Its strategic position, dominating the southern zone of the Mediterranean including
the African coast, made the Malagan coastline an ideal site for the establishment
of commercial ports, such as the factory port which the Phoenicians built in
Malaka (Malaga).
It was during the Roman domination that the region reached the height of its
ancient splendour, with the significant dominance of its capital, Malaka. Malaka
enjoyed the privilege of being elected one of Rome's confederate cities, a
situation which few cities achieved in contemporary Spain.
After the Roman decline followed the relatively short Byzantine and Visigoth
incursions, until the Arab conquest at the end of the 4th Century.
It was under Arab control that the city experienced its era of major progress.
The muslims put up the city wall and built the Gibralfaro castle and Alcazaba.
Just as they did in two thirds of the peninsular, during their centuries of
domination they implanted their culture in Malaga. This period also signified
a change in the economic structures. From the 11th Century onwards Malaga became
a commercial centre, exporting to the whole Mediterranean a diverse range of
products from moscatel grapes to gilded ceramics.
The reconquest of the city by the Catholic Monarchs in 1487 changed the history
of Malaga completely: civic and religious changes, reorganization of urban areas,
distribution of land between the conquerors, etc. All these reforms, however,
did not manage to iniciate the progress hoped for. Earthquakes, epidemics, poor
harvests and a very inefficient administration led to the city into a period
of decline.
From the sixteenth century onwards a recovery began to be felt with numerous
scientific and social developments which revived the life of the province.
This resurgence made Malaga the second industrial centre of Spain in the
middle of the nineteenth century. With the crisis at the end of the century
Malaga entered into a state of decline once again, not recovering until the
middle of this century with the appearance of tourism.
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