The Spanish treasure fleet , or West Indies Fleet ( Spanish : Flota de Indias , also called silver fleet or plate fleet ; from the Spanish: plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its territories in the Americas across the Atlantic . The convoys were general purpose cargo fleets used for transporting a wide variety of items, including agricultural goods, lumber , various metal resources such as silver and gold , gems , pearls , spices , sugar , tobacco , silk , and other exotic goods from the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire to the Spanish mainland . Spanish goods such as oil , wine , textiles , books and tools were transported in the opposite direction.
94-728: Bética was an illustrated cultural magazine which existed between 1913 and 1917. It was headquartered in Seville , Spain. Bética was launched in Seville in November 1913 as a biweekly magazine. The magazine was affiliated with the Centros Andaluces . Later its frequency was switched to monthly. The magazine covered literary and cultural work and adopted a modernist and art nouveau approach. It also supported regionalism for Andalusia . It folded in 1917. Félix Sánchez-Blanco
188-477: A /æ/ turned into ī /iː/ due to the phonetic phenomenon called imāla . In the meantime, the city's official name had been changed to Ḥimṣ al-Andalus ( حمص الأندلس ), in reference to the city of Homs in modern Syria, the jund of which Seville had been assigned to upon the Umayyad conquest; "Ḥimṣ al-Andalus" remained a customary and affectionate name for the city during the whole period throughout
282-476: A rebus signifying the Spanish No me ha dejado , meaning "She [Seville] has not abandoned me". The phrase, pronounced with synalepha as [no ma ðeˈxaðo] no-madeja-do, is written with an eight in the middle representing the word madeja [maˈðexa] "skein [of wool]". Legend states that the title was given by King Alfonso X , who was resident in the city's Alcázar and supported by
376-475: A car park and seen as a dead spot between more popular tourist destinations in the city. The Metropol Parasol was completed in March 2011, costing just over €102 million in total, more than twice as much as originally planned. Constructed from crossed wooden beams, Las Setas is said to be the largest timber-framed structure in the world. Seville has an area of 141 km (54 sq mi), according to
470-540: A concerted effort to centralize the administration of Spanish America and more efficiently tax profits from overseas trade. One of these reforms was the granting of trading monopolies for certain regions to trading companies ran by peninsulares , such as the Guipuzcoan Company . Another involved the increased use of registered ships, or navíos de registro , traveling solo outside the fleet system to transport goods. These reforms gradually decreased reliance on
564-591: A large and well-preserved historical centre. The mythological founder of the city is Hercules ( Heracles ), commonly identified with the Phoenician god Melqart , who the myth says sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Atlantic, and founded trading posts at the current sites of Cádiz and of Seville. The original core of the city, in the neighbourhood of the present-day street, Cuesta del Rosario, dates to
658-710: A million people at the fairgrounds. He visited the city again on 13 June 1993, for the International Eucharistic Congress. In 1992, coinciding with the fifth centenary of the Discovery of the Americas , the Universal Exposition was held for six months in Seville, on the occasion of which the local communications network and urban infrastructure was greatly improved under a 1987 PGOU plan launched by Mayor Manuel del Valle :
752-549: A much more continental climate than the nearest port cities, Cádiz and Huelva . Its distance from the sea makes summers in Sevilla much hotter than along the coastline. Seville's climate is a very hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csa , Trewartha +Universal Thermal Scale: Cshl ), featuring very hot, long, dry summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. Seville has an annual average of 19.2 °C (67 °F). The annual average temperature
846-618: A new proposal, it refers to the god Baal . During Roman rule , the name was Latinised as Hispal and later as Hispalis . After the Umayyad invasion, this name remained in use among the Mozarabs , being adapted into Arabic as Išbīliya ( إشبيلية ): since the /p/ phoneme does not exist in Arabic, it was replaced by /b/; the Latin place-name suffix -is was Arabized as -iya , and
940-578: A study of experts concluded the total number of operas set in Seville is 153. Among the composers who fell in love with the city are Beethoven ( Fidelio ), Mozart ( The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni ), Rossini ( The Barber of Seville ), Donizetti ( La favorite ), and Bizet ( Carmen ). The first newspaper in Spain outside of Madrid was Seville's Hebdomario útil de Seville , which began publication in 1758. Between 1825 and 1833, Melchor Cano acted as chief architect in Seville; most of
