San Roque, Spain
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| San Roque |
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| Municipality | Cádiz | ||
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| Mayor | José Vázquez Castillo | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 140 km² | ||
| - Land | 140 km² | ||
| - Water | 0.00 km² | ||
| Population | |||
| - City (2005) | 25,548 | ||
| - Density | 182,5 hab/km² | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Website: http://www.sanroque.es/ | |||
San Roque is a small town and municipality in the south of Spain. It is part of the province of Cádiz, which in turn is part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. San Roque is situated a short way inland of the north side of the Bay of Gibraltar, just to the north of the Gibraltar peninsula. The municipality has a total surface of 140 km² with a population of approximately 25,500 people, as of 2005. Its name is Spanish for Saint Roch, a Christian saint who was revered in a chapel that predates the foundation of the town.
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History
The area around San Roque has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The oldest known settlement within the municipality is the ruined town of Carteia, founded by the Turdetani (the later name for the diminished Tartessan empire). It became a Phoenician tradepost and evolved into a Carthaginian town by 228 BCE. Its major trade was in local wine and garum or salazón, a fish-based sauce[1].
Carteia was captured by Rome in 206 BCE. A few years later, in 171 BCE, Iberian-born children of Roman soldiers appeared before the Roman Senate to request a town to live in, and were given Carteia, named Colonia Libertinorum Carteia.
After the fall of Rome, the Vandals briefly established themselves in the area until 428 before they embarked on the conquest of North Africa, via an invasion fleet across the Strait of Gibraltar. The Visigoths replaced them around the 6th Century. The Byzantine Empire made incursions into Andalusia between 554 and 626, occupying Carteia for a number of years, before finally being ejected by the Visigoths.
In 711, Carteia and the surrounding area became the beachhead for the Ummayad conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Alfonso XI of Castile took control of the territory by defeating a Muslim Merinid army in the 14th century. Over the next few centuries, the population was gradually Hispanicised and Christianised.
San Roque was founded by the Spanish inhabitants of Gibraltar in 1706, after the majority left following the takeover of that town by the Anglo-Dutch forces during the War of the Spanish Succession.
On 1 August, 1704, the Anglo-Dutch Navy began the siege of Gibraltar. They demanded that the inhabitants surrender unconditionally and swear loyalty to Charles III of Hungary, one of the contenders for the Spanish crown. The Gibraltar City Council refused the ultimatum. During the nights of 3rd and 4th of August, heavy shelling took place, targeting the castle and the town itself. Next day the Spaniards surrendered the town to the Prince of Hesse, one of the fleet commanders. The inhabitants, soldiers and officers were allowed to stay in the town, provided that they took an oath of fidelity to Charles as their new king. However, after a series of reprisals against the occupying forces, very few decided to run the risk of remaining in the town.
Many believed that they would be able to return soon. Fortresses changed hands quite frequently in the 17th and 18th centuries. Anglo-Dutch rule in Gibraltar would be probably temporary, until the fortunes of war changed. Moreover, English atrocities in Cádiz in 1702 and the behaviour of sailors in the first days after the surrender of the town might have made the Gibraltar inhabitants think that the escape was the only way to save their lives, and evade punishment for their crimes. Churches and places of worship (except the Cathedral) had been desecrated and women insulted and outraged. In reprisals British and Dutch sailors were murdered after the cease fire was agreed. [2] [3]
Of the 1,200 registered families, only 22 stayed. Among the things the Spanish took with them were a statue of the Holy Crowned Virgin Mary, and the historical documents signed by Catholic Monarchs in 1502 for with Gibraltar's coat of arms was granted. This event is known as the Exodus of Gibraltar[4]. Most of the refugees encamped around the Chapel of Saint Roch (Ermita de San Roque). The establishment became a new town in 1706, addressed by King Philip V of Spain as "My city of Gibraltar resident in its Campo" and "My well beloved", because it remained loyal to his cause during the War of Sucession. Gibraltar's City Council, banner and records were moved there and thus San Roque become the Spanish Gibraltar. San Roque official motto is "Very Noble and Very Loyal city of San Roque, where Gibraltar lives on" (Spanish: Muy Noble y Muy Leal ciudad de San Roque, donde reside la de Gibraltar).
