Moguer

Moguer is in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula, in the so-called Tierra Llana ("Flatland") of the province of Huelva. On the north it is bounded by the Río Tinto, the municipalities of Huelva, Niebla and San Juan del Puerto; on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and Palos de la Frontera; on the west by the Río Tinto and Palos de la Frontera; and on the east by Almonte and Lucena del Puerto.

The urban centre of Moguer is located at 37° 16′ N, 6° 50′ W, at an altitude of 51 metres (167 ft), 19 kilometres (12 mi) from the provincial capital Huelva, and 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Andalusian capital Seville. It is very close to Palos de la Frontera, and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the beaches of Mazagón; all of these are within the mancomunidad Moguer-Palos de la Frontera and the larger Comarca Metropolitana de Huelva. Its surface area is 204 square kilometres (79 sq mi).

The main access to Moguer is from the north by means of the Autovía A-49/E-1 by way of the autonomic route. It can also be reached by the national N-422 and the provincial from Palos de la Frontera, the autonomic A-494 from the municipality of Almonte, and the autonomic A-486 from Lucena del Puerto.

The urban centre of Moguer is accessed from the A-494 by the avenues Hermanos Niño, Quinto Centenario, de la Virgen, and de América and from the Carretera de la Marisma by the Calle de la Ribera.[4] The urban centre of Mazagón is accessed from the A-494 by the Avenida de los Conquistadores (west), and the Calle El Dorado, Avenida del Arroyo de la Miel, and Avenida de los Conquistadores (east).[5]

Moguer is located in sandy clay Pliocene–Quaternary land. It can be divided into three regions: countryside, wetlands or marsh, and coast. The Río Tinto and its marsh make up the predominant landscape of the northern part of the municipality. On the south are 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of virgin beaches and the sand hills and gullies of the Arenas Gordas. The rest of the territory is the countryside, cut by the streams Galarín and Montemayor, tributaries of the Río Tinto; other streams are the Arroyo de Angorrilla, Arroyo de la Monjas, Cañada del Peral and Arroys de la Grulla in the Domingo Rubio estuary, and the Arroyo de las Madres in the Las Madres lagoon. In some places, lower strata have worn away, leaving curved outcroppings known as cabezos (from the Spanish cabeza, head).

Being located near the coast of the province of Huelva, Moguer has a Mediterranean climate (transitional between subtropical and temperate) with an Atlantic influence. Moguer is among the warmest and sunniest cities in Europe. The temperature regime is maritime, with an annual average of 19.2 °C (66.6 °F), and the city receives 2,984 hours of sun annually.[6]

July is the hottest month with some temperatures exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). January is the coolest, with lows of 7 °C (45 °F) and highs of 17 °C (63 °F).

The origin of human settlement in Moguer is lost in the remoteness of history and is surrounded by legend, as is the case for all the lands near the mouth of the Río Tinto. The current municipality of Moguer was a focus of attraction for the people of the Iberian interior and of the eastern Mediterranean since ancient times, as evidenced by Neolithic, Phoenician and Roman archaeological remains.[11] Between the years 150 BCE – 114 BCE Hispano-Romans established industries along the river Urium (Tinto), a natural route for travel and commerce used by various cultures over the course of history. Originally Urium was a Roman town with a tower for defense, built roughly between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE. Remains of amphorae, coins, bricks, tegulae with potter's marks and a fragment of 2nd-century CE Terra sigillata (a type of decorated pottery) confirm the existence of several Roman settlements with the limits of the present-day municipality of Moguer.[11]

With the arrival of Muslims the farmstead of Mogauar or Mogur belonged to the Taifa of Niebla. Surviving buildings from this period include the Almohad Castle of Moguer, the underground reservoir which is under the parade ground, the fountain known as the Fuente de Pinete, the Fuente de Montemayor, and archaeological remains[11] of Arab settlements in the rural zones of Rendón, las Cacerías, and Manzote.

During the Reconquista, Moguer was conquered by the Order of Santiago around 1239–1240, along with other enclaves of historic Algarve, and annexed to Castile.