1034-513: A system of convoys in response to the sacking of Havana by French privateers . The main procedures were established based on the recommendations of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés , an experienced admiral and personal adviser of King Philip II . The treasure fleets sailed along two sea lanes. The main one was the Caribbean Spanish West Indies fleet or Flota de Indias , which departed in two convoys from Seville , where
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#17327823714981128-602: A tax known as the quinto real or royal fifth. By the end of the 16th century, Spain became the richest country in Europe. Much of the wealth from this trade was used by the Spanish Habsburgs to finance armies to protect its European territories in the 16th and 17th centuries against the Ottoman Empire and most of the major European powers. The flow of precious metals in and out of Spain also stimulated
1222-571: Is 25.4 °C (78 °F) during the day and 13.0 °C (55 °F) at night. Seville is located in the Guadalquivir Valley , which is often referred to as "the frying pan of Spain", as it features the hottest cities in the country. Seville is the warmest city in Continental Europe . It is also the hottest major metropolitan area in Europe, with summer average high temperatures of above 35 °C (95 °F) and
1316-626: Is a national secret. In November 2023 the Colombian government are looking to recover the treasure. The Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas ( de ) (English: Our Lady of Miracles ) which had collided with another ship in the fleet suffered damage to its hull and sunk into a coral reef off the Bahamas in January 1656. The ship's cargo with almost 3.5 million items was recovered between 1650s and 1990s, while latest discoveries would be exhibited at
1410-680: Is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville . It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir , in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula . Seville has a municipal population of about 701,000 as of 2022 , and a metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the largest city in Andalusia, the fourth-largest city in Spain and
1504-778: The Casa de Contratación was based, bound for ports such as Veracruz , Portobelo and Cartagena before making a rendezvous at Havana in order to return together to Spain. A secondary route was that of the Manila Galleons or Galeón de Manila , which linked the Philippines to Acapulco in Mexico across the Pacific Ocean . From Acapulco, the Asian goods were transhipped by mule train to Veracruz to be loaded onto
1598-454: The San Pedro from the 1733 fleet , after being found by treasure hunters, are now protected as Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves . The Capitana ( El Rubi ) was the flagship of the 1733 fleet; it ran aground during a hurricane near Upper Matecumbe Key , then sank. Three men died during the storm. Afterward, divers recovered most of the treasure aboard. The Capitana was
1692-792: The Santa Anna by Thomas Cavendish in 1589, the Encarnación by Woodes Rogers in 1709, the Covadonga by George Anson in 1743, and the Santísima Trinidad in 1762. The attempts to take the Rosario in 1704 and the Begonia in 1710 were foiled. Wrecks of Spanish treasure ships, whether sunk in naval combat or, as was more usually the case, by storms (with the ones which occurred 1622, 1715 , 1733 and 1750 being among
1786-819: The 25th most populous municipality in the European Union . Its old town , with an area of 4 square kilometres (2 sq mi), contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising three buildings: the Alcázar palace complex , the Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies . The Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. The capital of Andalusia features hot temperatures in
1880-664: The Alhambra Decree all Jews were forced to convert to Catholicism or be exiled (expelled) from Spain. Following the Columbian exploration of the New World , Seville was chosen as headquarters of the Casa de Contratación in 1503, which was the decisive development for Seville becoming the port and gateway to the Indies. Unlike other harbors, reaching the port of Seville required sailing about 80 kilometres (50 mi) up
1974-712: The Bay of Cádiz – to which were eventually transferred control of both the fleets of the Indies (1680) and the Casa de Contratación (1717). The 20th century in Seville saw the tribulations of the Spanish Civil War , decisive cultural milestones such as the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and Expo '92 , and the city's election as the capital of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia . According to Manuel Pellicer Catalán,
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#17327823714982068-746: The Centenario Bridge , both crossing over the Guadalquivir, also were built for the occasion. Some of the installations remaining at the site after the exposition were converted into the Scientific and Technological Park Cartuja 93 . In 2004 the Metropol Parasol project, commonly known as Las Setas ('The Mushrooms'), due to the appearance of the structure, was launched to revitalise the Plaza de la Encarnación , for years used as
