Phoenicians and Greeks carried out commercial activities
along its 8 km of coastline, but the it was Romans
who founded an important factory-town at the mouth
of the River Argentino, meaning "silver river”
(on a site now known as Punta de Torrox or Faro de
Torrox), which was dependent on the larger Caviclum
-present-day Torrox-, a prosperous Roman city founded
in the first century which underwent continuous growth,
reaching its peak in the 4th and 5th centuries before
being occupied by the Visigoths and, in the 8th century,
the Arabs. In 755 Prince Omeya Abd-el-Rhaman settled
in Torrox, leading his followers from here to Cordoba,
where he founded the independent Emirate. During the
Andalusi-Arabic period, Torrox was known throughout
the Mediterranean for the production and sale of silk
fabrics, sugar cane plantations, oil, almonds and
figs. At the time of the conquest by the Catholic
Monarchs in 1487, Torrox consisted of 3 neighbouring
hamlets -Alhaguer, Almedina and Alhandac- protected
by Torrox Castle which, in time, would lend its name
to the town. The definitive capture of Torrox by the
Christians didn't come until 1488, after a brief spell
during which the Moslem leader El-Zagal took over
of the town and its castle. Henceforth, the area’s
population fell as its morisco - Moslem converts to
Christianity - inhabitants fled in the face of the
difficult living conditions imposed by their new governors.
The situation of those who stayed behind worsened
daily, until open rebellion broke out; the moriscos
established a stronghold at Peñon de Frigiliana
Castle, where they successfully resisted the first
attacks by forces sent by the governor of Velez-Malaga
Arevalo de Zuarzo; in fact, the uprising was not subdued
until reinforcements sent by sea under Don Luis de
Requesens, High Commander of Castile, landed on the
beaches of Torrox and laid siege to Frigiliana Castle,
causing over 2,400 rebel deaths. The High Commander
of Castile ordered the destruction of the castle,
which was reduced to ashes. In 1570, the process of
expelling the moriscos was completed; the land confiscated
from them was redistributed among Old Christian settlers.
Another important episode in the town’s history
occurred during the War of Independence (1810-12),
when, on withdrawing from Torrox, Napoleon’s
troops blew up the castle, which was left in ruins.
The town and its municipal area were shaken by the
major tremor known as the Andalusian Earthquake on
Christmas Day 1884; extensive material damage was
suffered. On 20 January 1885, a concerned King Alfonso
XIII visited the area, staying in the building which
today houses Torrox’s Cultural Centre. Sugar
cane exploitation ushered in prosperous times in the
19th century, and a number of the town’s most
noteworthy houses and buildings date back to this
era, such as the sugar factory, built in 1890.
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