History of Fuensanta de Martos
The strategic location of Fuensanta de Martos has lead to its role as a control nucleus throughout history, as evidenced by the remains of fortified enclosures from different periods dotted around its territory. The fortified enclosure of Cerro Algarrobo dates from the end of the Iberian period and the dawn of the Romanization of this area. Peculiarly, it was a trapezoidal fortification and has signs of bastions along the route of the wall. During this phase, it would depend on the great Iberian city of Tucci, converted in Roman times into Colonia Augusta Gemella. In this last phase, there was a proliferation of rustic villages such as Atalaya and Las Monjas in the municipality of Fuensanta. From the latter, a black marble funerary stone has been unearthed with an inscription dedicated to a free marriage. This relic is kept in the Provincial Museum.
From its Arab past is the Hins-refuge, located on the Cerro de la Atalaya, from which numerous ceramic remains dating from around the eighth and tenth centuries have been collected. Next to the Fuensanta stream there must have been small agricultural settlements that would seek refuge in the Hins in case of danger. After the battles that shook the Emirate, Hins was abandoned and the country nuclei were encompassed in the district of Tuss or Martus.
In 1225, the Arabs handed over the fortresses of Martos and Andújar to the Kingdom of Castile. In 1228, Ferdinand III ‘El Santo’ donated the region to the Señorío de la Orden de Calatrava, becoming part of the Peña de Martos and Víboras Commanderies. In its term two defensive towers of the Order of Calatrava are conserved: Torrevieja and another small solid tower in the Cerro del Algarrobo.
During the Modern Age, there are no references to this population except in the fifteenth century, where the Encomienda de la Subclavería is cited. This was located in the Dehesa de la Fuente del Moral, which was used by shepherds in winter, and some researchers have related it to Fuensanta.
Fuensanta achieved its independence from Martos by Royal Decree of the Regent Queen Doña María Cristina de Borbón-Dos Sicilias on September 7, 1835. On September 1, 1847 it would obtain its religious independence from Martos by Decree of Isabel II.
Pascual Madóz documents, in the mid-nineteenth century, the presence of orchards and fruit and cereal crops, as well as the clearing of hilly areas for the planting of olive trees. The population had 14 flour mills and three oil mills, indicating the proportions of its production in these areas. At the end of the century, the agrarian crisis, which affected the entire province, opened the doors to the expansion of the olive grove; an expansion that continued throughout the twentieth century.