Andalusia

Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía

85px Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Andalucía por sí, para España y la humanidad (Andalusia by herself, for Spain, and for humankind)
Anthem: La bandera blanca y verde
Capital	Seville
Official language(s)	Spanish
Area  – Total  – % of Spain	Ranked 2nd  87,268 km²  17.2%
Population  – Total (2006)  – % of Spain  – Density	Ranked 1st  7,975,672  17.84  91.39/km²
Demonym  – English  – Spanish	Andalusian  Andaluz, andaluza
Statute of Autonomy	December 30 1981
Parliamentary representation  – Congress seats  – Senate seats	62  40
President	Manuel Chaves González (PSOE)
ISO 3166-2	AN
Junta de Andalucía

Alamillo Bridge, Seville designed by Santiago Calatrava

Malecón of La Caleta, Cádiz

Andalusia, located in the southern portion of Spain, is one of the seventeen autonomous regions of the country. It contains eight distinct provinces, all with indivual cultural traditions and identity. With eight provinces : Almeria, Cadiz, Cordoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaen, Malaga, Seville , Andalusia boasts the largest population of any of the autonomous Spanish states. In terms of land mass, Andalusia is the second largest of the autonomous regions of Spain, second only to the region of Castilla y Leon.

Andlusia lies to the south of Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha, meeting the Mediterranean Sea on its southern border. It's eastern neighbor is the autonomous community of Murcia, while the country of Portugal lies along its western border. Past Portugal to the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. Andulalusia also conveninently located along the strait og Gilbraltar, the passsage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The prime position along the strait was also recognized by Great Britain, who controls a small area of land bordering Andalsia.

Geography

The terrain of Andalusia varies greatly depending on the area of the region. Towards the coast the terrain descends into the famous beaches of Spain, notable for their fine sands and constant sun. The weather along the coast is also far more temperate than the interior of the region, another reason that attracts the tourists. The beach, however, is not the only the only reason toursits flock to Andalusia. The mountains are also spectacular, and they most a unique combination of plant life and wildlife.

The main geographic feature of the region is the Andalusian Plain, which runs from the Sierra Morena in the north to the Sistema Penibetico in the south. The plain is fundamentally a large river valley that surrounds the Rio Guadlquivir, and it broadens whenever possible. The valley reaches its narrowest point where the Sierra Morena and the Sistema Penibetico meet int eh eastern portion of the region. Minor valley are also common in Andalusia, although none rival the breath and size of the Andalusian Plain.

Economy

Andalusia is particularly rich in natural resources, but, despite this fact, Andalusia continues to have one of the lowest GDP per capita in Spain . The economic difficulties of the region are commonly attributed to poor soil conditions. With rocky soil throughout the state and a subtropical climate, Andalusia is agriculturally comparable to North Africa. Major agriculural products of the region include olive oil and wine, whose production levels are gradually increasing with increasing mechanization. The natural wealth of the region is found in its mineral deposits, particularly copper, iron, zinc, and lead. These minerals have been drawn from the region since Phoenician and Roman times.

While the agricultural portions of the economy continue to struggle, the service sector is becoming a significant part of the national product of Andalusia. Manufacturing and service sectors are growing exponentially, with the growth rates in Andalusia exceeding those found elsewhere in Spain. High growth rates in the service sector are expected to continue, especially as tourism becomes more prominent in the area.

History

The earliest records of settled civilization in Andalusia describe colonial occupation in Pre-Roman times. In the early 12th century B.C.E. the Phoenician empire formed colonies along the coast to help with trade. The settlement founded by the Phoenicians was called Tartessos, which later rose to become a major political force in the region.

The colonies of the Phoenicians eventually declined in power following the dissolution of the Phoenician empire. The next major political force to emerge in the regian was the city of Carthage, whose emphasis on trade gave the straits of Gibraltor and the Andalusia region economic importance. As a trading center, Carthage saw the economic value of controlling the strait, and began a campaign to gain control of the region. Between the first and second Carthaginian wars, Carhage extended its power over Andalusia, using the coast to launch many of its invasions into Roman territory. Carthage, however, was unsucessful in its campaign against Rome. With the decline of Carthage, Andalusia remained for a brief period without a strong political identity. Rome stepped in to fill the power vacuum, renaming the area Betica.

