Palos de la Frontera
Encyclopedia
Palos de la Frontera is a town and municipality
located in the southwestern Spanish
province of Huelva
, in the autonomous community of Andalusia
. It is situated some 13 km (8 mi) from the provincial capital, Huelva
. According to the 2006 census, the city had a population of 8,415.
, although the town may have been occupied during earlier centuries by Paleolithic
, Tartessian
, Roman
, Visigothic, and Muslim inhabitants. Palos' name is derived from the Latin
word palus (“lagoon
”), a reference to the Mar Menor
. It acquired its “surname” as Palos de la Frontera in May 1642.
At the time of its establishment as a town by Alfonso XI, Palos was part of the Almohad
kingdom of Niebla
, and was a small nucleus whose population subsisted on fishing and took advantage of the area’s geographic protection against pirates and storms.
Álvar Pérez de Guzmán is considered the city’s real founder. He was only fourteen when Juan I of Castile granted him the towns of Palos and Villalba del Alcor
in 1379 to make up for the fact that Pérez de Guzmán was forced to give up Huelva
and Gibraleón
, which had become part of the county of Medinaceli. Álvar Pérez de Guzmán received from Juan I the right to tax the first fifty families who settled at Palos, and he began utilizing the lands around Palos for the cultivation of olive trees and production of olive oil
. After the death of Álvar Pérez de Guzmán, his widow, Elvira de Ayala, daughter of the Chancellor of Castile, continued her husband’s work until her death in 1434.
Palos' Golden Age is considered to have occurred in the 15th century (especially between 1470-1479), when it increased its population to 2,500 inhabitants and its economy, based on fishing and seafaring expeditions to Guinea
, flourished.
Palos took advantage of the War of the Castilian Succession
, which became a war between Castile
and Portugal
, to challenge Portuguese domination of the Atlantic trade. Castilian naval forces always included natives of Palos, who were considered navigational experts:
Nevertheless, the war ended in defeat for the Castilian forces, and Ferdinand and Isabella, in the Treaty of Alcáçovas
(1479) gave up all rights to Atlantic and African
lands and seas, with the exception of the Canary Islands
, which remained Castilian. Many natives of Palos nevertheless violated the agreement and encroached upon Portuguese sea routes in the Atlantic.
On August 3, 1492, the Pinta, Niña
, and Santa María
sailed from Palos. On board were Christopher Columbus
and the Pinzón Brothers, who were natives of Palos. Palos is also the site of the Rábida Monastery where Columbus consulted with the Franciscans about his plans for organizing an expedition of discovery. The three ships landed in America
on October 12, 1492. The Santa María foundered in American waters, but the other two ships returned to Palos on March 15, 1493.
Palos would play a pivotal role in the settlement and Christianization of the New World in succeeding centuries. La Rábida would play a central in the Christian evangelization of the Americas. As La Rábida was a Franciscan monastery, that order would play a dominant role in this Christianization, and some of the first missionaries were natives of Palos, including Juan Izquierdo, Juan de Palos, Juan Cerrado, Pedro Salvador, Alonso Vélez de Guevara, Juan Quintero, Thomás de Narváez, and Francisco Camacho.
With the establishment of the Casa de Contratación
at Seville
in 1503, Palos suffered a decline. Natives of Palos emigrated to America or to Seville, and Palos soon had few sailing vessels of its own. By the 18th century, the town had only about 125 inhabitants. However, during the same century, Catalan
investors established a viticultural industry centered at Palos, and the population slowly reached its pre-1492 levels. Palos also transformed itself into a center of the shrimp
industries, and also became a center for the cultivation of the “fresón de Palos” (Palos-grown garden strawberries), which are now exported to the European Union
.
On June 22, 1926, the first hydroplane
to cross the Atlantic, the Plus Ultra flying boat, took off from Palos. The journey, done in six stages, ended at Buenos Aires
, Argentina
. Alfonso XIII of Spain
gave the Plus Ultra to the Argentine Navy
, in which it served as a postal service airplane; the Argentines donated to Spain a statue of Icarus
, which is situated at La Rábida. Alfonso XIII also granted to Palos the status as a city during this time.
John Paul II visited Palos on June 14, 1993, the only time a pope
has visited the city. John Paul symbolically crowned the Palos’ patron saint
, the Virgin of Miracles
(Virgen de los Milagros).