2162-668: The Crown of Castile in 1248. Owing to its role as gateway of the Spanish Empire 's trans-atlantic trade, managed from the Casa de Contratación , Seville became one of the largest cities in Western Europe in the 16th century. Following a deterioration in drought conditions in the Guadalquivir, the American trade gradually moved away from the city of Seville, in favour initially of downstream-dependent berths and eventually of
2256-675: The Dutch admiral Piet Hein managed to capture an entire fleet, in the Battle in the Bay of Matanzas in 1628, after which its cargo was taken to the Dutch Republic . The English admiral Robert Blake twice attacked the fleet, in the Battle of Cádiz in 1656 and in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1657, but he captured only a single galleon and Spanish officers managed to prevent most of
2350-762: The Mudéjar and Gothic styles—such as the Seville Cathedral, built during the 15th century with Gothic architecture . Other Moorish buildings were converted into Catholic edifices, as was customary of the Catholic Church during the Reconquista . The Moors' Palace became the Castilian royal residence, and during Pedro I 's rule it was replaced by the Alcázar (the upper levels are still used by
2444-523: The New World since Christopher Columbus 's first expedition of 1492. The organized system of convoys dates from 1564, but Spain sought to protect shipping prior to that by organizing protection around the largest Caribbean island, Cuba , and the maritime region of southern Spain and the Canary Islands because of attacks by pirates and foreign navies. In the 1560s, the Spanish government created
2538-452: The Plaza de Armas railway station was inaugurated. The Museum of Fine Arts (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla) opened in 1904. In 1929 the city hosted the Ibero-American Exposition , which accelerated the southern expansion of the city and created new public spaces such as the Parque de María Luisa (Maria Luisa Park) and the adjoining Plaza de España . Not long before the opening,
2632-572: The Spanish royal family as the official Seville residence). In the 1391 pogrom against the Jews, believed to having been instigated by the Archdeacon Ferrant Martínez , all the synagogues in Seville were converted to churches (renamed Santa María la Blanca, San Bartolomé, Santa Cruz, and Convento Madre de Dios). The Jewish quarter's land and shops (which were located in modern-day Santa Cruz neighbourhood ) were appropriated by
2726-673: The 11 million arriving in 1590, 2 million went to France for imports, 6 million to Italy for imports and military expenses, of which 2.5 went up the Spanish Road to the Low Countries and 1 million to the Ottoman Empire . 1.5 million was shipped from Portugal to Asia. Of the 2 million pesos reaching the Dutch Republic in that year, 75% went to the Baltic for naval stores and 25% went to Asia. The income of
2820-621: The 18th century Charles III promoted Seville's industries. Construction of the Real Fábrica de Tabacos (Royal Tobacco Factory) began in 1728. It was the second-largest building in Spain, after the royal residence El Escorial . Since the 1950s it has been the seat of the rectorate (administration) of the University of Seville , as well as its Schools of Law, Philology (language/letters), Geography, and History. More operas have been set in Seville than in any other city of Europe. In 2012,
2914-592: The 18th century, Seville's international importance was in steep decline, after the monopoly port for the trade to the Americas was relocated to Cádiz. Cádiz had gifted the Bourbon claimant to the throne in the War of the Spanish Succession funding that helped it pursue the war. The reward to Cádiz was the rights of the monopoly port. The House of Trade (which registered ships, cargoes, and persons travelling to
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3008-713: The 8th century BC, when Seville was on an island in the Guadalquivir . Archaeological excavations in 1999 found anthropic remains under the north wall of the Real Alcázar dating to the 8th–7th century BC. The town was called Hisbaal by the Phoenicians and by the Tartessians, the indigenous pre-Roman Iberian people of Tartessos , who controlled the Guadalquivir Valley at the time. The city
3102-432: The Americas, most significantly silver from Mexico and Peru , were sent back to Spain. Fleets of fifty or more ships sailed from Spain, one bound for the Mexican port of Veracruz and the other for Panama and Cartagena. From the Spanish ports of Seville or Cádiz , the two fleets bound for the Americas sailed together down the coast of Africa, and stopped at the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands for provisions before
3196-414: The Astilleros shipyards, Hispano Aviación, etc. Several of the movement's leaders were imprisoned in November 1973. On 3 April 1979 Spain held its first democratic municipal elections after the end of Franco's dictatorship; councillors representing four different political parties were elected in Seville. On 5 November 1982, Pope John Paul II arrived in Seville to officiate at a Mass before more than half
3290-416: The Caribbean coast of Panama to load Peruvian silver. This had been shipped from the Pacific coast port of Callao and transported across the isthmus of Panama by mule. Other ships went to the Caribbean island of Margarita , off the coast of Venezuela , to collect pearls which had been harvested from offshore oyster beds. After loading was complete, both fleets sailed for Havana , Cuba, to rendezvous for
