A history of Lorca, part 3: from the Reconquista to the 21st century

The fortunes of Lorca have ebbed and flowed for the last 700 years

Lorca from the 13^th century to the present day

Most of the important sites relating to the history of Lorca lie buried beneath the buildings which constitute "modern" Lorca, the events of the last 700 years dictating the constitution and character of what we see today above ground.

"Modern Lorca" effectively begins at the time of what is now known as "The Reconquist", which took place during the 12th and 13th centuries, as Christian armies who came from the northern and central areas of Spain (Castilla y León and Aragón) gradually re-took land which had been occupied by Moorish rulers since the early eighth century.

For further information about the city prior to the 13th century, go to either Lorca History Part 1 (Prehistory to the Iberians) or Part 2, (Romans, Moors and the Christian Reconquista). This second part of the history deals in greater detail with the Moorish occupation and the various power struggles which took place within this 500 year period of history.

Much of the Reconquist in Murcia occurred in 1243, and although the Islamic population of the fortified city of Lorca resisted for another year they were finally forced to capitulate in 1244.

Initially, this re-conquest was not altogether productive for Lorca. For centuries the Moors had developed agriculture and established a way of life in the area which was suddenly an irrelevance, as the city became a key defensive fortification on the frontier between the Christian and Moslem worlds which were to co-exist side by side in Spain for the next 250 years as although what is now the modern-day region of Murcia was "reconquered" in 1243, neighbouring Granada, which at that point in time encompassed Almería, remained firmly under the control of the Nazrids, as did the whole of modern Andalucía.

This made Lorca a key frontier fortification, and it was not until the Moors were expelled from Granada in 1492 that security returned to the city, and it was able to grow, despite plague, flooding and earthquakes, into the monumental centre of wealth which it became during the Early Modern period.

The Mudéjar Uprising and the Christian repopulation of frontier areas

After the death of Fernando III in 1252, Alfonso X “El Sabio” of Castilla initiated his policy of consolidating Christian power on the frontier with the Islamic kingdom of Granada, imposing the Christian way of life remorselessly. This policy went against the spirit of the treaty of Alcaraz which had been agreed in 1243, guaranteeing respect for the rights, customs and religion of the Moors in return for a peaceful capitulation.

Documented evidence clearly shows that Alfonso ignored the agreements made in the treaty and gradually resentment against his rule grew. Rebellions broke out in many key settlements as the Mudéjars (the Moors who had chosen to remain in their homes and not move to Granada) rebelled. In 1264 Murcia fell to the rebels and in Lorca only the town centre escaped the fighting as a result of the defence offered by the Castilian garrison commanded by Diego Sánchez de Bustamante in the castle.

It took two years for Alfonso to regain control, and the Mudéjar uprising was ended only by the intervention of Jaime I of Aragón, who came to the aid of his son-in-law Alfonso with a substantial army.

This significantly changed the relationship between the houses of Castilla and Aragón, and many of those who accompanied Jaime were rewarded for their services with land in this region, Aragón tightening its military grip over the territories.

Following the uprisings a large number of the Moors were expelled from Murcia and their land re-allocated,  especially in Lorca, where they had been particularly rebellious.

Thus began a new chapter in the history of Lorca: the Christian repopulation.

Now that the Christians were firmly in control of the city and the surrounding rural areas Lorca, like Murcia and Cartagena, became a direct dependency of the Crown, with special privileges. Lorca was especially favoured due to its location on the frontier, and received the right to use its own distinctive seal.

The new status of the town called for a new emblematic building in Lorca, and this was the motive for the construction of a great keep to complete the castle: the Torre Alfonsina.

This can still be visited today as part of a visit to the "Fortress of the Sun", an impressive, sprawling complex which dominates the Lorca skyline.

A turbulent start to the new Christian era in Lorca

The death of Alfonso X in 1284 sparked a conflict between the Crowns of Castilla and Aragón for control over the kingdom of Murcia, and this was finally won by Aragón, although in 1304 the Treaty of Torrellas resolved that the south of the kingdom of Murcia, including Lorca, should be returned to Castilla. Nonetheless this struggle undermined confidence in the stability of the area, and the following years saw even more intensive emigration and the neglect of crop agriculture in favour of livestock farming, the logic being that livestock could be protected by driving them back behind defensive walls, whereas crops could easily be destroyed in the eventuality of a raid or fighting.

