Caceres Province

Cáceres is a Spanish province in the autonomous community of Extremadura, with its capital in the city of Cáceres. Located in the west of the country, it has a population of 389,558 inhabitants (INE 2021) and its most populated municipalities are Cáceres, Plasencia and Navalmoral de la Mata. The northern part of the province is dominated by the western sector of the Central system, while to the south and east several foothills of the Toledo mountains rise. The rivers that flow through it discharge their waters either into the Tagus or Guadiana basin. Cáceres, which is the second largest province in Spain after Badajoz, borders with Castilla y León through the provinces of Salamanca and Ávila and with Castilla-La Mancha through Toledo. To the south is Badajoz, and to the west is the border with Portugal.

History

Prehistory

Lower Palaeolithic

The oldest evidence of human presence in the current territory of Extremadura dates from the Lower Paleolithic period. In the deposits —mostly superficial— crude quartzite tools have been found and, to a lesser extent, granite, but no remains of human corpses have been found. The technique used to build the tools consisted of hitting the stone with a stone hammer or horn until obtaining edges, points, notches, axes or spikes. The oldest remains correspond to the middle phase of the Acheulean period (about 700,000 years ago).

Excavation in the cave of Santa Ana in Cáceres.

The oldest deposits are close to where there is suitable stone to carve and build, therefore, the tools and tools. They are also close to rivers and large tributaries. The areas with the highest concentration of deposits from the Acheulean period are: the Valdecañas swamp, the Alagón river, Jerte and El Sartalejo. The most outstanding instruments of this period are the biface, the cleavers and the trihedral pick.

Paleolithic medium

Very few remains have been collected in Extremadura. All of them are from the Mousterian period. They were built using the technique by which they calculated the size of the instrument before extracting from the matrix stone a fragment suitable for the instrument they intended to make. The most characteristic tools were scrapers, denticulates and points. All of them are less heavy, less crude, built with more advanced technology than those of the Lower Paleolithic. The places where sites of the Mousterian period are found correspond to those of the Acheulean period, that is, near the rivers.

Upper Palaeolithic

Current entrance of the cave of Maltravieso, in Cáceres

During this era, Homo sapiens sapiens —modern man— appears on the face of the Earth. At this time the engravings and paintings of the Maltravieso cave, a sanctuary of Quaternary art, and the Castañar de Ibor mines were made. All are Magdalenian in style.

In the Maltravieso cave, there are engravings of the silhouette of a deer, various triangles and other geometric figures. Above all, more than 30 hands painted in negatives have been found, most of them without a little finger. No remains have been found to suggest that it was inhabited during this time, although from later times, so it can be concluded that it was a sacred place, not a habitation place.

Neolithic

Although very few data are known about the Epipaleolithic in the current region of Extremadura, the Neolithic brought some changes in the subsistence of the human communities that inhabit the region. The most important are the introduction of livestock and agriculture, which are incorporated into existing hunting and gathering activities. As far as technology is concerned, the most important addition is that of ceramics that will allow the storage of agricultural surpluses.

Currently, the most recent studies consider that the Neolithic in Extremadura began in the transition from vi to v millennium BC. C. Thus, the concept of Late Neolithic that some authors had used is overcome, believing that the appearance of agriculture would have been much later in this area of Spain. The most representative sites from the Ancient Neolithic are Cerro de la Horca (Plasenzuela), Cueva de Boquique (Plasencia), Cueva de El Conejar (Cáceres) and Los Barruecos (Malpartida de Cáceres). The oldest evidence of agriculture in the region comes from this last site, dating back to the end of the vi millennium BC. C. Evidence for animal domestication is weak, but it can be assumed that animal domestication is contemporary with the introduction of agriculture. Decorated ceramics have been found in these deposits, especially the variety known as "boquique", as it was documented for the first time in this cave in Plasencia.

From the Middle Neolithic, early 5th millennium BCE. C., the proliferation of megalithism occurs in the region. There are few known settlements from this period, only some data from the Los Barruecos site. The megalithic phenomenon is, on the other hand, well known, as there are large concentrations of dolmens in various regions of the region. Sets of this type of megalithic tombs can be found in Valencia de Alcántara, Cedillo or Santiago de Alcántara. Even so, it must be said that this phenomenon has a long duration over time, lasting until the beginning of the Bronze Age. Burials from this phase are usually characterized by flint microliths, smooth ceramics, and some plaque idols.