There is a station in the Madrid Metro
named after this town.
In 1850 the small town of Trenton, Illinois
, located southwest of Chicago
, changed its name to Palos
. This recommendation was made by M.S. Powell, the local postmaster
, whose ancestor supposedly sailed with Christopher Columbus from Palos de la Frontera. When it incorporated as a Village in 1914, Palos officially became Palos Park. The neighboring communities of Palos Hills and Palos Heights incorporated at later points. All three municipalities lie within Palos Township.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the southwestern Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
province of Huelva
Huelva (province)
Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva....
, in the autonomous community of Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
. It is situated some 13 km (8 mi) from the provincial capital, Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
. According to the 2006 census, the city had a population of 8,415.
History
The official date of foundation for Palos is 1322, when the town was granted to Alonso Carro and Carro's wife Berenguela Gómez by Alfonso XI of CastileAlfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
, although the town may have been occupied during earlier centuries by Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
, Tartessian
Tartessos
Tartessos or Tartessus was a harbor city and surrounding culture on the south coast of the Iberian peninsula , at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. It appears in sources from Greece and the Near East starting in the middle of the first millennium BC, for example Herodotus, who describes it as...
, Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Visigothic, and Muslim inhabitants. Palos' name is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word palus (“lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
”), a reference to the Mar Menor
Mar Menor
Mar Menor is a salty lagoon, in the south-east of the autonomous Community of Murcia, in Spain, separated from the Mediterranean sea by La Manga, a sandbar 22km in length and with a variable width from 100 to 1200m....
. It acquired its “surname” as Palos de la Frontera in May 1642.
At the time of its establishment as a town by Alfonso XI, Palos was part of the Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
kingdom of Niebla
Niebla, Spain
Niebla is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 4,200 inhabitants. A 2-km town wall surrounds the perimeter of the town.-External links:...
, and was a small nucleus whose population subsisted on fishing and took advantage of the area’s geographic protection against pirates and storms.
Álvar Pérez de Guzmán is considered the city’s real founder. He was only fourteen when Juan I of Castile granted him the towns of Palos and Villalba del Alcor
Villalba del Alcor
Villalba del Alcor is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2008 census, the municipality had a population of 3527 inhabitants....
in 1379 to make up for the fact that Pérez de Guzmán was forced to give up Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
and Gibraleón
Gibraleón
Gibraleón is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the municipality has a population of 11,202 inhabitants.-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, which had become part of the county of Medinaceli. Álvar Pérez de Guzmán received from Juan I the right to tax the first fifty families who settled at Palos, and he began utilizing the lands around Palos for the cultivation of olive trees and production of olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
. After the death of Álvar Pérez de Guzmán, his widow, Elvira de Ayala, daughter of the Chancellor of Castile, continued her husband’s work until her death in 1434.
Palos' Golden Age is considered to have occurred in the 15th century (especially between 1470-1479), when it increased its population to 2,500 inhabitants and its economy, based on fishing and seafaring expeditions to Guinea
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...
, flourished.
Palos took advantage of the War of the Castilian Succession
War of the Castilian Succession
The War of the Castilian Succession was the military conflict contested from 1475 to 1479 for the succession of the Crown of Castile fought between the supporters of Juana la Beltraneja, daughter of the late monarch Henry IV of Castile, and those of Henry's half sister, Isabella, who was ultimately...
, which became a war between Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, to challenge Portuguese domination of the Atlantic trade. Castilian naval forces always included natives of Palos, who were considered navigational experts:
Nevertheless, the war ended in defeat for the Castilian forces, and Ferdinand and Isabella, in the Treaty of Alcáçovas
Treaty of Alcaçovas
The Treaty of Alcáçovas put an end to the War of the Castilian Succession in favor of Isabella I of Castile, and confirmed Castilian control of the Canary Islands and Portuguese control of the Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde islands , all in the Atlantic Ocean The Treaty of Alcáçovas (also known...
(1479) gave up all rights to Atlantic and African
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
lands and seas, with the exception of the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, which remained Castilian. Many natives of Palos nevertheless violated the agreement and encroached upon Portuguese sea routes in the Atlantic.
Niña
La Niña was one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage towards the Indies in 1492. The real name of the Niña was Santa Clara. The name Niña was probably a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer...