3384-447: The Caribbean treasure fleet for shipment to Spain. To better defend this trade, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and Álvaro de Bazán designed the definitive model of the galleon in the 1550s. Spain controlled the trade through the Casa de Contratación based in Seville , a river port in southern Spain. By law, the colonies could trade only with Seville, the one designated port in the mother country. Maritime archaeology has shown that
3478-504: The Dutch occupied Curaçao in 1634. Other losses to foreign powers came later. In 1713 as part of the Treaty of Utrecht after the War of the Spanish Succession , the Spanish crown was forced to make concessions which included trading privileges for England that violated the previous Spanish monopoly on legal trade to its colonial holdings. In 1739 during the War of Jenkin's Ear , the British admirals Francis Hosier and later Edward Vernon blockaded Portobello in an attempt to prevent
3572-404: The European economy as a whole. The flow of precious metals made many traders wealthy, both in Spain and abroad. As a result of the discovery of precious metals in Spanish America, Spain's money supply increased tenfold. The increase in gold and silver on the Iberian market caused high inflation in the 17th century , affecting the Spanish economy. As a consequence, the Crown was forced to delay
3666-405: The House of Trade, were consolidated in a single repository. One scholar argues that the establishment of the Archive of the Indies marks a decisive moment in Spain's history, with the 18th c. Bourbon monarchy conceiving of its overseas territories as colonies of the metropole rather than entities under the jurisdiction of the crown on an equal basis as the kingdoms in the Iberian peninsula. During
3760-433: The Muslim Arab world, being referred to for example in the encyclopedia of Yaqut al-Hamawi or in Abu al-Baqa ar-Rundi 's Ritha' al-Andalus . The city is sometimes referred to as the "Pearl of Andalusia". The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas ) or hispalenses , after the Roman name of the city. NO8DO is the official motto of Seville, popularly believed to be
3854-462: The National Topographic Map (Mapa Topográfico Nacional) series from the Instituto Geográfico Nacional – Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica , the country's civilian survey organisation (pages 984, 985 and 1002). The city is situated in the fertile valley of the River Guadalquivir. The average height above sea level is 7 metres (23 feet). Most of the city is on the east side of the river, while Triana , La Cartuja and Los Remedios are on
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3948-510: The New World), and the large scale overseas commercial enterprises of the merchant guild relocated to Cádiz. The House of Trade had been housed in rented quarters, but the purpose-built headquarters of the merchant guild was left vacant. During the monarchy of Charles III , the Archive of the Indies was established in Seville in the old headquarters of the merchant guild. Documents pertaining to Spain's overseas empire were moved there from existing archival repositories, including Simancas and
4042-477: The River Guadalquivir. The choice of Seville was made in spite of the difficulties for navigation in the Guadalquivir stemming from the increasing tonnage of ships as a result of the relentless drive to make maritime transport cheaper during the late Middle Ages. Nevertheless, technical suitability issues notwithstanding, the choice was still reasonable in the sense that Seville had become the largest demographic, economic and financial centre of Christian Andalusia in
4136-446: The SE-30 ring road around the city was completed and new highways were constructed; the new Seville-Santa Justa railway station had opened in 1991, while the Spanish High-Speed Rail system, the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), began to operate between Madrid-Seville. The Seville Airport was expanded with a new terminal building designed by the architect Rafael Moneo , and various other improvements were made. The Alamillo Bridge and
4230-401: The Spanish merchant ship Encarnación , part of the Tierra Firme fleet, was discovered in 2011 with much of its cargo still aboard and part of its hull intact. The Encarnación sank in 1681 during a storm near the mouth of the Chagres River on the Caribbean side of Panama. The Encarnación sank in less than 40 feet of water. The remains of the Urca de Lima from the 1715 fleet and
4324-463: The Spanish crown from all sources was about 2.5 million pesos in 1550, 14 million in the 1590s, about 15 million in 1760 and 30 million in 1780. In 1665 the debts of the Spanish crown were 30 million pesos short-term and 300 million long-term. Most of the New World production was silver, but Colombian mines produced mostly gold. The following table gives the estimated legal production. It necessarily excludes smuggling, which
4418-402: The Spanish government began a modernisation of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the mediaeval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles. Seville fell very quickly at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. General Queipo de Llano carried out a coup within the city, quickly capturing the city centre. Radio Seville opposed
