Andalusia

Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía

Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Andalucía por sí, para España y la humanidad[1] (English: Andalusia for itself, for Spain and for Humankind)
Anthem: "La bandera blanca y verde"
Capital	Seville
Official languages	Spanish (Andalusian)
Area  – Total  – % of Spain	Ranked 2nd  87,268 km²  17.2%
Population  – Total (2009)  – % of Spain  – Density	Ranked 1st  8,285,692[2]  17.84  95/km²
Demonym  – English  – Spanish	Andalusian  andaluz (m); andaluza (f)
Statute of Autonomy	March 20, 2007
Parliamentary representation  – Congress seats  – Senate seats	62  40
President	José Antonio Griñán (PSOE)
ISO 3166-2	AN
www.juntadeandalucia.es

Andalusia (Spanish: Andalucía) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the most populous and the second largest, in terms of land area, of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Kingdom of Spain. Its capital and largest city is Seville. The region is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and Almería.

Andalusia is located south of the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha; west of the autonomous community of Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea; east of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean; and north of the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Morocco, and the Atlantic Ocean. The small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.

History

Carthaginians and Romans

With the fall of the Phoenician cities, Carthage became the dominant sea power of the western Mediterranean and the most important trading partner for the Semitic towns along the Andalusian coast. Between the first and second Carthaginian wars, Carthage extended its control beyond Andalusia to include all of Iberia except the Basquelands. Andalusia was the major staging ground for the war with Rome led by the Barkid Hannibal. The Romans defeated the Carthaginians and conquered Andalusia, the region being renamed Baetica.

Vandals and Visigoths

The Vandals moved briefly through the region during the 5th century AD before settling in North Africa, after which the region fell into the hands of the Kingdom of the Visigoths who had to face the Byzantine interests in the region.

Muslim period

The Umayyad Caliphate conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711–718 marked the collapse of Visigothic rule. The Berber Tariq ibn Ziyad, known in Spanish history and legend as Tariq el Tuerto (Tariq the one-eyed), was an Umayyad general who led the conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711. Andalusian culture was deeply influenced by over half a millennium of Muslim rule during the Middle Ages. The history of Al-Andalus, was one of a succession of different islamic states. Under the caliphate, the name "Al-Andalus" was applied to a much larger area than the present Spanish region, and at some periods it referred to nearly the entire Iberian peninsula. It is nevertheless true that the Guadalquivir valley Andalusia was the hub of Muslim power in the peninsula, with Cordova as its capital. However, internal divisions after Almanzor sparked the decomposition of the Caliphate (1031) in many areas. The taifa of Seville was especially influential.

Andalusia under the rule of Castile

After the conquest of Toledo in 1085 by Alfonso VI, Christian rule dominated the peninsula, the main Taifas therefore had to resort assistance from various Muslim powers set out across the Mediterranean. After the victory in Zalaca, Almoravid (1086) constructed a unified Al-Andalus and set up his capital in Granada, ruling until mid-twelfth century. The various Taifa kingdoms were assimilated. Almohads expansion in North Africa weakened Al-Andalus. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), marked the beginning of the end of the Almohad dynasty. The weakness caused by the collapse of Almohad power and the subsequent creation of third Taifas kingdoms helped the rapid conquest or reconquest of Christian lands in the valley of the Guadalquivir. Cordova was conquered in 1236 and Seville in 1248. The Reconquest of Granada in 1492 put an end to Muslim domination.

On August 3, 1492 Columbus left the town of Huelva Palos de la Frontera, with the first expedition that resulted in the discovery of America. Many andalusians participated in the expedition that would end the Middle Ages and signal the beginning of modernity. Contacts between the Spanish and America, including maintenance of the colonies until the end of the colonial period, came almost exclusively through Andalusia. The reason for the importance of Andalusia is that all traffic to the new continent became, in reality, an andalusian monopoly. This was an era of splendor and boom for the region, which became the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan of Spain and one of the most influential worldwide.

Administrative divisions

A map of the provinces of Andalusia.

Other important Andalusian cities are:

• El Ejido, and Roquetas de Mar, (Almería)
• La Línea de la Concepción, Algeciras, San Roque, Cádiz, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Rota, San Fernando, Jerez, and El Puerto, (Cádiz)
• Almuñécar, Guadix, Loja and Motril, (Granada)
• Linares, Úbeda and Baeza, (Jaén)
• Antequera, Ronda, Gaucín and Marbella, (Málaga)
• Utrera, Dos Hermanas, Alcalá de Guadaíra, Osuna, Ecija and , Lebrija (Seville)

Economy

Andalusia is traditionally an agricultural area, but the service sector (particularly tourism, retail sales, and transportation) now predominates. The construction sector, now growing very quickly, also makes an important contribution to the region’s economic fabric. The industrial sector is less developed than in other regions in Spain. As of early 2008, the regional economy is experiencing sustained growth.^[3]

According to the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the GDP per capita of Andalusia (€17,401; 2006) is still the second lowest in Spain. At the same time, the economic growth rate for the 2000-2006 period was 3.72%, one of the highest in the country.^[4]

Transports and commerce

The main road in the region is the European Route E15. But there are other main roads to go through Andalucia.

Government and politics

The Autonomous Community of Andalusia is administrated through the "Junta de Andalucía" and is one of the four historic regions of Spain. It has a local parliament and president. The chief of state for Spain is King Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon.

Tourism in Andalusia

The south of Spain is somewhat legendary for its attraction to overseas visitors – especially tourists from Northern Europe. While inland areas such as Jaén, Córdoba and the hill villages and towns remain in part untouched by the throngs of tourists, the coastal areas of Andalusia are heavy with visitors for much of the year.

Monuments

• El Torcal, Antequera (Málaga)
• Medina Azahara, Córdoba
• Mezquita, Córdoba
• Alhambra, Granada
• Palace of Charles V Granada
• Charterhouse, Granada
• Albayzín, Granada
• Alcazaba, Málaga
• El Tajo, Ronda (Málaga)
• La Giralda, Seville
• Torre del Oro, Seville
• Plaza de España (Seville), Seville
• Seville Cathedral, Seville
• Alcázar of Seville, Seville
• Vázquez de Molina Square, Úbeda (Jaén)
• La Rabida Monastery, Palos de la Frontera (Huelva)
• Bodegas, Jerez (Cádiz)

Native or famous people from Andalusia

See also

• Andalusian people
• List of Andalusians
• Andalusian nationalism
• Music of Andalusia
• Andalusian cuisine
• Flamenco
• The Roman Bética Route

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andalusia

• Official Tourism Website of Andalusia
• History of the Andalusian Flag
• photographs from Andalusia

Coordinates: 37°23′N 5°59′W / 37.383°N 5.983°W / 37.383; -5.983