From the Final Neolithic, sites such as Araya stand out. It develops from 3500 a. C. and will lay the foundations for the appearance of the Chalcolithic, from the iii millennium BC. C. These towns have a true agricultural and livestock vocation. Its location, close to fertile land, is usually on gentle hills near riverbeds. The ceramics are characterized by being practically smooth, with few decorations and simple shapes. The most indicative pottery is the "carenada casserole", which commonly appears in sites throughout the southwest of the peninsula, demonstrating the integration of Extremadura within a common cultural dynamic characterized by demographic growth and the increasingly clear consolidation of the agriculture and livestock.

Calcolytic

During the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, prehistoric human communities made progress in the agricultural exploitation of the environment, metallurgy developed with the beginning of the transformation of copper towards iii millennium BC. C. in Castillejo.

There is a development of social complexity both structurally and ideologically: there is inequality of roles and assets.

Ancient Age

Epoca prerromana

Among the most important pre-Roman peoples that inhabited present-day Extremadura were the Vettones (Vettoni), who inhabited the current provinces of Cáceres (north) and Salamanca, the province of Ávila and part of the from Toledo. The Lusitanos (Lusitani) (the most archetypal of Extremadura), which spread over almost all of present-day Extremadura and central Portugal, pastoral peoples dedicated to looting and war, it is worth noting the image of the Lusitanian leader Viriato and the iron resistance against the Romans. Located to the south, close to the province of Badajoz, were the Celtics (Celtici), they were mainly urban and offered little resistance to the Roman troops, so they were not an obstacle to their advance.

Roman time

Roman assembly of Cáparra

The land of this Lusitanian confederation underwent a complete and profound Romanization. The degree of Romanization reached and the extension of the province Later advised a separate government, constituting Lusitania as a separate province in the time of Augustus (II century to C.). The province of Lusitania included a large part of Extremadura and central Portugal.

Numerous communication routes (roads), large cities, were built. Lusitania was one of the provinces into which the Iberian Peninsula was definitively divided and a very important aspect was the adoption of the language of the Empire, the basis of all future peninsular Romance languages.

Roman bridge of Alcántara

The Ruta de la Plata linked Asturias with Emerita and Itálica, crossing the province of Cáceres in half. Another route linked Mérida with Coimbra, passing through the famous Alcántara bridge.

Vespasiano took another step in Romanization by granting the right of Latin citizenship to all the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, thus making it easier for Hispanics to access public office. In the III century d. C. the problems began. Germanic bands, made up of barbarians, looted the province in their wake. This advised to fortify the cities; the walls of Coria and Cáceres date from this time. The dreaded danger would come in the V century, leaving the province abandoned and in ruins. The city of Norba Caesarina became extinct. Others, like Augustobriga and Cáparra fell into oblivion, despite remaining formidable monuments.

Middle Ages

Visigoth era

The Lusitania was invaded first by the Alans and then by the Suevi. With them we enter the Visigothic period. As the most representative architectural elements of this period, we find the church of Santa Lucía del Trampal, which is a temple of disputed dating (between the VII and the IX century), located in the Spanish municipality of Alcuéscar, in the province of Cáceres. It is a unique temple with Visigothic architectural characteristics and possible later Mozarabic influence, which orders its head with three rectangular chapels open to a transept. It stands out for being the only building from the Visigothic period that remains standing in the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

Muslim occupation

Trujillo Castle, of Muslim origin

With the arrival of the Saracens, the Visigothic Lusitania was renamed the Taifa Kingdom of Badajoz. In Extremadura, numerous traces of the Muslim period of more than five centuries in the area, up to 1248, are preserved. To highlight some of the existing ones, we can mention the Aljibe de Cáceres, the castle of Trujillo, and in Galisteo the walls of the Almohad period to river stone base. In 1009 the Kingdom of Taifas of Badajoz was created, which is geographically reminiscent of Lusitania and which various authors consider to be the last period of the Lusitanian cycle. The Badajoz taifa was one of the most extensive and powerful on the peninsula, reaching an area greater than the current area of Extremadura. An exciting period of intrigues, fights and pacts with the kings of Seville, Toledo and Córdoba began in this period. as well as with the Christian monarchs.