4512-500: The Visigothic population who had fled to Beja had returned to Seville once Musa left for Mérida. The seat of the Wali of Al-Andalus (administrative division of the Umayyad Caliphate ) was thus established in the city until 716, when the capital of Al-Andalus was relocated to Córdoba . Seville ( Ishbīliya ) was sacked by Vikings in the mid-9th century. After Vikings arrived by 25 September 844, Seville fell to invaders on 1 October, and they stood for 40 days before they fled from
4606-400: The ancient name was Spal , and it meant "lowland" in the Phoenician language ( cognate to the Hebrew Shfela and the Arabic Asfal أسفل ). It is ultimately from Phoenician sefela , meaning "plain, valley." Hisbaal is another old name for Seville. It appears to have originated during the Phoenician colonisation of the Tartessian culture in south-western Iberia, and according to
4700-485: The beginning of the rule of the Bourbon dynasty over the Spanish Empire, which brought with it the Bourbon Reforms . These reforms, designed to halt Spain's decline and increase tax revenue, resulted in a series of changes to the fleet system throughout the 18th century. Philip V began the reforms by sending investigators to report on conditions in Spanish America, who brought back evidence of fraud. He and following Bourbon kings, notably including Charles III , would make
4794-412: The church and many Jewish homes were burned down. 4000 Jews were killed during the pogrom and many others were forced to convert . The first tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition was instituted in Seville in 1478. Its primary charge was to ensure that all nominal Christians were really behaving like Christians, and not practicing what Judaism they could in secret. At first, the activity of the Inquisition
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#17327823714984888-414: The citizens when his son, later Sancho IV of Castile , tried to usurp the throne from him. The emblem is present on Seville's municipal flag, and features on city property such as manhole covers, and Christopher Columbus 's tomb in the cathedral. Seville is approximately 2,200 years old. The passage of the various civilizations instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and
4982-422: The city. During Umayyad rule, under an Andalusi-Arab framework, the bulk of the population were Muladi converts, to which Christian and Jewish minorities added up. Up until the arrival of the Almohads in the 12th century, the city remained as the see of a Metropolitan Archbishop, the leading Christian religious figure in al-Andalus. However, the transfer of the relics of Saint Isidore to León circa 1063, in
5076-429: The city. The city surrendered on 23 November 1248, after fifteen months of siege. The conditions of capitulation contemplated the eviction of the population, with contemporary sources seemingly confirming that a mass movement of people out of Seville indeed took place. The city's development continued after the Castilian conquest in 1248. Public buildings were constructed including churches—many of which were built in
5170-410: The collections of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla. It also houses the rectory of the UNIA. In the years that Queen Isabel II ruled directly, about 1843–1868, the Sevillian bourgeoisie invested in a construction boom unmatched in the city's history. The Isabel II bridge , better known as the Triana bridge, dates from this period; street lighting was expanded in the municipality and most of
5264-459: The definitive seat of the Andalusi part of the Almohad Empire in 1163, a twin capital alongside Marrakesh . Almohads carried out a large urban renewal. By the end of the 12th century, the walled enclosure perhaps contained 80,000 inhabitants. In the wider context of the Castilian–Leonese conquest of the Guadalquivir Valley that ensued in the 13th century, Ferdinand III laid siege on Seville in 1247. A naval blockade came to prevent relief of
5358-406: The early 17th c., Seville's monopoly on overseas trade was broken, with the port of Cádiz now the monopoly port of trade as silting of the Guadalquivir river in the 1620s made Seville's harbors harder to use. The Great Plague of Seville in 1649, exacerbated by excessive flooding of the Guadalquivir, reduced the population by almost half, and it did not recover until the early 19th century. By
5452-473: The escorted convoys of the fleet system. In the 1780s, Spain opened its colonies to freer trade. In 1790, the Casa de Contratación was abolished, bringing to an end the great general purpose cargo convoys. Thereafter small groups of naval frigates were assigned specifically to transferring bullion as required. Every year, two fleets left Spain loaded with European goods in demand in Spanish America; they were guarded by military vessels. Valuable cargo from
5546-417: The first city in the world to name a heat wave , with a nickname "Zoe". The hottest temperature extreme of 46.6 °C (116 °F) was registered by the weather station at Seville Airport on 23 July 1995 while the coldest temperature extreme of −5.5 °C (22 °F) was also registered by the airport weather station on 12 February 1956. A historical record high (disputed) of 50.0 °C (122 °F)
