7 Valencia

[Azalee Freas]

Valenciawas founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC under the name Valentia Edetanorum [es]. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Valencia became part of the Visigothic Kingdom from 546 AD and 711 AD. Islamic rule and acculturation ensued in the 8th century, together with the introduction of new irrigation systems and crops. Aragonese Christian conquest took place in 1238, and so the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Valencia. The city's population thrived in the 15th century, owing to trade with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, Italian ports, and other Mediterranean locations, becoming one of the largest European cities by the end of the century. Already harmed by the emergence of the Atlantic World trade in detriment to Mediterranean trade in global trade networks, along with insecurity created by Barbary piracy throughout the 16th century, the city's economic activity experienced a crisis upon the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609. The city became a major silk manufacturing centre in the 18th century. During the Spanish Civil War, the city served as the accidental seat of the Spanish Government from 1936 to 1937.[8]

The Port of Valencia is the 5th-busiest container port in Europe and the second busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked as a Gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.[9] Its historic centre is one of the largest in Spain, spanning approximately 169 hectares (420 acres).[10] Due to its long history, Valencia has numerous celebrations and traditions, such as the Falles (or Fallas), which was declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest of Spain in 1965[11] and an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in November 2016. In 2022, the city was voted the world's top destination for expatriates, based on criteria such as quality of life and affordability.[12][13] The city was selected as the European Capital of Sport [Wikidata] 2011, the World Design Capital 2022 and the European Green Capital 2024.

The Latin name of the city was Valentia (IPA: [waˈlɛntɪ.a]), meaning "strength" or "valour", due to the Roman practice of recognising the valour of former Roman soldiers after a war. The Roman historian Livy explains that the founding of Valentia in the 2nd century BC was due to the settling of the Roman soldiers who fought against a Lusitanian rebel, Viriatus, during the Third Raid of the Lusitanian War.[14]

During the period of Islamic rule, the city had the title Medina at-Tarab ('City of Joy') according to one transliteration, or Medina at-Turab ('City of Sands') according to another, since it was located on the banks of the River Turia. It is not clear if an Arabised variant of the Latin name (Balansiyya) was reserved for the wider Taifa of Valencia, or also designated the city.[15]

Via gradual phonetic changes, Valentia became Valencia [baˈlenθja] in Spanish and Valncia [vaˈlensia] in Valencian. In Valencian, an e with a grave accent () indicates [ɛ] in contrast to [e], but the word Valncia is an exception to this rule, since is pronounced [e]. The spelling "Valncia" was approved by the AVL based on tradition after a debate on the matter. The name "Valncia" has been the only official name of the city since 2017.[16] In 2023, the Commission of Culture of the municipal corporation agreed in principle on a dual official denomination Valencia / Valncia, with the far right managing to impose[editorializing] a non-standard acute accent in the e of the Valencian-language name.[17][18]

Following the evacuation of the city in 1102, the Almoravids took control. As the Almoravid empire crumbled in the mid 12th-century, ibn Mardanīsh took control of eastern al-Andalus, creating a Murcia-centered independent emirate to which Valencia belonged, resisting the Almohads until 1172.[30] During the Almohad rule, the city perhaps had a population of about 20,000.[31] When the city fell to James I of Aragon, the Jewish population constituted about 7 per cent of the total population.[28]

In 1238,[32] King James I of Aragon, with an army composed of Aragonese, Catalans, Navarrese, and crusaders from the Order of Calatrava, laid siege to Valencia and on 28 September obtained a surrender.[33] Fifty thousand Moors were forced to leave.[citation needed]

In 1407, following the model of the Barcelona's institution created some years before, a Taula de canvi (a municipal public bank) was created in Valencia, although its first iteration yielded limited success.[36]

The 15th century was a time of economic expansion, known as the Valencian Golden Age, during which culture and the arts flourished. Concurrent population growth made Valencia the most populous city in the Crown of Aragon. Some of the landmark buildings of the city were built during the Late Middle Ages, including the Serranos Towers, the Silk Exchange, the Miguelete Tower, and the Chapel of the Kings of the Convent of Sant Domnec. In painting and sculpture, Flemish and Italian trends had an influence on Valencian artists.