Vandals and Visigoths

The Vandals moved briefly through the region during the 5th century CE before settling in North Africa, after which the region fell into the hands of the Kingdom of the Visigoths who had to face the Byzantine interests in the region.

Arabs and Moors

The Umayyad Caliphate invasion of the Iberian peninsula in 711-718 marked the collapse of Visigothic rule. Andalucian culture was deeply influenced by half a millennium of Muslim rule during the Middle Ages. Córdoba became the largest and richest city in Western Europe and one of the largest in the world. The Moors established universities in Andalucia, and cultivated scholarship, bringing together the greatest achievements of all of the civilisations they had encountered. During that period Moorish and Jewish scholars played a major part in reviving and contributing to Western astronomy, medicine, philosophy and mathematics. With the fall of Seville in 1248 most of Andalucia came under Castilian control, leaving only the emirate of Granada under Muslim rule until it too was conquered by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. The largest Arabic speaking population was in Andalucia, which also received Moors from other regions who were driven south by the Reconquista, and although many either converted or left later, they gave the region its distinctive character till this day.

Andalucia is known for its Moorish and Moorish influenced architecture. Notable examples include the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Córdoba, the Torre del Oro and Giralda towers. Other architectural styles include Mozarabic, such as the Reales Alcázares in Seville, and the Alcazaba in Málaga. Archaeological ruins include Medina Azahara, near Córdoba, and the Roman city of Itálica, near Seville, and at Palos, in the province of Huelva, the Andalusian port from which Columbus's expedition of discovery was launched.

The Spanish language spoken in the Americas is largely descended from the Andalusian dialect of Spanish. Although, the Spanish spoken at the Canary Islands resembles more the Spanish spoken in the Caribbean. This is due to the role played by Seville as the gateway to Spain's American territories during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Andalusia Day (in Spanish, Día de Andalucía) is celebrated on February 28, to commemorate the date of the successful referendum vote on autonomy.

Historical nationalities (Spanish: Nacionalidades históricas) in Spain is the term most commonly used to refer to regions that are granted by the 1978 Constitution a special status as autonomous communities. Other terms may also be employed in the particular Statute of Autonomy of each autonomous community. These regions are: Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia and Andalusia, all of them officially recognized as nationalities. The other 13 autonomous communities were granted less devolved powers and became autonomous communities by the so-called slow track.

They were intended to recognize the regions that had their statutes of autonomy in an advanced stage during the Second Spanish Republic. The term nationality was a consensous solution trying to conciliate the centralist and old-regime positions, who consider this regions part of the indivisible unity of Spain, with the nationalists, who consider this territories as nations (see also "Nationality" vs. "nation").

Actually, only the Catalan statute was active before the Spanish Civil War. Andalusia statute of autonomy was drawn and submitted by Blas Infante at the same time , then approved by parliament in June 1936, to be voted in referendum in September 1936. However the start of the Civil War in July and the assassination of Infante by Franco's rebels in August of the same year put an end to the autonomist project for Andalusia.

The Basque statute was approved during the war and was effective only on the limited part of the region under the control of the Basque Government.

As of 2007, the autonomous communities which are defined in their statutes of autonomy as nationalities , therefore legally recognised as such are:

Andalucía (1981 and 2006 statutes), Aragón (1996), Canary islands (1996), Catalonia (1979 and 2006), Valencia (1982 and 2006), Galicia (1981) and Basque Country (1979).

The Autonomous Comunitie of Andalusia is administrated through the "Junta de Andalucia" and is one of the 4 historic Autonomous Communities of Spain. It has a local parliament and president.

Culture

Andalusians have a rich culture which includes the famous flamenco style of music and dance. Flamenco is mostly performed by Gypsy people and popular throughout the world. Arab Muslims influence seems common, and more inherent than in the rest of Spain.

Improvised flamenco songs of ancient Andalusian origin are called cante jondo, and are characterized by a reduced tonal ambiance, a lack of rhythm, baroque ornamentation and repetition of notes. Cante jondo is sung by a single singer (Cantaor).

External links

• Official Tourism Website of Andalusia
• History of the Andalusian Flag
• Andalucia Photo and History Pages
• FiestasdeAndalucia.com Fairs and traditional fiestas of Andalusia

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