At the start of the 14^th century Lorca was lorded over by one of Castilla’s most powerful noblemen, Don Juan Manuel, who was the royal representative in the kingdom of Murcia.

Nephew of King Alfonso X, El Sabio, Don Juan Manuel was one of the most important, rich and influential nobleman in Mediaeval Spain, and an ambitious man who spent his life increasing his wealth and influence, as well as consolidating his status and power.

After the death of Alfonso X in 1284, civil war over the succession divided the nobility, these conflicts lasting throughout the reigns of Sancho IV, Fernando IV and Alfonso XI, and Don Juan Manuel was part of the events which determined the course of history in the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragón-Valencia, as well as the Moorish kingdom of Granada.

His father died in 1284, when Juan Manuel was just 2 years old at which point he inherited the title of Adelantado Mayor (akin to a chief governor) of the Kingdom of Murcia, and following his mother’s death in 1290, still only aged 8, and inheriting the Dukedom of Peñafiel, he was taken into the tutelage of his cousin, Sancho IV, King of Castile.

Sancho himself was embroiled in civil war, being the second son of the former King Alfonso X. Alfonso's first son, Fernando de la Cerda, had died in battle, and Alfonso had wanted to leave the crown to the oldest of Fernando's two sons, the young prince Alfonso de la Cerda. Sancho, however, claimed that as the second son of Alfonso X, that he should inherit the crown, and as Alfonso himself had quarrelled with many of his nobles, Sancho began a civil war against his father for the crown, inheriting when Alfonso died, and ignoring the will Alfonso left, giving the crown to his grandson.

This civil war raged throughout the reign of Sancho IV, and that of his son, Ferdinand IV, who inherited the throne at the age of 10. When he died after a reign of just 7 years, he left a year old son as his heir, the child who went on to become Alfonso XI of Castile.

In 1321, though, Alfonso XI came of age, and determined to take control of his own kingdom from those who had held power whilst he was a minor.

He forced Don Juan Manuel to relinquish his regency, a situation which it was hard for the proud and power hungry Don Juan Manuel to relinquish, and in a state of frustration and humiliation he attempted to restore his alliance with the crown by offering the King the hand of his daughter Constanza in marriage. Alfonso initially accepted the offer.

However, not long before he was due to marry Constanza, Alfonso changed his mind and married María of Portugal.

Don Juan Manuel was furious and declared war on Alfonso, calling for support from the Moors in Granada. This led to years of bitter conflict before the two sides finally made peace.

This is the backdrop against which Lorca constantly changed hands between the monarchs of Aragón and Don Juan Manuel and his descendants, and was a time of crisis throughout Europe, especially during the Black Death of 1347-48.

Plague claimed Don Juan Manuel himself in 1348, and indeed bubonic plague was to revisit Lorca on various occasions over the next three hundred years, culminating in the disastrous outbreak of 1647-49.

Unsurprisingly, against this backdrop of conflict, Alfonso X’s aim of repopulating the area remained unachievable, although a sign that there was at least some interest in crop farming is that these years marked the start of the water auctions (“alporchones”), which separated the right to water from the ownership of land.

During the 14^th century the church of San Roque was built at the upper end of the city: this is still standing today, and is the oldest church in Lorca. It is open by special arrangement for groups, but can be visited during the festive season as it is now a museum for the detailed nativity scenes, or beléns, which are created in Lorca for public display.

The Battle of Los Alporchones and the Collegiate Church of San Patricio

Although the Mediaeval drama of wars of succession created instability within the Murcia Region, neighbouring Andalucía remained strong under the control of the Nazrids until the end of the 15th century and skirmishes were frequent.

Following the death of Don Juan Manuel another family rose to power in the Murcia Region, the Fajardos.

The first mention made of the family in historical documents concerns Pedro López Fajardo, who reached the position of Mayor of Ceutí and Pliego in the first third of the 14th century, apparently through his links with the important military Order of Santiago, which had assisted the Kings of Castilla in their "reconquista" of Spain, and battles to expel the Moors from Spanish soil.

The Fajardos are believed to have arrived in Murcia with the forces of Jaime when he came to the aid of his son-in-law Alfonso X, although this is a delicate topic with historians who have agreed to disagree over exactly where they came from.

