The historical past of Mojácar, which can be guessed in its walls, attracts us and projects us from prehistory to the 20th century, in an interesting and illustrative journey.
The first vestiges of human presence in the region date from the Middle Palaeolithic, being in the Neolithic era when we already found traces in the lands of Mojácar. Mediterranean Phoenician and Greek colonizers were attracted by the mining wealth of precious metals from the nearby Sierra Almagrera.
The Romans began to conquer these lands in the late 3rd century BC. In the 5th century the invasion of the barbarians took place, who remained in these lands until the beginning of the 8th century, with the irruption of the Arab armies and the beginning of the long Muslim period.
Although remains have been found that prove that the current site of Mojácar was inhabited by prehistoric man, we know that between the 6th and 7th centuries AD. and until the middle of the 13th century, this “Monte Sacrum” was in what we now know as Mojácar la Vieja, first Visigoth and then Muslim. A pyramidal mound next to the Aguas river, which was supplied by one of the most impressive cisterns of those preserved from the ancient kingdom of Granada.
In 1488, all the Wardens of the region came to surrender to the Catholic Monarchs, except the one from Mojácar. For this reason, Captain Garcilaso de la Vega was sent to interview at La Fuente, where Alabez (Mayor of Mojácar at that time) explained the reasons why he had not given up:
“I am as Spanish as you when we have been living in Spain for more than seven hundred years, you tell us to leave. I never made weapons against Christians, I think it is fair that we are treated as brothers, not as enemies and we are allowed to continue working our land ”. And he adds: “Before I surrender myself like a coward, I will know how to die like a Spaniard.”
In the mid-19th century, a rich silver vein was discovered in Sierra Almagrera, causing Mojácar and its surroundings to grow in wealth and inhabitants. The beginning of the Second Republic saw all the mines closed, causing a wave of emigration to Argentina and the United States.
During the 1950s, the Almeria painter Jesús de Perceval founded the Indaliano Movement, which found its aesthetic capital and its roots in Mojácar and spread its name, its magic and its charms throughout Spain.
Source: Mojácar City Council