| Costa Brava History History of Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain
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Costa Brava History The lands of the Costa Brava have been inhabited by man since pre-historic times. However the Romans were the first civilization to really leave their mark, setting up military & economic outposts. But by the early 5th century the empire was in decline, & pressure on Germanic tribes by the expansion of the Mongol population in their own lands led to escalating incursions into Roman territory. This intensified as time went on & eventually Spain was invaded by the Vandal, Alani, & Suevi peoples. Due to its northern location the Costa Brava was amongst the first Hispanic regions to fall. These peoples were in turn quickly overthrown by the Visigoths (another tribe of Germanic origin), who managed to stay in control for a reasonably long period. It was not until the 8th century that the Moors (Arab peoples) arrived & the Visigoths were conquered. The Moors set up a Caliphate (a kind of regional capital) at Cordoba which governed most of the penninsular. Eventually the Caliphate of Cordoba fragmented from its government in the middle east & grew to become fantastically rich & powerful in its own right. It brought many skills & much innovation to Spain & Europe as a whole (for example its irrigation systems are still used in much of Spain's south). As the Frankish empire fractured in the 9th century one nobleman Guifre el Pilos (Wilfrid the Hairy) founded the house of the counts of Barcelona; who by around the 10th century ruled a large part of Catalonia (including the Costa Brava) from the city. The collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba & therefore the Moorish empire in the 11th century ensured that Barcelona grew rich, with much of the resulting bounty making its way there. This eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom of Aragon (modern Catalonia & beyond). With the Kingdom of Castile dominating much of central & southern Spain, Aragon set its sights towards the Mediterranean. By 1423AD its empire had included (for varying periods) the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Sicily, Malta, Athens, Corsica, Sardinia, & Naples, in addition to various north African ports. The eventual decline of the Kingdom of Aragon came for various reasons; certainly exhaustion of resources, plague, famines, & wars played their part. But the final nail in the coffin came when in 1410AD Marti I died heirless, & a marriage of his successor to the queen of Castile followed. From then Aragon-Catalonia effectively became part of Castile. Towards the end of the 18th century the growth of the champagne production business in the south of France brought a need for high quality cork stoppers. Parts of the Costa Brava had this raw material in abundance & many cork factories opened, bringing newfound prosperity to the area. However it was not until the 19th century that population really began to rise significantly. This came as the regional capital of Barcelona was permitted to trade with America; bringing much wealth from shipping & the beginning of the industrial revolution. The Costa Brava benefitted directly from this due to its proximity to the city, as much capital found its way up the coast. It was not until the 1950's that Spain's central government decided the Costa Brava was an ideal location for development; in order to attract tourism from northern Europe. The main reason being that it was an unspoilt area of outstanding beauty. This was echoed by Hollywood & several high profile films were shot there at around the same time. Large numbers of hotels & apartment complexes were built, wide stretches of coastline adapted, & municipal facilities improved. Much of this work was undertaken in coastal towns such as Lloret de Mar & Tossa de Mar where population increased rapidly (especially during the summer months), & fishing quickly fell behind tourism as the principal business. Today the Costa Brava remains a major tourist destination, an important border region, & (as part of Catalonia) one of Spain's most prosperous zones. It enjoys great diversity in its natural heritage; from high mountains to sandy beaches, & plenty of lush fertile land. A similar diversity can be seen in it's culture, it's language, & in the people that live there.
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Costa Brava History, History of Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain
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Costa Brava History, History of Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain. Property Sales & Rentals, Hotels, Holidays, Flights, Car Hire, and Tourist Information. General information on the Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain. |