However, their wealth and power increased with each generation, and Alonso Fajardo (“the Valiant”), was a key figure in the most important battle in the history of Lorca as a frontier town, which took place in 1452 and was fought between the Christians and the Moors at Los Alporchones.

In that year a large band of Moors had raided the Campo de Cartagena, and on their way back to Al-Andalús they were confronted by Alonso’s forces just outside Lorca. The battle ended in defeat for the raiders from Granada, and this marked the end of serious armed conflict in the area until the Reconquist was finally completed in 1492, when Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs as they are usually referred to, conquered Granada and expelled the Moors and Jewish population from Spain altogether.

See video below for information about the discovery of a Mediaeval Jewish Synagogue in Lorca castle:

Victory in 1452 swiftly brought glory to the city of Lorca. The following year, Pope Clement VII gave permission for the construction of the Collegiate Church of San Patricio, in commemoration of the date of the battle (17^th March, Saint Patrick’s Day).

The frontier was slowly pushed westwards, as a result of which the livestock farming activity around Lorca increased, and an association of livestock farmers was formed: this association included some of the most important families in the city, and was known as “La Mesta”.

Not long after the Battle of Los Alporchones the Catholic Monarchs came to the thrones of Castilla and Aragón in 1474 and 1479, and their marriage and the union of their kingdoms marked the start of a new era of wholesale changes in the life and mentality of society in the Iberian Peninsula. Within this context, though, there was still a noble élite, keen to reach the highest levels of political and economic power, and to receive landed property where they could rule with absolutism, overriding the power of any monarch. The Fajardo family was one of those which began fighting for space, although they had many competitors during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.

The 15^th century in Lorca was marked by this power struggle between the Fajardo family on the one hand and the collaborators with the Catholic Monarchs on the other.

During the Catholic Monarchs’ campaign against Granada, which ended with the expulsion of the Moors in 1492, Lorca was cast in the role of constantly harassing Al-Andalús in order to ensure that the Moors were forced to defend on various fronts, spreading their defences more thinly: still the city was more highly regarded for its military usefulness than for its peacetime activity.

Urban Development in Renaissance Lorca

With the fall of the last Moorish bastions in 1492, though, the dangers of being on the frontier were suddenly a thing of the past and a transformation began in Lorca, affecting not only the physical appearance of the city but also the development of trade, commerce, agriculture and livestock farming. Various public works were undertaken in the newly prosperous and peaceful city, and suddenly, at long last, there was an influx of immigrants, including stonemasons and builders.

One of the most emblematic buildings from this time is the Collegiate Church of San Patricio, which was completed in 1553 and quickly became the centre for all religious activity in the city, while the main monasteries (La Merced, Santo Domingo and San Francisco) were also established and flourished.

Within this new society a group of noble families took control of all the important political positions by buying titles from the Crown and living off the prestige they inherited from the heroic acts of their ancestors. With the appearance of this new nobility, coats of arms were displayed on the façades of prestigious houses as ostensible visual signs of the glorious past and the powerful present: these emblems brought upon Lorca the popular nickname of “Ciudad de los Cien Escudos” (city of the hundred coats of arms).

The re-structuring of the urban area brought about notable changes in the city. Now free from the threat of invasion, the city centre effectively moved out of the fortress, and churches gradually moved away from the higher ground to expanding areas (examples include those of San Mateo, Santiago and San Cristóbal). The buildings which came to be built during the 16^th century, and which form part of the city which can be seen today, show how Lorca recovered its role as a strategically important city, but this time in a climate of peace, and it quickly became a reference point for various towns in the previous kingdom of Granada. From a military point of view it was also a nerve centre for the defence of the coastline and during the uprising in the Alpujarras mountains between 1568 and 1571: troops were sent to the Battle of Ugíjar, where the Moors rebelled against Felipe II.

Apart from the beautification of the city, though, the 16^th century is significant because of the fall from power of the Fajardo family, caused by the gradual severance of the privileges they derived from the offices they held.

Despite continuing cycles of drought and epidemic which reduced the population significantly, there were other periods of economic prosperity based on the continuing success of livestock farming in the area. The government of the city was in the hands of the king’s representatives and the Mayor, who represented the king and the judicial authorities, and the old “Fuero” which had been approved by Alfonso X was disbanded by Carlos I.