5640-457: The first of the 1733 ships to be found again in 1938. Salvage workers recovered items from the sunken ship over more than 10 years. Additional gold was recovered in June 2015. The ship's location: is 24° 55.491' north, 80° 30.891' west. The San José was sunk in 1708 by British forces near Colombian's coasts. Its wreckage was discovered in 2015 and is believed to contain the record 17B US$ in gold, silver, and other precious stones. Its place
5734-408: The fleet, the Armada de Barlovento. Between 1703 and 1705 Spanish corsair Amaro Pargo began to participate in the West Indies Fleet. In this period he was the owner and captain of the frigate El Ave María y Las Ánimas , a ship which he sailed from the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Havana . He reinvested the benefits of the Canarian-American trade in his estates, devoted to the cultivation of
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#17327823714985828-400: The floods that occurred in November 1961 when the River Tamarguillo, a tributary of the Guadalquivir, overflowed as a result of a prodigious downpour of rain, and Seville was consequently declared a disaster zone. Trade unionism in Seville began during the 1960s with the underground organisational activities of the Workers' Commissions or Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), in factories such as Hytasa,
5922-432: The grapevines of Malvasía and Vidueño , whose wine products (mainly Vidueño) were sent to America . Walton gives the following figures in pesos. For the 300-year period the peso or piece of eight had about 25 grams of silver, about the same as the German thaler and Dutch rijksdaalder . A single galleon might carry 2 million pesos. The modern approximate value of the estimated 4 billion pesos produced during
6016-421: The growth in trade was strong in the early years. Numbering 17 ships in 1550, the fleets expanded to more than 50 much larger vessels by the end of the century. By the second half of the 17th century, that number had dwindled to less than half of its peak. As economic conditions gradually recovered from the last decades of the 17th century, fleet operations slowly expanded again, once again becoming prominent during
6110-413: The highest ever recorded in Spain, yet it hasn't been officially confirmed. The average sunshine hours in Seville are approximately 3000 per year. Snowfall is virtually unknown. Since the year 1500, only 10 snowfalls have been recorded/reported in Seville. During the 20th century, Seville registered just 2 snowfalls, the last one on 2 February 1954. Spanish treasure fleet The West Indies fleet
6204-434: The hottest in Spain. After the city of Córdoba (also in Andalusia), Seville has the hottest summer in Europe among all cities with a population over 100,000 people, with average daily highs of 36.0 °C (97 °F) in July. On average, Seville has around 60 days a year with maximum temperatures over 35.0 °C (95.0 °F). Temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) are not uncommon in summer. In fact, it became
6298-409: The journey back to Spain. The overland journey by mule train, as well as supplies provided by local farmers to prepare the fleets for long ocean voyages, invigorated the economy of colonial Spanish America. Preparation and the transport of goods required porters, innkeepers, and foodstuffs to help facilitate travel. However, in Mexico in 1635, there was an increase of the sales tax levied to finance
6392-433: The late Middle Ages. In addition, factors favouring the choice of Seville include the Andalusian coastline being largely under the seigneurial control of the House of Medina Sidonia , Seville enjoying an important hinterland and administrative expertise, and its inland location also providing conditions for military security and enforcement of tax control. A 'golden age of development' commenced in Seville, due to its being
6486-401: The main island of the Azores archipelago, lies on the same latitude. Further east from Seville in the Mediterranean Basin , it is on the same latitude as Catania in Sicily, Italy and just south of Athens , the capital of Greece . Beyond that, it is located on the same parallel as South Korean capital, Seoul . Seville is located inland, not very far from the Andalusian coast, but still sees
6580-420: The only port awarded the royal monopoly for trade with Spanish Americas and the influx of riches from them. Since only sailing ships leaving from and returning to the inland port of Seville could engage in trade with the Spanish Americas, merchants from Europe and other trade centers needed to be in Seville to acquire New World trade goods. The city's population grew to more than a hundred thousand people. In
6674-433: The payment of some major debts, which had negative consequences for its creditors, mostly foreign bankers. By 1690 some of these creditors could no longer offer financial support to the Crown. The Spanish monopoly over its West and East Indies colonies lasted for over two centuries. The economic importance of exports later declined with the drop in production of the American precious metal mines, such as Potosí . However,