In 1333, the village of Moguer became the first seigneury in the area, granted by Alfonso XI of Castile to Alonso Jofré Tenorio, Staff Admiral (Almirante Mayor) of Castile.[12] Under this nobleman, Moguer became a prosperous town. Besides the existing Almohad castle, Moguer acquired the Monastery of Santa Clara and a Franciscan convent. On his death, the seigneury passed to his daughter María Tenorio, wife of Martín Femández Portocarrero, and later to their son Alonso Femández Portocarrero, to whose lineage it would remain connected. The Casa de Portocarrero enlarged the town with the construction of the 15th-century San Francisco Convent; the old Franciscan convent became the Corpus Christi Hospital, a hospital for the poor.

The House of Portocarrero were Grandees, wealthy upper nobility, with close connections to the royal court. In 1375 the Señorío de Moguer became a majorat (Spanish: mayorazgo). Like any feudal lords, the lords of Moguer exercised control over the municipal government. Moguer soon became a prominent Andalusian fishing town, thanks mainly to the Portocarrero's policy of attracting additional settlement.

The town of Moguer gained distinction for various services provided to the Crown by its successive lords. In 1369, Henry II of Castile granted it the title of Muy Leal ("Very Loyal"); in 1642, Philip IV of Spain designated Moguer a city, and gave its council the right to use the coat of arms of the Portocarrero; and in 1779, Charles III distinguished it again with the titles of Muy Noble and Muy Leal ("Very Noble" and "Very Loyal"). Because of this, Moguer is known as the "Very Noble and twice Very Loyal City" of Moguer.

The economy of Moguer in the 15th century was based in agriculture, fishing, and mercantile activities. in 1489 the Catholic Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand granted a seguro (?)[13] to ships arriving at the river port of Moguer from the Canary Islands, North Africa and Atlantic European countries. Beginning in the 15th century, Moguer had a loading wharf for loading and discharging merchandise, a carriageway, shipyards, and an alota that was, together with Huelva and Palos, among the most active on the Huelva coast.

Replica of the caravel Niña, which belonged to the Niño brothers of Moguer.

Toward the end of the 15th century, the town had a population of about 5,000, and a city centre with several arterial roads, dominated by the Paris Church of Our Lady of Granada, the castle, the San Francisco convent and the Santa Clara monastery. There was much economic activity and the many ships visited the port. This was the situation of Moguer when it played a significant role in the first voyage of Christopher Columbus.[13]

Moguer provided some of the sailors for the voyage, as well as the caravel, Niña, built in Moguer around 1488 and apparently owned by the Niño brothers of Moguer. On several occasions, Columbus came to Moguer seeking help. Ultimately, he gained the important support of the Niño brothers; the cleric Martín Sánchez; the landowner Juan Rodríguez Cabezudo (who took custody of Columbus's son Diego while Columbus went on his first voyage); and Inés Enríquez, abbess of the Santa Clara Monastery and aunt of King Ferdinand.

The Catholic Monarchs had ordered the towns of the Andalusian coasts to provide assistance to Columbus[14] and by means of a commission directed the town of Moguer to comply with this provision.[15] Columbus seized two boats in Moguer in the presence of the notary Moguer Alonso Pardo; these boats were later discarded as unsuitable on the advice of Martín Alonso Pinzón.

Later, upon his arrival from America, Columbus came promptly to the church of the Monastery of Santa Clara to fulfill a vow made when the Niña encountered a severe storm on the return voyage.[16]

During the sixteenth century, the village went through an era of commercial prosperity centered on colonization of, and trade with, the Americas. Many moguereños participated in the discovery and evangelization of the new lands,[17] among them Pedro Alonso Niño, discoverer of the coasts of Paria (Venezuela); Bartolome Ruiz, navigator, pilot on the "Famous Thirteen" expedition Francisco Pizarro and hence co-discoverer and of the Pacific; fray Antonio de Olivares, founder of the city of San Antonio, Texas; Alonso Vélez de Mendoza, leader of the group who repopulated the island of Santo Domingo (Hispaniola); the Franciscan Quintero, who accompanied the expedition of Hernán Cortés to Mexico; fray Andrés de Moguer, the first chronicler of Mexico; Diego García de Moguer, who took part with Ferdinand Magellan on the first trip around the world; and Juan Ladrillero, considered an independent discoverer of the Straits of Magellan.

