A History of Madrid

Medieval Madrid

Madrid's origins are probably as an Islamic garrison. Convention has it that the emir of Córdoba established a fortress on the future site of Madrid in AD 854. Known as Magerit, it was one of a string of forts guarding the frontier land between Al-Andalus in the south and the Christian kingdoms to the north.

Madrid's Muslim era ended in 1085 when the region fell to King Alfonso VI of Castile. Although its population is thought to have numbered around 12,000 at this time, the town's status remained only marginal. Municipal power was concentrated in the hands of a small number of local families, who managed to hold on to their position when royally appointed governors attempted to wrest control in 1348.

While Madrid remained on the fringe of things, Isabel and Ferdinand united the crowns of Castile and Aragon in 1474. Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the peninsula, fell in 1492, and in the same year, Columbus set sail on the journey that would bring Spain untold wealth. Isabel and Ferdinand's grandson, Carlos I, succeeded not only to the throne of Spain but also to that of the Hapsburgs, becoming Holy Roman Emperor over territories stretching from Austria to Holland and from Spain to the American colonies.

Madrid as Capital of Spain

Carlos' son and successor, Felipe II, made Madrid the permanent seat of the royal court in 1561. Underdeveloped Madrid offered plenty of room for expansion, as befitted the capital of an empire. Concerned with the business of empire, Felipe neglected his new capital, and it remained a chaotic medieval nightmare for its 25,000 inhabitants. Over the next century, Spain began to decline, bled dry by a succession of wars and massive inflation caused by its looted colonial treasures. The country's rulers retreated to their capital, creating a fantasy land of sumptuous palaces and churches. The squalor in which the bulk of the people lived contrasted with then splendor in which their rulers lived. Madrid became a city of immigrants, with the population blowing out to 150,000 by 1656, because of the presence of the court.

Hapsburg Spain came to a sad end in 1700 with the death of the sickly Carlos II. A succession of reformist rulers worked to make Madrid finally lose its reputation as Europe's filthiest city, but attempts at land reform failed, with Spain continuing to be an essentially poor country ruled by a big-spending royal court. Spain suffered a series of heavy reversals, including the crushing of the Spanish Navy by Britain in the epic Battle of Trafalgar of 1805, the loss of its American colonies, and Napoleon's occupation of Spain. The ensuing Peninsula War for independence was sparked by the people of Madrid and left the city exhausted and facing starvation.