6768-492: The period would come to $ 530 billion or €470 billion (based on silver bullion prices of May 2015). Of the 4 billion pesos produced, 2.5 billion was shipped to Europe, of which 500 million was shipped around Africa to Asia. Of the remaining 1.5 billion 650 million went directly to Asia from Acapulco and 850 million remained in the Western Hemisphere. Little of the wealth stayed in Spain. Of
6862-531: The quantity of goods transported was sometimes higher than that recorded at the Archivo General de Indias . Spanish merchants and Spaniards acting as fronts ( cargadores ) for foreign merchants sent their goods on these fleets to the New World. Some resorted to contraband to transport their cargoes untaxed. The Crown of Spain taxed the wares and precious metals of private merchants at a rate of 20%,
6956-758: The reign of the Bourbons in the 18th century. The Spanish trade of goods was sometimes threatened by its colonial rivals, who tried to seize islands as bases along the Spanish Main and in the Spanish West Indies . However, the Atlantic trade was largely unharmed. The English acquired small islands like St Kitts in 1624; expelled in 1629, they returned in 1639 and seized Jamaica in 1655. French pirates established themselves in Saint-Domingue in 1625, were expelled, only to return later, and
7050-674: The remains exposed in situ in the underground Antiquarium of the Metropol Parasol building, the remnants of an aqueduct , three pillars of a temple in Mármoles Street, the columns of La Alameda de Hércules and the remains in the Patio de Banderas square near the Seville Cathedral . The walls surrounding the city were originally built during the rule of Julius Caesar , but their current course and design were
7144-798: The result of Moorish reconstructions. Following Roman rule, there were successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Germanic Vandals , Suebi and Visigoths during the 5th and 6th centuries. In the wake of the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , Seville ( Spalis ) was seemingly taken by Musa ibn Nusayr in the late summer of 712, while he was on his way to Mérida . Yet it had to be retaken in July 713 by troops led by his son Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa , as
7238-514: The return sailing of the treasure fleet. In 1741 Vernon's campaign against Cartagena de Indias ended in defeat, with high losses of men and ships. Spain dealt with the temporary British seizures of Havana and Manila (1762–4), during the Seven Years' War , by using a larger number of smaller fleets visiting a greater variety of ports. The end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713 marked
7332-494: The silver from falling into English hands. The West Indies fleet was destroyed in the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession , when it was surprised in port unloading its goods, but the Spanish sailors had already unloaded most of its cargo, including all of its silver. None of these attacks took place in open seas. In the case of the Manila galleons, only four were ever captured by British warships:
7426-402: The streets were paved during this time as well. By the second half of the 19th century, Seville had begun an expansion supported by railway construction and the demolition of part of its ancient walls, allowing the urban space of the city to grow eastward and southward. The Sevillana de Electricidad Company was created in 1894 to provide electric power throughout the municipality, and in 1901
7520-539: The summer, with daily maximums routinely above 35 °C (95 °F) in July and August. Seville was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis . Known as Ishbiliyah after the Islamic conquest in 711, Seville became the centre of the independent Taifa of Seville following the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba in the early 11th century; later it was ruled by Almoravids and Almohads until being incorporated to
7614-500: The taifa period, already hinted at a possible worsening of the situation of the local Christian minority. A powerful taifa kingdom with capital in Seville emerged after 1023, in the wake of the fitna of al-Andalus . Ruled by the Abbadid dynasty , the taifa grew by aggregation of smaller neighbouring taifas . During the taifa period, Seville became an important scholarly and literary centre. After several months of siege, Seville
7708-508: The uprising and called for the peasants to come to the city for arms, while workers' groups established barricades. Queipo then moved to capture Radio Seville, which he used to broadcast propaganda on behalf of the Francoist forces. After the initial takeover of the city, resistance continued among residents of the working-class neighbourhoods for some time, until a series of fierce reprisals took place. Under Francisco Franco 's rule Spain
7802-595: The urban planning policy and architectural modifications of the city were made by him and his collaborator Jose Manuel Arjona y Cuba. Industrial architecture surviving today from the first half of the 19th century includes the ceramics factory installed in the Carthusian monastery at La Cartuja in 1841 by the Pickman family, and now home to the El Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC), which manages
