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Valencian Community History

Valencia went through periods of Roman and Moorish rule like much of the rest of Spain before it was released from the grip of colonisation thanks to the efforts of James I of Aragon during the Reconquista. Other surrounding taifas were liberated in between 1232 and 1237 before the Kingdom of Valencia was founded in 1238. It was incorporated into the Crown of Aragon which also featured the Kingdoms of Aragon and Catalonia. A third phase of reconquest swept through the area in the mid-1240s pushing the Moors further south but there was eventually Muslim rebellion that met the liberation in the years 1244, 1248 and 1276 in particular. In 1296 James I’s son James II made one last push towards the south to oust as much Moorish rule as possible. The move was successful and he did manage to take some areas and so the reconquest in the east was relatively brisk.

The 15th century was Valencia’s golden age with a prosperous economy, a booming Mediterranean trade, a growing textile industry and the presence of a stock exchange and silk exchange in the city of Valencia. However, 1479 brought about a significant shift in the history of the area as the Crowns of Castile and Aragon merged to form the Kingdom of Spain which coincided with a focus on empire growth at the expense of the health of the homelands. Indeed, other European cities grew at the expense of Valencia and so its profits began to diminish and a period of decline ensued.

The situated worsened in 1521 and 1522 when an economic crisis fed civil unrest. This deepened at the beginning of the 17th century with the removal of the mudejar which meant an obliterated work force and further economic troubles. The Kingdom collapsed altogether in 1707 after the War of Succession when King Philip V issued a new course of centralisation in doing so suppressing the Crown of Aragon and banning the Valencian language.

More recently in 1936, just before the Spanish Civil War and General Franco’s period of domination, Valencia attempted to enter into a period of self-government. This was promptly stamped out when the war broke out. However, approximately 40 years later Franco died and the new constitution granted regional independence to Spain’s communities. This was extended in 1982 and again in 2006 with the Statutes of Autonomy. .

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