But this new golden age for Lorca was not to last, as the 17^th century was marked by economic disaster and a falling population, ravaged by drought, earthquakes, floods and epidemics.

The final expulsion of the Moors in 1609 was the end of the Islamic presence in the city, and was a catalyst for a fall in population which brought about the gradual neglect of agriculture. At the same time the price of wool and silk fell disastrously, and religious fervour and the cult of the Virgin Mary spread throughout local society.

When the dam at Puentes collapsed in 1648 it was simply another in a long catalogue of disasters to affect the city during the century, including five years without rain at the start of the century, the river bursting its banks in 1651 and 1653, a plague of locusts which destroyed crops in 1647, the earthquake of 1674 … it’s not difficult to understand why people left the city in droves!

The War of Succession and the Reform Movement in Lorca

The 18^th century in Spain began with the War of the Spanish Succession, an international conflict between the dynasties of Austria and Borbón. Murcia took the winning side of the Borbóns, and although Lorca took no active part in the struggle it collaborated in maintaining the Borbón army, helping to provide military equipment and food by the collective donations made to the cause. In the military operations directed by Murcia’s Cardinal Belluga, forces from Lorca took part in the siege of Alicante castle, one of the centres of the Austrian resistance.

When the Borbóns finally won the throne a reform movement was instigated with the aim of maintaining the absolute power of the king, and some of the reforms instigated were against the interests of the local oligarchies, who were still the owners of both the land and the water supply.

Lorca and the surrounding area thus became a kind of reform laboratory at the end of the 18^th century, directed by the Count of Floridablanca, who placed his brother-in-law, Antonio Robles Vives, at the head of operations, and in this sense the city was one of those to benefit most from the Borbón reform program, receiving aid to construct new dams and reservoirs, which in turn provided crop irrigation. The dams of Puentes (the new one) and Valdeinfierno, as well as other essential water supply infrastructures, date from this period, and once they had been completed was even over-supply of some products, especially cereals and salsola, which were exported from the port of Águilas.

At this time in each of the three major cities of the Region of Murcia (Murcia, Cartagena and Lorca) the most powerful man was the “Corregidor”, the king’s representative, who was backed up by a “cabildo”, akin to a religious chapter but made up of individuals named by royalty.

The Baroque Period in Lorca

It was partly as a result of the benefits bestowed on Lorca during the Borbón reform program that the city at last shed its mediaeval past and moved decisively into the Modern era. The defensive city walls were dismantled and the population increased, spreading to the districts of San Cristóbal and San José.

The city recovered from the crises that had affected it in the 17^th century, basing its prosperity mainly on the successful agriculture in the area, and was modernized by urban reform projects. In the centre new buildings were erected, reformed or finished, including the Town Hall, the façade and the chapter rooms of the Collegiate Church of San Patricio, the Casa del Corregidor, the new farming deposit, and the Colegio de la Purísima.

One of the most notable achievements was without a doubt the Plaza Mayor of the city, now known as the Plaza de España, which at this time became a large quadrangular space in the Castilian style. A number of aristocratic houses also date from the same period, the most typically baroque examples being the Palacio de Guevara and the “Casa de las Columnas” (House of the Columns).

The fall of the Old Régime in the 19^th century

The nineteenth century began with a sharp rise in the population as primary industry developed, but there followed a crisis which was due to various factors, including the failure of the local agriculture to become integrated into national markets and the continual misfortunes which afflicted the municipality in the early years of the century. In 1802 the dam at Puentes again burst, causing a disaster in Lorca and ultimately signifying the failure of the water supply reforms. Over the next few years both the economy and the population of Lorca fell into decline.

The whole of the century reads like another catalogue of disasters: the War of Independence, epidemics of yellow fever and cholera, droughts and poor harvests. Other one-off events, such as the “Riada de Santa Teresa” in 1879, when the whole of the Region of Murcia suffered from flooding after a severe storm, seemed to be merely more nails in a well-prepared coffin.

As a backdrop, the Constitution of 1812 effectively ended the Old Regime in Spain and installed a liberal government, thus beginning a struggle between liberals and absolutists which marked the whole of the century.

In the first half of the century the population of the city fluctuated between 30,000 and 40,000 before then rising steadily, with the occasional blip reflecting epidemics and migrations, until by 1900 there were more than 79,000 inhabitants. The primary sector of industry, consisting mainly of cereal production, at times accounted for more than 70% of the economic activity in Lorca.