The seventeenth century was a time of hardship for the Spanish monarchy, and Moguer could not escape this situation. The population decreased significantly. Nonetheless, the rise of Moguer in terms of relative importance was recognized in 1642 when Philip IV granted Moguer the title of a "city" (ciudad).

The eighteenth century was characterized by economic, political and technical stability. Land, controlled in large part by the local oligarchy, continued to be much in demand by moguereños, who purchased small tracts. As for commerce, the wine industry grew, supplying Cádiz and exporting to an expanding market in the Americas, Russia and other countries in Europe, as well as supplying the Spanish Royal Navy.

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake caused extensive damage in the city,[13] leaving only the strongest buildings standing: part of the castle, the Santa Clara Monastery and the Chapel of the Hospital. Other buildings had to be rebuilt or restored—as was the Convent of San Francisco, rebuilt in the mannerist style—or built from scratch—as were the city hall, a masterpiece of civil Baroque, or the Parish Church of Our Lady of Granada, which retained only its original 14th-century tower. Because of the dramatic 18th-century increase in the population, this church was enlarged to cathedral proportions, with five naves, the highest and widest being the central nave. For wartime services to the Crown against England, in 1779 Charles III granted the City of Moguer the titles of Muy Noble and Muy Leal ("Very Noble" and "Very Loyal").

The story of 19th-century Moguer is essentially that of 19th-century Spain. At the beginning of the century, Moguer was the most populous centre in its part of Spain (7,200 inhabitants) followed by Huelva. The French invasion during the Peninsular War left a general sense of provisionality and bewilderment. Briefly in the 1822 territorial division of Spain and then permanently in the 1833 division, a province was established with Huelva as its capital, despite a long and bitter verbal struggle to make Moguer the capital of the new politico-administrative unit. Moguer remained, however, as head of a new legal district (partido judicial) and notarial and registrational districts (distritos notorial y registral) having also comarcal courts, a court of first instance and an examining magistrates court (Juzgados comarcal, de Instancia y de Instrucción). Ecclesiastically, Moguer had been the seat of the vicarage of the same name since the mid-15th century and also core of a deanery (arciprestazgo) whose area was broader than the old parish, which only extended as far as Palos de la Frontera.

The end of noble and ecclesiastical territorial privileges had a strong effect on local economic structures, especially with respect to the Church. The First Spanish Republic (1873–1874) also left its mark with the construction of road and bridge over the Río Tinto, basic infrastructures for the development of the municipality. In 1899 Moguer had 8,523 inhabitants, of whom 99 percent were farmworkers. Wine remained Moguer's fundamental product and the river natural means to export that wine, although traffic to the river port had declined sharply due to silting that decreased the depth of the channel.

On 23 December 1881, poet Juan Ramón Jiménez—author of Platero y yo and winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize for Literature—was born in the house at number 1, Calle de la Ribera.[18] The centuries-old strategy of economic prosperity based on the wine industry was frustrated in the early 20th century by the infestation of phylloxera. The population began to decline unstoppably until the industrial development of Huelva in the 1960s and, most importantly, until the adoption of strawberries as a crop in the 1970s. Moguer is now Spain's principal producer of strawberries,[3] which has led to great population growth in recent decades.

Now, in the early 21st century, the economy of Moguer is largely driven by the growth of strawberries and raspberries; the construction industry and service sectors are also strong.

The local economy has long been based in seafaring and fishing, but above all in agriculture: cereals and olives, then later wine grapes, strawberries, and raspberries have long been the basis of the economy. The strong current growth is based on crop irrigation, and primarily on strawberries and, secondarily, raspberries. These have been the economic engine underlying other activities. Other rain-fed farming continues in the traditional growing area near the town of Moguer, but is less profitable.

The irrigation has been made possible by community three groupings of growers: C.R. de Valdemar, C.R. de Palos and C.R. del Fresno.

