Aragon, occupying the northeast of the
Iberian Peninsula has served as a bridge between the
Mediterranean Sea, the peninsular center and the coasts of the
Cantabrian Sea. The human presence in the lands that today form the autonomous community date back several millennia, but present-day Aragon, like many of the current historical nationalities, was formed during the
Middle Ages.
Prehistory in Aragon The oldest testimonies of human life in the lands that today make up Aragon go back to the time of the glaciations, in the
Pleistocene, some years ago. This population left the Acheulean industry that found its best weapons in the
hand axes of
flint or the
cleavers of
quartzite. In the
Upper Palaeolithic appeared two new cultures: Solutrean and Magdalenian. The
Epipaleolithic was centered in
Lower Aragon, occupying the epoch between the 7th and the 5th millennium. In the first half of the 5th millennium
BCE,
Neolithic remains are found in the Huescan Outer Ranges and in Lower Aragon. The
Eneolithic was characterized in the
province of Huesca presenting two important megalithic nuclei: the
Pre-Pyrenees of the Outer Ranges and the High Pyrenean valleys. The Late
Bronze Age begins in Aragon around 1100 BCE with the arrival of the
Urnfield culture. They are Indo-European people, with an alleged origin in Central Europe, who incinerate their dead by placing the ashes in a funeral urn. There are examples in the Cave del Moro of
Olvena, the Masada del Ratón in
Fraga, Palermo and the Cabezo de Monleón in
Caspe. From the metallurgical point of view there seems to be a boom given the increase in foundry molds that are located in the populations. The
Iron Age is the most important, since throughout the centuries it is the true substratum of the Aragonese historical population. The arrival of Central Europeans during the
Bronze Age by
Pyrenees until reaching the Lower Aragon area, supposed an important ethnic contribution that prepared the way to the invasions of Iron Age.
Ancient history found in
Tarazona The
Mediterranean contributions represented a commercial activity that will constitute a powerful stimulus for the iron metallurgy, promoting the modernization of the tools and the indigenous armament, replacing the old bronze with the iron. There is presence of
Phoenician,
Greek and
Etruscan products. In the 6th century BCE there are six groups with different social organization:
Vascones,
Suessetani,
Sedetani,
Iacetani,
Ilergetes and Citerior
Celtiberians. They are
Iberized groups with a tendency towards stability, fixing their habitat in durable populations, with dwellings that evolve towards more enduring and stable models. There are many examples in Aragon, among them Cabezo de Monleón in
Caspe, Puntal of
Fraga, Roquizal del Rullo or Loma de los Brunos. The type of social organization was based on the family group, consisting of four generations. Self-sufficient societies in which the greater part of the population was dedicated to agricultural and livestock activities. In the Iberian scope the power was monarchical, exercised by a king; there was a democratic assembly with participation of the male population. There were visible social differentiations and established legal-political statutes. The
Romans arrived and progressed easily into the interior. In the territorial distribution that Rome made of
Hispania, the current Aragon was included in the
Hispania Citerior. In the year 197 BCE,
Sempronius Tuditanus is the praetor of the Citerior and had to face a general uprising in their territories that ended with the Roman defeat and the own death of Tuditanus. In view of these facts the
Senate sent the consul
Marcus Porcius Cato with an army of men. The indigenous peoples of the area were rebelling, except for the
Ilergetes who negotiated peace with Cato. There were different uprisings of the Iberian peoples against the Romans, in 194 BCE sees a general uprising with elimination of half of the Roman army, in 188 BCE
Manlius Acidinus Fulvianus, praetor of the Citerior, must confront in Calagurris (
Calahorra) with the
Celtiberians, in the 184 BCE Terentius Varro did it with the
Suessetani, to those who took the capital, Corbio. In the 1st century BCE Aragon was the scene of the
civil war to seize the power of
Rome where the governor
Quintus Sertorius made Osca (
Huesca) the capital of all the territories controlled by them. silver from
Huesca Already in the 1st century BCE, the today Aragonese territory became part of the province
Tarraconensis and there was the definitive romanization of it creating roads and consolidating ancient Celtiberian and Iberian cities such as
Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), Turiaso (
Tarazona), Osca (
Huesca) or
Bilbilis (Calatayud). In the middle of the 3rd century the decay of the
Roman Empire began. Between the years 264 and 266 the
Franks and the
Alemanni, two Germanic peoples who passed through the
Pyrenees and came to
Tarazona, which they sacked. In the agony of the Empire groups of bandits emerged who were dedicated to pillage. The
Ebro Valley was ravaged in the 5th century by several gangs of evildoers called
Bagaudae.
