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Chiclana History
Sancti Petri is a small abandoned fishing village, located
just north of La Barrosa beach. It’s directly across from small
island of Sancti Petri.
Chiclana´s history main time began in 1303 when king Fernando IV
donated this, then uninhabited place to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán
with the intention to populate it.
The Dukes of Medina Sidonia, successors of Pérez de Guzmán
would be the town´s lords until the 19th century.
The discovery of America led to a true uprising of the Bay villages,
including chiclana, when production and export of wines from this region
began. In the 17th and 18th centuries, this development became more evident
with the transfer of the centre of the Fleet (1680) and the Hiring Bureau
(1717) to Cádiz.
The urban and rural landscapes changed notably. The Church of San Martín
, the church and convent of Jesus Nazareno and San Telmo as well as the
ancient country church of san Sebastian which converted into a parish
church, are all from these centuries.
The second half of the 18th century shaped the Old City of Chiclana as
beautiful civil building of the 19th century. Chiclana was the birthplace
of the eminent speaker and outstanding naturalist Antonio Cabrera as well
as the famous politician and financial expert Mendizabal, also the playwright
Antonio García Guitierrez, author of El Trovador who had, the greatest
success in the romantic theatre.
Over the years, in bullrings all over Spain, the masters of Chiclana
bullfighting, José Cándido, Jerónimo josé
Cándido, Francisco Montes Paquiro and José Redondo El Chiclanero
stand out.
After the French Occupation Chiclana needed a time of recovery that lasted
until the second half of the 19th century. The well-off people and the
nobility once again chose the town for their vacations and cures at the
Braque and Fuente Amarga spas.
At the same time, Chiclana´s wines experienced a renaissance. It
is because of the important increase in the wine industry that king Alfonso
XII granted Chiclana the title of City in 1876.
During the 20th century specially in its second half, Chiclana reached
its hisghest demographic growth, together with spectacular economic development
based on a diversification of activities in all sectors, but particularly
in the secondary and tertiary. Currently Chiclana has he highest number
of hotel beds in the province of Cádiz due to an effort that sensibly
combines this booming economy with environmental protection.
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