, and Santa María
Santa María (ship)
La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción , was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa.-History:...
sailed from Palos. On board were Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
and the Pinzón Brothers, who were natives of Palos. Palos is also the site of the Rábida Monastery where Columbus consulted with the Franciscans about his plans for organizing an expedition of discovery. The three ships landed in America
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
on October 12, 1492. The Santa María foundered in American waters, but the other two ships returned to Palos on March 15, 1493.
Palos would play a pivotal role in the settlement and Christianization of the New World in succeeding centuries. La Rábida would play a central in the Christian evangelization of the Americas. As La Rábida was a Franciscan monastery, that order would play a dominant role in this Christianization, and some of the first missionaries were natives of Palos, including Juan Izquierdo, Juan de Palos, Juan Cerrado, Pedro Salvador, Alonso Vélez de Guevara, Juan Quintero, Thomás de Narváez, and Francisco Camacho.
With the establishment of the Casa de Contratación
Casa de Contratación
La Casa de Contratación was a government agency under the Spanish Empire, existing from the 16th to the 18th centuries, which attempted to control all Spanish exploration and colonization...
at Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
in 1503, Palos suffered a decline. Natives of Palos emigrated to America or to Seville, and Palos soon had few sailing vessels of its own. By the 18th century, the town had only about 125 inhabitants. However, during the same century, Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
investors established a viticultural industry centered at Palos, and the population slowly reached its pre-1492 levels. Palos also transformed itself into a center of the shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
industries, and also became a center for the cultivation of the “fresón de Palos” (Palos-grown garden strawberries), which are now exported to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
On June 22, 1926, the first hydroplane
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
to cross the Atlantic, the Plus Ultra flying boat, took off from Palos. The journey, done in six stages, ended at Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...
gave the Plus Ultra to the Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
, in which it served as a postal service airplane; the Argentines donated to Spain a statue of Icarus
Icarus
-Space and astronomy:* Icarus , on the Moon* Icarus , a planetary science journal* 1566 Icarus, an asteroid* IKAROS, a interplanetary unmanned spacecraft...
, which is situated at La Rábida. Alfonso XIII also granted to Palos the status as a city during this time.
John Paul II visited Palos on June 14, 1993, the only time a pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
has visited the city. John Paul symbolically crowned the Palos’ patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
, the Virgin of Miracles
Virgin of Miracles
The Virgin of Miracles or Saint Mary of La Rábida is a religious Roman Catholic image venerated at the La Rabida Monastery in the city of Palos de la Frontera ....
(Virgen de los Milagros).
There is a station in the Madrid Metro
Madrid Metro
The Madrid Metro is a metro system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the sixth longest metro in the world though Madrid is approximately the fiftieth most populous metropolitan area in the world...
named after this town.
In 1850 the small town of Trenton, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, located southwest of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, changed its name to Palos
Palos Township, Cook County, Illinois
Palos Township is one of thirty townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 53,419.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Palos Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and is water.-Boundaries:Palos Township is bordered by Harlem...
. This recommendation was made by M.S. Powell, the local postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
, whose ancestor supposedly sailed with Christopher Columbus from Palos de la Frontera. When it incorporated as a Village in 1914, Palos officially became Palos Park. The neighboring communities of Palos Hills and Palos Heights incorporated at later points. All three municipalities lie within Palos Township.
See also
- Lugares colombinosLugares colombinosThe Lugares colombinos is a tourist route in the Spanish province Huelva, which includes several places that have special relevance to the preparation and realization of the first voyage of Cristopher Columbus. That voyage is widely considered to constitute the discovery of the Americas by Europeans...
- Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
- Voyages of Christopher ColumbusVoyages of Christopher ColumbusIn the early modern period, the voyages of Columbus initiated European exploration and colonization of the American continents, and are thus of great significance in world history. Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for Castile, a country that later founded modern Spain...
- The Pinzon BrothersThe Pinzon BrothersThe Pinzón brothers were Spanish sailors, explorers and fishermen, natives of Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain. All three, Martín Alonso, Francisco Martín and Vicente Yañez, participated in Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the New World and in other voyages of discovery and...
External links
- Palos de la Frontera - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía
- Ayuntamiento de Palos de la Frontera
- Historiador de Palos de la Frontera: Julio Izquierdo Labrado