Reconquista

Medieval walls of Plasencia

The Reconquest of what is currently Extremadura (eastern part of the Taifa kingdom of Badajoz) is being disputed by the Kingdom of Portugal with King Alfonso Enrique with the help of the warrior Geraldo Geraldes known as Geraldo "sem Pavor" and the Kingdom of León with King Fernando II, the conquest was definitely carried out mainly by the Kingdom of León, in its second stage as an independent kingdom (1072-1230). First it was Fernando II de León in 1169 and then Alfonso VIII de León (included in the Spanish dynastic order as Alfonso IX) in 1229 who took Cáceres. Already in 1213, Alfonso VIII of León himself had taken Alcántara. He made this city the headquarters of the Military Order of San Julián de Pereiro, later called the Order of Alcántara.

For its part, the crown of Castile also advanced in the reconquest and in the year 1186 King Alfonso VIII of Castile founded the city of Plasencia on a previous settlement, in order to guarantee and ensure the possession of Gredos and the Jerte valley. The Vía de la Plata is established as the border between the kingdoms of León and Castilla.

Spanish-Leoness Unification

The western part of the Taifa Kingdom of Badajoz was reconquered by Enrique de Borgoña, who received the county of Portucalense (Oporto and surrounding lands), with the title of "Count of Portus Cale". This county would become an independent kingdom years later and would begin its expansion to the south until it reached Faro.

According to an ancient legend, in the XIV century, the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of Extremadura, takes place.

Modern Age

American Conquest

Statue of Francisco Pizarro in Trujillo

A characteristic feature of the region was massive emigration to America. Many of the emigrants were men in search of the fortune and fame that Spain could no longer offer after the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in 1492, the same year that America was discovered. Among the conquerors who arrived in America, several Extremadurans stand out, such as Francisco Pizarro who annexed the Inca territories to the domains of Spain, Alonso de Mendoza, explorer and Spanish conquistador who founded Nuestra Señora de La Paz in present-day Bolivia, Ñuflo de Chaves, explorer and Spanish conqueror of Paraguay and the southeastern area of Bolivia, remembered as the founder of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, to satisfy his illusion and perpetuate the name of his native land in those remote territories.

Union with Portugal

One of the determining events in the modern history of Extremadura occurs in 1580, with the union of the Spanish and Portuguese empires. The two superpowers of the time are united under one crown. Extremadura is at a similar distance between Madrid and Lisbon, the capitals of the two empires, which is why several cities are experiencing a period of splendor, which will be cut short with the so-called Portuguese Restoration War, which meant the definitive separation of both kingdoms and which marked the the decline of Extremadura in the following centuries.

XVII and XVIII century

Juramento y aclamación de Juan IV de Portugal (1640)

The war of 1640 was the beginning of a tragic succession of devastating wars for Extremadura that did not end until the end of the Napoleonic wars, already in the XIX. The war least referred to in Spanish school books, the so-called Portuguese Restoration War (Guerra da Restauração, in Portuguese) maintained with Portugal from 1640 to 1668, transformed Extremadura in a decisive way and marked its destiny. until very recent times.

Map of Extremadura in the century XVIII

The arrogance of the Spanish nobility treated Portugal, its vast empire, its singular culture and its naval and commercial importance, as one more territory of an empire that was difficult to govern in many aspects, due to its complexity and extensiveness, during the period in which Portugal formed part of the Hispanic Monarchy (1580-1640), from the reign of Felipe II, to that of Felipe IV. Analyzed from the perspective of its consequences, especially for Extremadura, it was undoubtedly one of the worst services done to the history of Spain, by rulers who lacked the height of vision to understand the power and influence that empire could have achieved., if that dynastic union had been more successful than it was. The war with Portugal transformed the cities and towns of Extremadura in a remarkable way. There was a great depopulation and a great abandonment of farmland. The continuous skirmishes along the border and the settlement for almost thirty years of the soldiers in the towns of Extremadura, caused a crisis that increased after the end of the war, when this territory became "Extremadura" again. Once again border territory, with a very powerful empire and with a great deal of suspicion after the long period of hostilities.

In 1653 the city of Plasencia decided to recover the vote in Cortes that it had had during the Middle Ages, and buy it for 80,000 ducats. To this end, it proposes an alliance with the cities of Badajoz, Mérida and Trujillo and with the towns of Cáceres and Alcántara to jointly buy said vote and thus form the province of Extremadura. It is then at this time when Extremadura emerged as a political entity, to which other towns and the province of León of the Order of Santiago would later join.

