LA AXARQUIA - VELEZ-MALAGA INFORMATION
A lot of legends prevail regarding
the origins of the region, some of which confuse fact
with fiction. Some identify Velez with Sexi, capital of
the ancient region of Sexitania, while others attribute
its founding to Beluz, the Lybian Hercules, insisting
that he gave the town his name. A Christian tradition
claims the presence of St. Peter in the city. Details
obtained from archaeological excavations confirm that
Velez was inhabited in prehistoric times.
The walls of a Phoenician town have been discovered near
the mouth of the River Velez on Los Toscanos Estate, and
necropolises have been located on The Jardin and La Noria
country estates. Velez must have been an important urban
centre during the Roman times, giving refuge to settlers
who had abandoned the coast following the fall of the
Empire; however, it was during the Moslem occupation of
Spain that the town really acquired renown and importance.
In the 13th century, the fortress of Velez, along with
Comares and Bentomiz, figured as one of the most important
towns in the area corresponding to the present-day province
of Málaga; proof of this is the alliance between the Christian
King Ferdinand III, known as the Holy, and the Nazari
ruler Al-Hamar.
An account by the traveller Ibn Batuta (1304-1368) describes
Velez as a prosperous town enjoying an active trading
relationship with the kingdom of Granada and the cities
of the Mediterranean via its commercial port at Mariyya
Balis -Atalaya de Velez- (Torre del Mar). In April 1487,
it was captured by the troops of the Catholic Monarchs
. The fall of Velez Málaga was crucial to the subsequent
surrender of Málaga.
Torre del Mar's port developed in the wake of the Christian
conquest under the protection of the fortress -part of
whose walls still stand today of Rui Lopez of Toledo,
a distinguished Castilian soldier who was awarded this
military enclave in return for his role in the capture
of Velez. The 18th century (1704) saw one of the most
important naval battles of the War of Succession. A Franco-Spanish
fleet and the combined forces of the English and Dutch
navies locked horns in a fierce battle involving 146 ships
and almost 50,000 men. The confrontation failed to produce
a clear victor and the Anglo-Dutch contingent withdrew
to the port of Gibraltar, the French and Spanish heading
for Málaga. Another important episode in Velez’s
history occurred during the War of Independence, when
retreating Napoleonic troops blew up the town’s
walls, which were left practically in ruins.
The city and its municipal area were also affected by
the major tremor known as the Andalusian Earthquake on
Christmas Day 1884, suffering six mortalities and extensive
material damage. A new stimulus, which was to change forever
the whole face of Velez-Málaga, the neighbouring dependency
of Torre del Mar and the rest of the municipal area, as
well as its inhabitants’ economic activities and
way of life, came in the second half of the 20th century,
when the progressive development of tourism, which had
begun in 1960s, transformed the town into one of the Mediterranean’s
leading holiday resorts.
|
|
|