The businessman Antonio Medina Lama began the first local experiments with growing stawberries on his "La Madre" farm in the late 1970s. Over the years, cultivation techniques were improved[20] to the point of becoming the basis of the local economy. Berries are grown by intensive hydroponic methods in transparent plastic tunnels, on top of a black plastic base, using drip irrigation to supply water and nutrients.

As of 2008, 2,278 hectares (5,630 acres) in the municipality are devoted to growing strawberries, making Moguer Spain's leading municipality in this crop.[2] Moguer's production is 27.5 percent of the national total of 8,296 hectares (20,500 acres) and 32.3 percent of the Andalusian total 7,060 hectares (17,400 acres) nearly all of which (6,800 hectares (17,000 acres)) is in the province of Huelva.

In the 2000s, production has diversified to include raspberries,[2] Japanese persimmon and Northern highbush blueberry.

The Casa Consistorial.

The municipal hall (Spanish: ayuntamiento), known as the Casa Consistorial, is located in the Plaza del Cabildo, in the historic center of Moguer. Expansion of local government in recent years has been accommodated by new buildings, rather than by adding onto this small historic building. Social Affairs (Asuntos Sociales) is located on Calle Daniel Vázquez Díaz and Urban Planning (Urbanismo) on Calle Andalucía. The municipal archive also has a new facility, opened in 1994 in a portion of the San Francisco Convent. The most recent archives remain on the upper floor of the municipal hall.

In the municipal and regional elections of 2007 the Juan José Volante Padilla of the right-of-centre People's Party (Partido Popular, PP), was reelected to the mayoralty, which he has held since 2003.

The Municipal Corporation comprises 17 councillors. In the municipal elections of May 27, 2007, the PP won 9 council seats with 45.73 percent of the votes, while the left-of-centre Spanish Socialist Workers' Party-Andalusia (Partido Socialista Obrero Español-Andalucía, PSOE-A) won 6 seats with 30.19 percent. The Asociación de Vecinos de Mazagón (AVEMA, the Neighborhood Association of Mazagón) won 2 seats and 13.32 percent of the votes. Two other groupings, the Partido Independiente de Mazagón (PIM, Mazagón Independent Party) and the left-of-centre Andalusian nationalist Andalusian Party also ran, but did not obtain representation, in the 2007 elections.[21]

If one takes into account the Union of the Democratic Centre (Unión de Centro Democrático, UCD), predecessor to the PP, this is roughly representative of the major parties in local politics in the years since the Spanish transition to democracy. The United Left (Izquierda Unida, IU) has also elected councilors on several occasions, as has the Andalusian Party. AVEMA has been a force in local politics since the 1995–1999 legislative session. PIM was newly formed in 2007.

The fourth Thursday of each month, at 20:00, the Council of Moguer holds its plenary sessions, open to the public at large. The sessions of the commission of government are on the first and third Friday of each month. The informative committees "Urban and Internal Regime", "Social Welfare", and "Economy and Development" are held on the first, second and third Thursday, respectively.[22] Other components of local administration are the Municipal Culture Foundation, the Municipal Patronate of Sports and the company housing and land company "Envisur".

The city of Moguer has three types of security forces:

• The local police, headquartered in the Casa Consistorial, on the side facing Calle Obispo Infante, with about 30 officers.
• The Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), with a barracks on the Avenida de la Constitución.
• Civil defense (Protección Civil), in the Plaza 12 de Octubre, with a significant number of volunteers.

Moguer is seat of legal district (partido judicial) number 6 of the province of Huelva,[23] encompassing the towns of Moguer, Niebla, Bonares, Lucena del Puerto, and Palos de la Frontera. The court facilities are located on the Calle de San Francisco and consist of two courts of first instance and an examining magistrates court.[24]

Moguer has two health centres, both part of the Andalusian Health Service (Servicio Andaluz de Salud, SAS):

• Health Centre of Moguer: Located on Calle Castillo, 6.[25]
• Health Centre of Mazagón: Located on Calle Buenos Aires, no number.[25]

The town has the following schools:

• Nursery schools: Two municipal schools[26] (C.A.S.E.I. Municipal El gato con botas ("Puss in Boots") in Moguer and C.A.S.E.I. Municipal El Farito (diminutive of Faro, "lighthouse") in Mazagón and the private El barquito de papel ("The Little Paper Boat") in Moguer.
• Early childhood education and primary schools:[27] Pedro Alonso Niño School, Virgin of Montemayor School, Zenobia Camprubí School (all in Moguer) and El Faro School in Mazagón.
• Secondary schools: Juan Ramón Jiménez Institute of Secondary Education and Francisco Garfias Institute of Secondary Education in Moguer, El Faro Institute of Secondary Education in Mazagón.
• Continuing education (Educación Permanente):[27] Camarina Section in Moguer and El Vígia Section in Mazagón.