Middle Ages ,
Graus) , of the 11th century, was residence of the
Banu Hud kings of the
Taifa of Saraqusta. After the disintegration of the
Western Roman Empire, the current area of Aragon was occupied by the
Visigoths, forming the
Visigothic Kingdom. In the year 714
muslims from North Africa conquered the central area of Aragon, converting to
Islam the ancient Roman cities such as
Saraqusta (Zaragoza) or Wasqa (
Huesca). It was at this time that an important
Muwallad family arose, the
Banu Qasi (بنو قاسي), their domains were located in the
Ebro Valley between the 8th and 10th centuries. After the disappearance of the
Caliphate of Córdoba at the beginning of the 11th century, the
Taifa of Zaragoza arose, one of the most important
Taifas of
Al-Andalus, leaving a great artistic, cultural and philosophical legacy. The name of Aragon is documented for the first time during the
Early Middle Ages in the year 828, when the small
County of Aragon of
Frankish origin, would emerge between the rivers that bear its name, the
Aragón river, and its brother the
Aragón Subordán river. was built and expanded to serve as a frontier advance towards Muslim territories. It is one of the most important intact Romanesque castles in Europe. . In its Royal Pantheon a good number of kings of Aragon and some kings of Navarre are buried. That County of Aragon would be linked to the
Kingdom of Pamplona until 1035, and under its wing it would grow to form a dowry of
García Sánchez III of Pamplona until the death of the king
Sancho "the Great", in a period characterized by Muslim hegemony over almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. During the reign of
Ramiro I of Aragon the borders would be extended following the annexation of the counties of
Sobrarbe and
Ribagorza (year 1044), after having incorporated the populations of the historical comarca of
Cinco Villas. In 1076, on the death of
Sancho IV of Pamplona, Aragon incorporated part of the Navarrese kingdom into its territories while Castile did the same with the western area of the former domains of Sancho "the Great". During the reigns of
Sancho Ramírez and
Peter I of Aragon and Pamplona, the kingdom extended its borders to the south, established threatening fortresses in the capital of Zaragoza in
El Castellar and
Juslibol and took
Huesca, which became the new capital. The reign of
Alfonso I of Aragon saw the conquering of the lowlands of the middle Ebro Valley for Aragon:
Ejea de los Caballeros,
Valtierra,
Calatayud,
Tudela and
Zaragoza, the capital of the
Taifa of Saraqusta. Upon his death the nobles would choose his brother
Ramiro II of Aragon, who left his religious life to assume the royal scepter and perpetuate the dynasty, which he achieved with the dynastic union of the
House of Aragon with the owner of the
County of Barcelona in 1137, year in which the union of both patrimonies would give rise to the
Crown of Aragon and would add the forces that would make the conquests of the
Kingdom of Majorca and the
Kingdom of Valencia possible. The Crown of Aragon would become the hegemonic power of the Mediterranean, controlling territories as important as
Sicily,
Corsica,
Sardinia or
Naples. The monarch was known as King of Aragon and also held the titles of
King of Valencia,
King of Majorca (for a time),
Count of Barcelona,
Lord of Montpellier, and (temporarily)
Duke of Athens and
Neopatria. Each of these titles gave him sovereignty over the specific region, and the titles changed as territories were lost and won. According to
Aragonese law, the monarch had to swear allegiance to the kingdom's laws before being accepted as king. Like other Pyrenean and Basque realms, the Aragonese justice and decision-making system was based on Pyrenean
consuetudinary law, the King was considered
primus inter pares ('first among equals') within the nobility. A nobleman with the title "
Chustizia d'Aragón" acted as ombudsman and was responsible for ensuring that the King obeyed the Aragonese laws. An old saying goes, "en Aragón antes de Rey hubo Ley" ("in Aragon Law came before King"), similar to the saying in Navarre, "antes fueron Leyes que Reyes", with much the same meaning. The subsequent legend made the
Aragonese monarchy eligible and created a phrase for the coronation of the king that would be perpetuated for centuries: in the middle of the 15th century This situation would be repeated in the Commitment of Caspe (1412), which avoids a war that had dismembered the
Crown of Aragon when a good handful of aspirants to the throne emerged after the death of
Martin of Aragon a year after the death of his first-born,
Martin I of Sicily.
Ferdinand I of Aragon is the chosen one, of the Castilian
House of Trastámara, but also directly connected with the Aragonese king
Peter IV of Aragon, through his mother Eleanor of Aragon. Aragon was already a large-scale political entity: the Crown, the
Cortes, the
Deputation of the Kingdom and the
Foral Law constituted its nature and its character. The marriage of
Ferdinand II of Aragon with
Isabella I of Castile, celebrated in 1469 in
Valladolid, derived later in the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, creating the basis of the
Modern State.
