the 1st century BCE, is among the largest known in Hispania.

Monuments

Articles

  1. How Roman Gades Rose on Balbus Money and Salted Fish

    Article

    Roman Gades went from federate city to Roman municipium in 49 BC. Meet the Balbus family, the garum trade and Columella, the farming writer born there.

5th century–1492

Medieval & Islamic Cádiz

A small Visigothic then Islamic port until Alfonso X took it in 1262.

In this era

Cádiz shrank after Rome and passed from Visigothic to Islamic rule, when it was known as Qadis. Alfonso X of Castile took the city in 1262 and began its resettlement, leaving the first cathedral foundation and the lines of the medieval town.

Monuments

1492–1808

Atlantic Trade & the Golden Age

The Americas fleet moves to Cádiz in 1717 and merchants build the tower houses.

In this era

After 1492 Cádiz grew as a port for the Americas, sacked by the English in 1596 and fortified in response. In 1717 the Casa de Contratación moved here from Seville, and merchant families built the watchtower houses, the cathedral and the baroque oratories of the old town.

Monuments

Articles

  1. Cádiz Watchtowers and Torre Tavira: Inside the Lookout Network

    1717–1790 Article

    Why do more than 100 Baroque watchtowers crown the rooftops of Cádiz? Explore Torre Tavira, the 1717 Indies trade monopoly, and where to see them today.

  2. How the 1755 Tsunami Hit Cádiz and Stopped in La Viña

    1755 Article

    On 1 November 1755, five tsunami waves struck Cádiz at 11:10 am. See how La Caleta's walls broke, Azlor locked Puerta de Tierra, and La Viña survived.

  3. Why the Battle of Trafalgar Began and Ended in Cádiz

    1805 Article

    In October 1805, 33 ships left Cádiz for the Battle of Trafalgar. Trace Admiral Gravina's warning, the 23 October counter-sortie, and the city's hospitals.

  4. Why Christopher Columbus Sailed From Cádiz in 1493 and 1502

    1493–1504 Article

    Christopher Columbus sailed from Cádiz on his 17-ship Second Voyage in 1493 and his Fourth Voyage in 1502. Trace his fleets and medieval El Pópulo today.

  5. Why Francis Drake's 1587 Cádiz Raid Preceded the 1596 Sack

    1587–1625 Article

    Francis Drake raided Cádiz Harbour in April 1587 to delay the Armada, and in June 1596 an English fleet under Essex returned to capture and burn the city.

All 6 articles

1808–1874

The Cortes & the 1812 Constitution

Besieged by Napoleon, Cádiz proclaims the liberal Constitution of 1812.

In this era

While most of Spain fell to French forces, Cádiz held out under siege from 1810. The Cortes met in the city and proclaimed the Constitution of 19 March 1812, known as La Pepa, a landmark of European liberalism.

Monuments

Articles

  1. Why the Siege of Cádiz Held Off Napoleon for Thirty Months

    1810–1812 Article

    During the Siege of Cádiz from 1810 to 1812, islands, batteries and 17,000 Allied troops defied Napoleon while the Cortes wrote Spain's first Constitution.

  2. Liberal Cádiz: From the 1812 Constitution to Salvochea's Canton

    1810–1873 Article

    Liberal Cádiz history in five steps: the 1812 Cortes, Mendizábal's 1836 convent sale, the 1868 revolution and Salvochea's 1873 canton, and where to see it.

1875–today

Modern Cádiz

From the Gran Teatro Falla and the Carnival to a modern shipyard and tourism city.

In this era

Late 19th-century Cádiz added the Gran Teatro Falla and the Carnival tradition, and the 20th century brought shipbuilding, industry and the city's tourism economy. The Carnival of Cádiz remains the best known living tradition of the modern city.

Monuments

Articles

  1. History of Cádiz Carnival: Chirigotas, Comparsas & Censorship

    1591–1977 Article

    Explore the history of Cádiz Carnival, from 15th-century Genoese merchants and the 1937 ban to Paco Alba's comparsas and COAC versus street chirigotas.

  2. Movies Filmed in Cádiz: How La Caleta Became James Bond's Havana

    1978–2010 Article

    See where James Bond's Die Another Day, Sean Connery's Cuba, Viggo Mortensen's Alatriste, and Tom Cruise's Knight and Day were filmed across Cádiz, Spain.

  3. Why the 1947 Cádiz Explosion Spared the Walled Old Town

    1947 Article

    At 9:45 pm on 18 August 1947, 200 tonnes of naval mines detonated in San Severiano, killing 152 people while Puerta de Tierra shielded Cádiz's Old Town.