In 1873, during the Spanish First Republic, the town declared its independence as the Canton of San Roque for a few months.
Demographics
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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22,719 |
22,990 | 23,570 | 23,981 | 25,163 | 24,757 | 25,548 |
Source: INE (Spain)
Local sights
The New Saint Roch's Chapel (Sp.: Ermita de San Roque) was erected in 1801. Its style is neoclassical. The shrine houses a statue of Saint Roch. In the fourth week of April every year, a procession is held on the saint's honour, with people carrying his image on a float. The statue is then taken from the temple to the Pinar del Rey pinewoods nearby and back. During the Spanish War of Independence, Saint Roch's Chapel was ransacked by the Napoleonic troops and the historic statue of the saint was destroyed. The image was replaced in 1833 by a new one donated by an army captain from San Roque called Juan Rojas, who was stationed in Seville. At the time this city was suffering from cholera epidemics, so Captain Rojas vowed to make the effigy himself if he and his family recovered from the disease. This happened indeed and the new image of Saint Roch was donated to the church by Rojas.
The Parish Church is consagrated to Saint Mary the Crowned. It dates from the 18th Century and features Spanish-Tuscan architecture and Baroque artwork. Once the new town has been established, work began in 1735 on the construction of a church over the foundations of the original Chapel of Saint Roch, built in 1508. In the interior of the building, the most remarkable feature is the main altar, where the statue of the Patron Saint, Saint Mary the Crowned, is venerated alongside images of Saint Sebastian and Saint Joseph. These statues were brought to San Roque from Gibraltar in 1704 following the Exodus of Gibraltar and date back to the 15th Century. Other religious items brought from The Rock are The Holy Burial and The Most Holy Christ of Humbleness and Patience statues, each placed on its own side chapel. The image of the Most Holy Christ of the Happy Death is the work of San Roque-born sculptor Luis Ortega Brú. José Cadalso, a local poet and soldier, killed during the Great Siege of 1782, is buried in one of the side chapels. The church records feature the parish records from Gibraltar, from 1556 until 1704. Saint Mary the Crowned's Church was declared a listed building in 1974.
The Governor's Palace (Sp.: Palacio de los Gobernadores), which houses the municipal art gallery "Luis Ortega Brú", is also located in the same square.
The oldest bar in the town is the Bar Torres, adjacent to the central square.
Economy and industry
The main economic activities are tourism and manufacturing.
CEPSA oil refinery (Sp.:Refinería de Gibraltar-San Roque), built in 1967, is situated in Guadarranque Industrial Estate. It is the largest in the Iberian Peninsula, with a crude oil daily processing capacity of 240,000 barrels per day.[5]
Local San Roque Golf Club is an important source of tourism. Sotogrande is an exclusive beach and golf resort located in the municipality.
The beaches of Campamento and Puente Mayorga, although no longer so popular as in the sixties due to adjacent industrial activity, are close to San Roque town, facing the Bay of Algeciras.
Famous inhabitants
- Juan Cadalso, poet
- Alberto Casañal Shakery, poet.
- Juan Luis Galiardo, actor.
- Luis de Lacy Goutier, liberal army officer.
- Luis Ortega Brú, sculptor
See also
References
- ^ http://www.arcl.ed.ac.uk/arch/remotesense/phoenicians/current/carteria.html
- ^ JACKSON, William (1990): The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar, 2nd ed. Gibraltar Books. Grendon, Northamptonshire, UK. ISBN 0-948466-14-6, p. 101. General Sir William Jackson was Governor of Gibraltar between 1978 and 1982, a military Historian and former Chairman of the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage.
- ^ http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/tourism/lady_of_europe.htm Brief History of the Shrine Of Our Lady Of Europe, Gibraltar Tourist Office
- ^ Herederos de Gibraltar
- ^ http://www.cepsa.com/refinerias/gibraltar/pages/refgi_1.htm Refinería Gibraltar-San Roque CEPSA
External links
- San Roque City Council
- San Roque in Google Maps
- Articles on 1704 Surrender
- Pictures of the "Gibraltar-San Roque" Refinery.