Not thirty-five years had passed since the end of the war with Portugal and Spain was involved in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713), which had just ruined Extremadura, with the destruction of the towns of the Tagus Valley. For cross-border purposes, it is a new war with Portugal, which further widens the gap that separates both countries.

Contemporary Age

CenturyXIX

View of Coria at the beginning of the century XIX in Voyage pittoresque et historique de l'Espagne

During the Spanish War of Independence (1808-1814), Extremadura registered a new period of convulsions and hardships as it was located at the strategic crossroads for which the occupying French and national troops fought, aided by the English army Commanded by the Duke of Wellington. During this period, war and famine further contribute to the depopulation of the region. As an example, during the summer of 1809, the assassination of Juan Álvarez de Castro, Bishop of Coria, took place in the town of Hoyos, at the hands of French troops commanded by Marshal Soult.

After the fall of the Old Regime, the province of Cáceres was created, belonging to the region of Extremadura, constituting 240 constitutional municipalities divided into thirteen judicial districts. These thirteen judicial districts would later be reduced to seven.

Twentieth and twenty-first century

The second half of the XX century was marked by demographic bleeding in the province. It is estimated that more than 800,000 people left Extremadura to seek greater prosperity in other Spanish regions, such as the Basque Country, Madrid or Catalonia, and in other countries, such as France, Germany, Switzerland or the Netherlands.

Geography

The dehesa is part of the plain landscape of the province

The province of Cáceres is broken by two well-defined mountainous groups separated by the Tagus River: the northern one, belonging to the Central System, includes the Sierras de Gata and Francia and the foothills of the Sierra de Gredos; the southern one corresponds to the Montes de Toledo and includes the sierras of Guadalupe, Altamira, Montánchez and San Pedro.

The Tagus River enters the province through Talavera la Vieja and runs through it from east to west to enter Portugal; Within Cáceres it receives Tiétar, Alagón and Jerte on the right and Gualija, Ibor, Almonte and Salor on the left.

According to the INE, the province of Cáceres is the one with the largest forest area in all of Spain, with 944,000 hectares. The main exponent of the provincial flora is the Mediterranean forest, denser in mountainous areas and more modified by the man in the plains, where he receives the name of dehesa. The most abundant hardwood forest species are the holm oak, the cork oak, the rebollo and the red eucalyptus, while among the conifers the red pine, the juniper and the yew stand out. The great environmental and animal wealth of this province stands out in the only national park in Extremadura, Monfragüe.

Government and provincial administration

The Provincial Palace, headquarters of the Provincial Council of Cáceres

The Provincial Council has been governed by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party since the 2019 municipal elections, after which the Plenary was made up of 15 deputies from the PSOE, 9 from the PP and 1 from Ciudadanos. The president since 2015 is Rosario Lamb.

For the Cortes Generales, the electoral constituency of Cáceres elects four deputies to the Congress of Deputies. In the general elections of November 2019, the province obtained two deputies from the PSOE, one from the PP and one from Vox. For the Senate, in the same elections the four corresponding representatives were elected, this time being three socialist senators and one popular.

In the Assembly of Extremadura, the province of Cáceres has 29 deputies. After the 2019 regional elections, the representatives from Cáceres in the chamber were 14 from the PSOE, 10 from the PP, 3 from Ciudadanos and 2 from the Podemos-Izquierda Unida-Extremeños-Equo coalition.

The state representation in the province is the Government Sub-delegation, whose position is held in 2019 by José Antonio García Muñoz, of the PSOE.

As for the municipalities of the province, the four largest are governed as follows:

• In Cáceres is mayor Luis Salaya Julián (PSOE)
• In Plasencia he is mayor Fernando Pizarro (PP)
• In Navalmoral de la Mata is mayor Raquel Medina (PSOE)
• In Coria is mayor José Manuel García Ballestero (PP)

Demographics

The province of Cáceres has a population of 394,151 inhabitants (INE 2019), of which 24.23% live in the capital, and 53.28% in the ten most populated municipalities.

Graphic of demographic evolution of the province of Cáceres between 1842 and 2019

Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia.

Evolution and distribution of the population

People in Guadalupe in the late 1970s

The first half of the 20th century was characterized by continued population growth, from just over 300,000 population to nearly 560,000 in the 1960s. Over the next two decades, the population suffered a sharp drop due to the great emigration that took place towards more prosperous areas of the country, especially Madrid and Catalonia, losing more than 200,000 inhabitants in just two decades.

