English
The vast history of the territory of the Euro-Region Galicia and the North of Portugal has enabled the footprints of the different settlers to be still perceptible these days. It is enriching to be able to visit the prehistoric monuments of these regions, for a better understanding of how life centuries ago was.
The vast history of the territory of the Euro-Region Galicia and the North of Portugal has enabled the footprints of the different settlers to be still perceptible these days. It is enriching to be able to visit the prehistoric monuments of these regions, for a better understanding of how life centuries ago was.
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From Gallaecia to the Euro-Region<br />
Ferrol as the central axis<br />
of the naval strategy<br />
The accession to power of the Bourbons brought the creation of three naval<br />
departments, one of the established in Ferrol, which turned into one of the axis<br />
of the naval strategy. This core occupied the central place within the Bourbon<br />
military strategy from 1726. The construction of two military shipyards started<br />
then, one in A Graña and the other in Ferrol. Since 1749, with Fernando VI, the<br />
shipyard was divided into, on the one hand, the part that remained in Esteiro<br />
and, on the other hand, the departmental capital itself. Its growth over this century<br />
was such, that in 1789 it had become the biggest city of Galicia.<br />
The first of the series of coastal<br />
defences from which there is evidence<br />
dates back from the times of Felipe<br />
II, and consisted on a series of<br />
three forts arranged in a triangular<br />
shape in both sides of the ría of<br />
Ferrol, the castles of San Felipe,<br />
San Martín and La Palma. This<br />
defensive scheme was reinforced and<br />
remodelled over time with the creation<br />
of the arsenal. Furthermore, two new<br />
defensive structures were added,<br />
taking advantage of the orography<br />
of the area, such as the batteries of<br />
San Carlos and San Cristóbal or the<br />
ammunition dump and the station of<br />
Vispón.<br />
The construction of the military arsenal<br />
started when the facilities of A Graña<br />
seemed not to have the necessary<br />
capacity. The project was suggested<br />
by Lieutenant-General Cosme Álvarez<br />
in 1747, and finally approved in<br />
1750. It means the realization of the<br />
thoughts of the Enlightenment, and<br />
through its dimensions it sought to fulfil<br />
a defensive function, as well as to<br />
show the royal power.<br />
“The construction of the<br />
military arsenal started when<br />
the facilities of A Graña<br />
seemed not to have the<br />
necessary capacity”<br />
Under the wing of the military arsenal’s<br />
growth, the private initiative started to<br />
focus on the ría, taking advantage of<br />
the benefits that the growth of the area<br />
and the liberalization of the commerce<br />
with America offered. One of the first<br />
ones was the arsenal of La Cabana,<br />
with capacity to build ships up to 35<br />
metres of length, and whose tide dyke<br />
95
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