History of Albuñol
The history of the town dates back to the Neolithic period, as attested to by the archaeological remains found in the Bat Cave. These are several skeletons with their grave goods and remains of the clothing in which they were shrouded. These remains were preserved for a time in the National Archaeological Museum and were later transferred in part to the Archaeological Museum of Granada. In any case, written documentation of Albuñol is only known from the fifteenth century onwards.
It is suggested the town is of probable Roman origin and reached its maximum splendour in the Arab era thanks to its agricultural resources. Albuñol became the capital of the Great Çehel or “Great Coast” and was defended by the fortress of La Rábita, which has now disappeared. In the year 1505, Luis Zapata acquired the Lordship of Albuñol from Queen Juana I of Castile, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, thus receiving the title of the city. In the early part of the seventeenth century, it suffered great depopulation with the expulsion of the Moors, following the uprising of Abén Humeya, and was later repopulated with Castilians, Galicians and Leonese, becoming part of the Lordship of the Count of Cifuentes.
At the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, this town was well known due to a prominent politician named Natalio Rivas, who was a minister several times as well as an illustrious son of the town and deputy to the Cortes.
During the Spanish Civil War, the town became a war zone. After the fall of Málaga in February 1937, the rebel troops established the new line of the southern front on the Albuñol-Adra axis. General Franco ordered General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano not to continue advancing to Almería.
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