Following the death of Ferdinand II in 1516, the nobiliary estate challenged the Crown amid the relative void of power.[40] In 1519, the Taula de Canvis was recreated again, known as Nova Taula.[41] The nobles earned the rejection from the people of Valencia, and the whole kingdom was plunged into the armed Revolt of the Brotherhoods and full-blown civil war between 1521 and 1522.[40] Muslim vassals were forced to convert in 1526 at the behest of Charles V.[40]

The crisis deepened during the 17th century with the 1609 expulsion of the Moriscos, descendants of the Muslim population that had converted to Christianity. The Spanish government systematically forced Moriscos to leave the kingdom for Muslim North Africa. They were concentrated in the former Crown of Aragon, and in the Kingdom of Valencia specifically, and constituted roughly a third of the total population.[45] The expulsion caused the financial ruin of some of the Valencian nobility and the bankruptcy of the Taula de canvi in 1613.

The English held the city for 16 months and defeated several attempts to expel them. After the victory of the Bourbons at the Battle of Almansa on 25 April 1707, the English army evacuated Valencia and Philip V ordered the repeal of the Furs of Valencia as punishment for the kingdom's support of Charles of Austria.[46] By the Nueva Planta decrees, the ancient Charters of Valencia were abolished and the city was governed by the Castilian Charter, similarly to other places in the Crown of Aragon.

On King Ferdinand VII's death in 1833, Baldomero Espartero became one of the most ardent defenders of the hereditary rights of the king's daughter, the future Isabella II. During the regency of Maria Cristina, Espartero ruled Spain for two years as its 18th Prime Minister from 16 September 1840 to 21 May 1841. City life in Valencia carried on in a revolutionary climate, with frequent clashes between liberals and republicans.

In the early 20th century, Valencia was an industrialised city. The silk industry had disappeared, but there was a large production of hides and skins, wood, metals, and foodstuffs, the latter with substantial exports, particularly of wine and citrus. Small businesses predominated, but with the rapid mechanisation of the industry, larger companies were being formed. The best expression of this dynamic was in regional exhibitions, including that of 1909 held next to the pedestrian avenue L'Albereda (Paseo de la Alameda), which depicted the progress of agriculture and industry. Among the most architecturally successful buildings of the era were those designed in the Art Nouveau style, such as the Estaci del Nord and the Central and Columbus markets.

After the continuous unsuccessful Francoist offensive on besieged Madrid during the Spanish Civil War, Valencia temporarily became the capital of Republican Spain on 6 November 1936. It hosted the government until 31 October 1937.[52]

In the Spanish civil war, Valencia was heavily bombarded by air and sea, mainly by the Fascist Italian air force, as well as the Francoist air force with Nazi German support. By the end of the war, the city had survived 442 bombardments, leaving 2,831 dead and 847 wounded, although it is estimated that the death toll was higher. The Republican government moved to Barcelona on 31 October of that year. On 30 March 1939, Valencia surrendered and Nationalist Spanish troops entered the city.

The postwar years were a time of hardship for Valencians. During Franco's regime, speaking or teaching Valencian was prohibited; in a significant reversal, it is now compulsory for every schoolchild in Valencia. Franco's dictatorship forbade political parties and began a harsh ideological and cultural repression countenanced and sometimes led by the Catholic Church. Franco's regime also executed some leading Valencian intellectuals, such as Juan Peset, rector of University of Valencia. Large groups of them, including Josep Renau and Max Aub, went into exile.

In 1943, Franco decreed the exclusivity of Valencia and Barcelona for the celebration of international fairs in Spain.[53] These two cities would hold the monopoly on international fairs for more than three decades, until the rule's abolishment in 1979 by the government of Adolfo Surez.[53] In October 1957, a flood from the Turia river resulted in 81 casualties and extensive property damage.[54] The disaster led to the remodelling of the city and the creation of a new river bed for the Turia, with the old one becoming one of the city's "green lungs".[54] The economy began to recover in the early 1960s, and the city experienced explosive population growth through immigration spurred by jobs created with the implementation of major urban projects and infrastructure improvements.

With the advent of democracy in Spain, the ancient kingdom of Valencia was established as a new autonomous entity, the Valencian Community, the Statute of Autonomy of 1982 designating Valencia as its capital. Valencia has since then experienced a surge in its cultural development, exemplified by exhibitions and performances at such iconic institutions as the Palau de la Msica, the Palacio de Congresos, the Metro, the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Cincies), the Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity (Museo Valenciano de la Ilustracion y la Modernidad), and the Institute of Modern Art (Institut Valenci d'Art Modern). The various productions of Santiago Calatrava, a renowned structural engineer, architect, and sculptor and of the architect Flix Candela have contributed to Valencia's international reputation. These public works and the ongoing rehabilitation of the "Old City" (Ciutat Vella) have helped improve the city's livability, and tourism is continually increasing.

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