7896-694: The voyage across the Atlantic. Once the two fleets reached the Caribbean, the fleets separated. The New Spain fleet sailed to Veracruz in Mexico to load not only silver and the valuable red dye cochineal , but also porcelain and silk shipped from China on the Manila galleons . The Asian goods were carried overland from Acapulco to Veracruz by mule train. The Tierra Firme fleet, or galeones, sailed to Cartagena to load South American products, especially silver from Potosí . Some ships went to Portobello on
7990-466: The west side. The Aljarafe region lies further west, and is considered part of the metropolitan area. The city has boundaries on the north with La Rinconada , La Algaba and Santiponce ; on the east with Alcalá de Guadaira ; on the south with Dos Hermanas and Gelves and on the west with San Juan de Aznalfarache , Tomares and Camas . Seville is on the same parallel as United States west coast city San Jose in central California. São Miguel ,
8084-827: The worst), are a prime target for modern treasure hunters . Many, such as the Nuestra Señora de Atocha and the Santa Margarita , have been salvaged . In August 1750, at least three Spanish merchantmen ran aground in North Carolina during a hurricane. The El Salvador sank near Cape Lookout , the Nuestra Señora De Soledad went ashore near present-day Core Banks and the Nuestra Señora De Guadalupe went ashore near present-day Ocracoke . The wreck of
8178-587: Was conquered by the Almoravids in 1091. The city fell to the Almohads on 17 January 1147 (12 Shaʽban 541). After an informal Almohad settlement in Seville during the early stages of the Almohad presence in the Iberian Peninsula and then a brief relocation of the capital of al-Andalus to Córdoba in 1162 (which had dire consequences for Seville, reportedly depopulated and under starvation), Seville became
8272-423: Was increasingly important after 1600. The crown legally took one fifth ( quinto real ) at the source and obtained more through other taxes. Despite the general perception that many Spanish galleons were captured by foreign privateers and pirates , relatively few ships were lost to Spain's enemies in the course of the flota's two and a half centuries of operation; more flota galleons were lost to hurricanes. Only
8366-476: Was known from Roman times as Hispal and later as Hispalis . Hispalis developed into one of the great market and industrial centres of Hispania, while the nearby Roman city of Italica (present-day Santiponce , birthplace of the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian ) remained a typically Roman residential city. Large-scale Roman archaeological remains can be seen there and at the nearby town of Carmona as well. Existing Roman features in Seville itself include
8460-574: Was limited to the dioceses of Seville and Córdoba , where the Dominican friar, Alonso de Ojeda, had detected converso activity. The first Auto de Fé took place in Seville on 6 February 1481, when six people were burned alive. Alonso de Ojeda himself gave the sermon. The Inquisition then grew rapidly. The Plaza de San Francisco was the site of the 'autos de fé'. By 1492, tribunals existed in eight Castilian cities: Ávila, Córdoba, Jaén, Medina del Campo, Segovia, Sigüenza, Toledo, and Valladolid; and by
8554-567: Was officially neutral in World War II (although it did collaborate with the Axis powers ), and like the rest of the country, Seville remained largely economically and culturally isolated from the outside world. In 1953 the shipyard of Seville was opened, eventually employing more than 2,000 workers in the 1970s. Before the existence of wetlands regulation in the Guadalquivir basin, Seville suffered regular heavy flooding; perhaps worst of all were
8648-537: Was recorded on 4 August 1881, according to the NOAA Satellite and Information Service. There is an unaccredited record by the National Institute of Meteorology of 47.2 °C (117 °F) on 1 August during the 2003 heat wave , according to a weather station (83910 LEZL) located in the southern part of Seville Airport, near the former US San Pablo Air Force Base. This temperature would be one of
8742-698: Was the director of Bética whose deputy was Félix Sánchez-Blanco y Pardo. The poet Felipe Cortines y Murube also served in the magazine. Santiago Martínez y Martín was its chief artistic editor and Javier Lasso de la Vega its chief literary editor. Major contributors included Isidro de las Cagigas , Francisco Rodríguez Marín , Mario Méndez Bejarano, Quintero brothers , Ricardo de León, Salvador Rueda, Gabriel Maura , Armando Palacio Valdés , Francisco Cambó, Joaquín Hazañas, Ángel María Camacho, Joaquín González Verger and Alejandro Guichot. Seville Seville ( / s ə ˈ v ɪ l / sə- VIL ; Spanish : Sevilla , pronounced [seˈβiʎa] )
8836-470: Was the first permanent transatlantic trade route in history. Similarly, the related Manila galleon trade was the first permanent trade route across the Pacific. The Spanish West and East Indies fleets are considered among the most successful naval operations in history and, from a commercial point of view, they made possible key components of today's global economy . Spanish ships had carried goods from
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