In recent decades the population of the province has remained stagnant at around 400,000 inhabitants, growing very little in the years of greatest economic growth in Spain. With the arrival of the economic crisis, the negative trend returned and the population fell to 400,000 inhabitants, a figure that had not fallen since 1910.

Regarding the growth and distribution of the population by municipalities, there are three nuclei: Cáceres, Plasencia and Navalmoral de la Mata. These three nuclei and the municipalities that are in their area of influence are the only ones that manage to maintain and even grow in population, while in the rest of the province there is a marked loss.

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  Population map by municipalities

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  Population density map by municipalities

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  Growth of municipalities between 1998 and 2008

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  Growth of municipalities between 2008 and 2018

Territorial organization

Municipalities

The province of Cáceres has a total of 223 municipalities.

The province of Cáceres is the 39th in Spain, out of a total of fifty, in percentage of inhabitants concentrated in its capital (23.97%, compared to 31.96% for the whole of Spain).

It has eight municipalities with less than 100 inhabitants. This is the case of Higuera (99), Garvín (98), Robledillo de Gata (97), Pedroso de Acim (95), Cachorrilla (86), Benquerencia (79), Campillo de Deleitosa (68) and Ruanes (66), this The latter is the least populated in Extremadura as of January 1, 2020.

Comprehensive associations

From the birth of the autonomous community of Extremadura until 2008, there was no official county division in Extremadura. The Autonomy Statute provided for the possible division of Extremadura into regions through a law, but it was not until 2008 when, as a consequence of the economic crisis and the need to rationalize public spending, the Junta de Extremadura promoted a process of region-based in the creation of integral associations. Since then, all the municipalities of Extremadura belong to one, and only one, integral association. Extremadura is divided into 33 integral associations: 15 in the province of Badajoz and 18 in the province of Cáceres. All the municipalities, with the exception of Badajoz, Cáceres, Mérida and Plasencia belong to one of the 33 associations into which the region has been divided.

The 17 integral associations of the province of Cáceres are the following:

Country

The Ministry of Agriculture divides the province into the following regions: Cáceres region, Monfragüe region, Trujillo region, Brozas region, Valencia de Alcántara region, Logrosán region, Navalmoral de la Mata region, of Plasencia, region of Hervás and region of Jaraíz de la Vera.

There are also the following natural areas popularly considered on occasions as regions that are not included in the previous division: Valle del Ambroz, Campo Arañuelo, Valle del Jerte, Las Hurdes, Las Villuercas, Los Ibores, La Jara Cacereña, the Sierra de Gata, La Vera, Valle del Alagón and Trasierra-Tierras de Granadilla.

Judicial parties

Judicial parties in the province of Cáceres

After the merger of the old judicial districts, there are seven judicial districts in the province of Cáceres:

Transportation and communications

Roads

Exit to Plasencia by A-66

In 2011, the province of Cáceres had five highways: the A-5, the A-58, the A-66, the EX-A1 and the EX-A2, the first three being national and the other two regional.

Within the national highways, the A-5 or Extremadura highway is a highway that connects Madrid and Badajoz, passing in the province of Cáceres through Navalmoral de la Mata, Almaraz, Jaraicejo, Trujillo, Puerto de Santa Cruz, Villamesías and miajadas. The A-58 connects Cáceres with the A-5 at Trujillo. The A-66 or Ruta de la Plata highway connects Seville with Asturias passing in the province of Cáceres through Casas de Don Antonio, Aldea del Cano, Cáceres, Casar de Cáceres, Cañaveral, Plasencia, Villar de Plasencia, Aldeanueva del Camino and Baños de Montemayor. The future objective of the A-58 is to link Trujillo with Portugal at the height of Valencia de Alcántara, replacing the N-521 road.

As for the regional highways, the EX-A1 connects Navalmoral de la Mata with Coria passing through Casatejada, Malpartida de Plasencia, Galisteo and Alagón del Río. Its extension to the border with Portugal at the height of Moraleja was paralyzed in 2011 due to geotechnical problems. The EX-A2 connects Miajadas with the province of Badajoz. It is also planned to build a highway for 2012 that joins Cáceres and Badajoz, the EX-A4.