LA AXARQUIA
- TORROX INFORMATION
Phoenicians and Greeks carried out commercial
activities along its 8Km. of coast, but the it was The 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 1st 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 three 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 did not
come until 1488, after a brief spell during which the Moslem leader
El-Zagal took control 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-Málaga 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 region, 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 city’s most noteworthy houses and buildings
date back to this era, such as the sugar factory, built in 1890
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