The boundaries of the municipality were altered various times during the century. In 1800 it included Águilas, Puerto Lumbreras and part of Mazarrón, but by 1900 it occupied more or less the same area as is the case today.

After some decades of crisis the church of San Patricio had its collegiate status withdrawn in 1851, but in Lorca there then began a process of economic recovery initiated by the local middle classes. In 1865 the city welcomed its first steam engine, and the completion of the railway lines from Lorca to Alcantarilla and Baza meant that it was integrated into national markets, making it an important transit point for the transport of manganese and sulphur from the coastal deposits to the interior of the peninsula.

This new period of recovery is reflected in various buildings constructed at the time in the city, such as the glorietas of San Vicente, the Teatro Guerra, the Casino Artístico y Literario and the Plaza de Toros.

When the First Republic was proclaimed in 1873 the dismantling of the old system of government began, and there was an outbreak of short-lived cantons soon afterwards, one of which was presided over by Antonio Osete in Lorca. Cartagena was the last of these cantons to be overcome, and the old Town Halls were reinstated, returning to the old system.

After the failures of the democratic monarchy and the attempt at Republicanism there came a Borbón restoration, overseen by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. This system was supported by the landed gentry, through a network of political friendships which prolonged the system of local chiefs and cliques and the peaceful alternation in power of liberals and conservatives.

The 20^th and 21^st centuries in Lorca

The 20^th century was one of progress for Lorca, as of course it was for the whole of Spain, including the introduction of technology, the gradual change of the structures of society, and the specialization of industry. At the start of the 1900s, intensive mining activity near the coast re-launched the economy of the area.

The Civil War paradoxically brought with it a recovery in Lorca’s population figures, although the figure failed to rise over the next two decades due to emigration.

Towards the middle of the century, interest began to be shown in industrializing production processes, especially in the agriculture sector. The water problem showed signs of being solved, and the centuries-old Alporchón water auctions were replaced by the Lorca Irrigation Improvement Plan. The Tajo-Segura water supply canal improved the situation still further in the Lorca countryside, and traditional arid farming was replaced more specialized agriculture which benefitted from irrigation, technological developments and chemical treatments, as well as the efforts to reach new markets.

After Franco died in 1975 the way to democracy was finally open, and the first post-Franco Mayor of Lorca was José López Fuentes.

By the end of the century Lorca had become an important centre of population and service industries, and the industrial estates on the road to Granada, in La Serreta and in the Barrio de San Cristóbal were making important contributions. These industrial estates were home to almost all the leather factories and tanneries, this sector having become one of the trademark activities in Lorca.

Crops such as artichokes, broccoli, lettuce and water melons were the main features of agriculture, and much of the workforce consisted of immigrants from other parts of Spain, the north of Africa and South America. Livestock farming was still an important part of the local economy, with numerous pig farms populating the surrounding countryside.

It was not until the final decade of the 20^th century that Lorca began to make an effort to attract “quality cultural tourism”, and was one of the forerunners in the Region of Murcia in terms of investing in new facilities to cater for the leisure expectations of residents and tourists alike. The castle was partially restored and opened to the public under the banner of the Lorca Taller del Tiempo project, and a Parador hotel opened alongside it: in the 21^st century Lorca has at last presented its credentials as a tourist destination, including not only its historical importance and monumental buildings, but also the elaborate embroideries and unparalleled spectacle of the Semana Santa celebrations every Easter.

But a drastic setback to the progress being made occurred on 11^th May 2011, when at precisely 17.05 and 18.47 two earthquakes measuring 4.5 and 5.1 on the Richter scale caused severe damage to buildings, both residential and monumental, in the city. They were followed by numerous aftershocks, and the death toll reached nine.

The task of rebuilding and restoring homes, monuments and historic buildings lasted the best part of six years – it was not until March 2017 that the Excolegiata de San Patricio officially re-opened – and it was only as a result of substantial subsidies from the national and regional governments that the project could be undertaken at all.

By 2017 Lorca was once again open for business, a host of new businesses rising like a phoenix from the rubble of the earthquake and many of the newly restored monuments in a better condition than for several centuries in some cases after an extensive restoration programme.

Click for more information about the Lorca municipality: LORCA TODAY