The municipality has two multi-sport centres (polideportivos):

• Polideportivo de Moguer: Located on Avenida del V Centenario. It consists of two football (soccer) fields, one of albero (a type of soil also used in bullrings) and the other of artificial turf, with bleachers; a running track for athletics goes around the perimeter of the latter; four paddleball courts; an area of sand for beach volleyball; two covered pavilions with bleachers; two covered multi-sport facilities; six outdoor courts: two for futsal, two for tennis, and one each for basketball and volleyball; and an outdoor pool.
• Polideportivo de Mazagón: Located on avenida de Santa Clara. It consists of one football (soccer) field of albero, with bleachers; a covered pavilion with bleachers; four outdoor courts: one for futsal, one for tennis, and two for basketball.

There are several teams that compete in these facilities. The most notable is the Club Balonmano Pedro Alonso Niño, which plays in the national first division for handball.

• Washington Irving, extract from Voyages and discoveries of the Companions of Columbus about his visit to Moguer, Available online on Google Books.

• ——, Moguer 500 Años. Catálogo de la Exposición. (Iglesia de San Francisco de Moguer, 3 agosto – 2 septiembre 1992). Ayuntamiento de Moguer, 1992.
• Álvarez Josué, Aurelio, Moguer en la época de Carlos III. Edición, introducción, notas y transcripción de documentos de Diego Ropero-Regidor. Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 1. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2002. (ISBN 84-607-5467-7)
• Borda Camacho, Germán, Visiones de Pero Alonso Niño, descubridor de America. Ed. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2001.
• Díaz Domínguez, Manuel: Religiosidad popular en la ciudad de Moguer (1400–1936). Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 4. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal de Cultura, Moguer, 2005.
• Díaz Roca, José Antonio: Vida y semblanza de Fray Joaquín Infantes Macías. Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2007.
• Fernández Vial, Ignacio; Ollero Marín, Álvaro, Las tres carabelas. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 1998. (ISBN 84-8163-139-6)
• Fernández Vial, Ignacio, Los marinos descubridores onubenses. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 2004. (ISBN 84-8163-352-6)
• González Gómez, Antonio, Moguer en la Baja Edad Media. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 1976. (ISBN 84-500-1614-2 )
• González Gómez, Juan Miguel, El Monasterio de Santa Clara de Moguer. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 1978. (ISBN 84-00-03752-9)
• Moreno Orta, Juan Manuel, Eulalia Ruiz de Clavijo, primera mujer procuradora de los Tribunales en España. Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 3. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2004. (ISBN 84-607-9980-8)
• Ropero Regidor, Diego. La "Niña II" Aventura transoceánica por la ruta del primer viaje colombino : historia y documentos Caja Provincial de Ahorros, 1987)
• Ropero Regidor, Diego. Los lugares colombinos y su entorno. Fundación Ramón Areces, Madrid, 1992. (ISBN 978-84-8004-027-3)
• Ropero Regidor, Diego. Moguer y America en la era de los descubrimientos. Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 2. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2003. (ISBN 84-607-8932-2)
• Vilaplana, María Asunción, La colección diplomática de Santa Clara de Moguer. Universidad de Sevilla. Secretariado de Publicaciones. Sevilla, 1975. (ISBN 978-84-600-6555-5)

• Hdad. Ntro. Padre Jesús de Moguer
• Hdad. Vera Cruz de Moguer
• Hdad. Borriquita de Moguer

• Saenz's Wineries (D.O. Condado de Huelva)
• Freshuelva, producer of strawberries
• Grufesa. Strawberry Cooperative Grufesa of Moguer.