Early Modern Age c. 1500–1789 The
Early Modern Age was marked by increasing tension between the power of the
Spanish Monarchy and those of the regions. The appointment of a Castilian as Viceroy in 1590, contrary to the agreement all Royal officials be Aragonese caused widespread unrest; when the Madrid authorities attempted to arrest the Aragonese writer and politician Antonio Perez in May 1591, it caused street violence in Zaragossa and a revolt known as the Alterations of Aragon. The unrest was largely confined to Zaragossa and quickly suppressed, with Perez going into exile. Philip then ordered a reduction in the proportion of taxes retained by the Generality of Aragon to lessen their capacity to raise an army against him. based on that of
João Baptista Lavanha published circa 1640 The decay of independent institutions meant political activity focused instead on the preservation of Aragonese history, culture and art. The Archive of the Kingdom of Aragon preserved legal documents and records from the Justiciar and the
Palace of Deputation or Parliament, largely destroyed by the French in the battles of 1809. Debates on the causes of the 1590/91 revolt became a contest between opposing views of history that arguably persist in modern Spain. The new emphasis on Aragonese history led to the creation of the position of Chronicler or Historian of Aragon; its holders included
Jerónimo Zurita y Castro, the De Argensola brothers,
Bartolomé and
Lupercio, Juan Costa and Jerónimo Martel. Much of the work produced by Aragonese writers challenged Philip II's version of events and were censored by the central government. In retaliation, the Generality of Aragon ordered the work of Castilian historian
Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas to be burned and commissioned Vicencio Blasco de Lanuza to write an alternative. His 'History of Aragon' was published in two volumes, 1616 and 1619 respectively; the urgency shows the importance placed on responding to Herrera. Other works commissioned at this time for the same purpose include a
History of the Aragonese Deputation by Lorenzo Ibáñez de Aoiz and a detailed cartography of the Kingdom of Aragon by João Baptista Lavanha. In 1590–1591, the Spanish monarchy was at the height of its strength but during the 17th century Spanish power declined for a number of reasons. Famine, disease and almost continuous warfare, largely in the Spanish Netherlands drained money, energy and men and weakened the economy; it is estimated the population of Spain fell nearly 25% between 1600 and 1700. War and economic decline inevitably led to increases in taxes, with predictable results; the refusal of the Catalan
Cortes to contribute their share of the 1626
Union of Arms eventually led to a full-scale revolt in 1640. While Aragon itself remained relatively peaceful, it had to be treated with care by the Madrid government; during the reign of
Charles II from 1665 to 1700, it provided his half-brother
John of Austria with a power base in his battle for control of government with the Queen Regent
Mariana of Austria. During the 1701–1714
War of the Spanish Succession, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Majorca supported the Austrian claimant
Charles. The victory of
Philip V accelerated the trend towards greater centralisation; the
Nueva Planta decrees of 1707 abolished the
fueros and Aragonese political structures with their powers transferred to the Deputation of the Kingdom in Madrid; Aragon and Valencia were brought into the system in 1712, Catalonia and Majorca following in 1767.
1790–1936 , 1820 The French invasion of 1808 that made
Joseph Bonaparte King led to the outbreak of the
Guerra de la Independencia Española or War of Independence in May. Zaragoza was largely destroyed in February 1809 during the
Second Siege of Zaragoza, bringing a halt to its economic development. The 1812 Constitution proposed a number of reforms, including the creation of provincial territories and dividing Aragon into the four provinces of
Calatayud,
Teruel,
Soria and
Guadalajara. However, these reforms were delayed by
Ferdinand VII's refusal to accept the constitution and finally implemented in 1822 during the 1820–23
Trienio Liberal. When Ferdinand was restored by French Bourbon forces in 1823, he abolished the Constitution along with the provincial reforms. When he died in 1833, the
provincial division of 1833 divided Aragon into its current three provinces. , February 1809, painted by Lejeune Throughout the 19th century, Aragon was a stronghold of the
Carlists, who offered to restore the
fueros and other rights associated with the former
Kingdom of Aragon. This period saw a massive exodus from the countryside into the larger cities of Aragon such as
Huesca,
Zaragoza,
Teruel or
Calatayud and other nearby regions, such as
Catalonia or
Madrid. The history of Aragon in the first half of the 20th century was similar to that of the rest of Spain; the building of infrastructure and reforms made by
Miguel Primo de Rivera led to a brief economic boom, with new civil and individual liberties during the
Second Spanish Republic. In June 1936, a draft Statute of Autonomy of Aragon was presented to the
Cortes Generales but the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War prevented the development of this autonomist project.
Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 During the
1936–1939 Civil War, Aragon was divided between both sides. The eastern area closer to Catalonia was run by the Republican
Regional Defence Council of Aragon, while the larger western area was controlled by the
Nationalists. Some of the most important battles of the war were fought in or near Aragon, including
Belchite,
Teruel and
Ebro. After the defeat of the
Republic in April 1939, Aragon and the rest of Spain was governed by the
Francoist dictatorship. Aragon was a stronghold for the
Spanish Revolution, which was a workers'
social revolution that began at the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War in 1936 and for two to three years resulted in the widespread implementation of
anarchist and, more broadly,
libertarian socialist organizational principles throughout various portions of the country. In Aragon, agrarian collectives were formed that were structured by work groups of between five and ten members. To each work group, the community assigned a piece of land for which it was responsible. Each group elected a delegate who represented their views at community meetings. A management committee was responsible for the day-to-day running of the community. This committee was in charge of obtaining materials, carrying out exchanges with other areas, organizing the distribution of production, and the public works that were necessary. Its members were elected in general assemblies in which all the people who made up the community participated. Even during the second phase of the revolution when some revolutionary structures were subordinated to the government, giving rise to the dissolution or beginning of absorption, appropriation, and intervention of the revolutionary structures by the republican state government, Aragon remained a stronghold of anarcho-syndicalist labor.
1939–present town, destroyed during the
Battle of Belchite, became a symbol of the
Spanish Civil War. Especially during the 1960s, there were large migrations, with a depopulation of the rural areas, towards the industrial areas like the provincial capitals, other areas of Spain, and other European countries. In 1964, one of the so-called Development Poles was created in
Zaragoza. In the 1970s, the old town of
Mequinenza was demolished almost completely due to the construction of the
Ribarroja reservoir. The inhabitants of Mequinenza had to leave their homes to move to the new town on the banks of the River Segre. Some left for more industrial areas such as Barcelona or Zaragoza or even abroad to continue working in mining industries. By the end of 1974 all of the population had already abandoned the Old Town of Mequinenza and was living in the new town. In the 1970s a period of transition as in the rest of the country was experienced, after the extinction of the previous regime, with the recovery of democratic normality and the creation of a new constitutional framework. It began to demand an own political autonomy, for the Aragonese historical territory; sentiment that was reflected in the historic manifestation of April 23, 1978 that brought together more than aragoneses through the streets of
Zaragoza. Not having plebiscited, in the past, affirmatively a draft Statute of autonomy (second transitory provision of the constitution) and not making use of the difficult access to autonomy by Article 151 whose aggravated procedure required, apart from the initiative of the process autonomic follow the steps of article 143, which was ratified by three quarters of the municipalities of each of the affected provinces that represent at least the majority of the electoral census, and that this initiative was approved by referendum by the affirmative vote of the majority absolute of the electors of each province, Aragon acceded to the self-government by the slow way of article 143 obtaining lower competence top, and less self-management of resources, during more than 20 years. On August 10, 1982, Aragon's autonomy statute was approved by the
Cortes Generales, signed by the then
president of the Government, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, and
sanctioned by His Majesty
Juan Carlos I of Spain. On May 7, 1992, a Special Commission of the
Aragonese Corts, elaborated a reformed text that was approved by the Aragonese Corts and by the Spanish Cortes. Again, a small statutory reform in the year 1996 extended the competence framework, forcing a definitive comprehensive review for several years, a new statutory text was approved in 2007, by majority but without reaching total unanimity. In the 1990s the Aragonese society increases a significant qualitative step in the quality of life due to the economic progress of the State at all levels. At the beginning of the 21st century, a significant increase in infrastructures was established, such as the arrival of the High Speed Train (
AVE), the construction of the
new dual carriageway Somport-Sagunto and the promotion of the two airports in the Autonomous Community,
Zaragoza and
Huesca-Pirineos. At the same time, large technological projects are being undertaken, such as the
Walqa Technology Park and the implementation of a telematic network throughout the community. from the
Torre del Agua In 2007 the
Statute of Autonomy of Aragon was reformed again -which was approved by a broad consensus in the Aragonese Corts, having the support of the
PSOE, the
PP, the
PAR and the
IU, whereas
CHA abstained- granting the Autonomous Community the recognition of
historical nationality (since the Organic Law of 1996 reform of the statute, it had the condition of
nationality), includes a new title on the Administration of Chustizia and another on the rights and duties of the Aragoneses and guiding principles of public policies, the possibility of creating an own tax agency in collaboration with that of the State, and also the obligation to public authorities to ensure to avoid transfers from watersheds such as
transfer of the Ebro, among many other modifications of the Statute of Autonomy. The designation of
Zaragoza as the venue for the
2008 International Exhibition, whose thematic axis was water and
sustainable development, represented a series of changes and accelerated growth for the
autonomous community. In addition, two anniversaries were celebrated that year: the bicentennial of
Sieges of Zaragoza of the
War of Independence against the
Napoleonic invasion, occurred in 1808, and the centenary of the
Hispano-French Exposition of 1908 that it supposed as a modern event, to demonstrate the cultural and economic thrust of Aragon and at the same time serve to strengthen ties and staunch wounds with the French neighbors after the events of the
Napoleonic Wars of the previous century. ==Demographics==