History of Linares
The exact origin of Linares is unclear, since there is little documentary or archaeological evidence to determine a specific starting point for the local population. Nonetheless, various estimations have been offered; the proximity of the enclave to important communication routes, together with its rich mining, aquifer and agricultural resources, mean that a settlement was firmly established by the Late Roman period, which would eventually become a village in the eighth century. One of the urban emblems of the early city was its castle, built around the eleventh century.
The first written testimony about the existence of Linares dates back to 1155, the year in which Alfonso VII conquered the area and ceded it to Suero Díaz. A few years later, in 1227, Fernando III took control of the enclave definitively, after the surrender of the Almohad Monarch Aben-Mahomad. After the political change, Linares became part of the Realengo Council of the city of Baeza, however, it was endowed with a series of royal privileges. This territorial affiliation always caused misgivings amongst the people of Linares and from the fifteenth century they began an active confrontation to achieve independence.
In 1495, the Catholic Monarchs promulgated a Royal Provision that allowed Linares to elect the two Mayors of the Brotherhood. In 1520, when Carlos V reigned, Linares made the first request for separation, followed by another in 1537. However, they would have to wait for the reign of Felipe II, who on August 17, 1565, through a Royal Certificate, granted Linares the separation from Baeza, creating an independent town with its own legal entity.
With the autonomy granted by being named a Villa, and with the Municipal Ordinances signed in 1578 by Felipe II, a new stage began for the future of Linares, commencing a great boom from the eighteenth century, when an important reform of the Treasury granted to the Crown the direct control of the exploitation of the mines. Thanks to this and the application of new systems that increased productivity, the sector experienced great development, making Linares a site of great strategic importance for the whole country, as denoted by the construction of the House of Ammunition (1756). These measures, together with agricultural reforms and economic protectionism, made it possible for Linares to enter a process of economic and demographic expansion in the second half of the century, which led to the doubling of its population in just four decades.
However, not all policies were so positive for the municipality. In the times of Carlos III, with the Fuero de las Nuevas Poblaciones (1767) by which La Carolina, Aldeaquemada, Carboneros and Guarromán, among others, were created, the term of Linares went from being the largest in the province to being the smallest, which had very negative repercussions for the economy of the town, still based in the agricultural sector.
As the nineteenth century progressed, mining exploitation was deficient, but the lead wealth of the enclave motivated the growing arrival of foreign capital from 1847. New mining laws (1849 and 1859) emerged to alleviate this precariousness, ending the contract system and allowing the State to assume the direct exploitation of Arrayanes and adopt the necessary technology to optimize production and enable the growth of the sector. The economic, social and urban changes generated by mining development led to a profound transformation in the town, which was granted the title of City by Alfonso XII in 1875.
The economy of Linares reached outstanding levels during the second half of the nineteenth century, driven by its flourishing mining and metallurgical industry that turned the municipality into one of the most important basins in the world. To the legal changes motivated by the liberal bourgeoisie, the technological innovation of the steam engine that revolutionized the productivity of mining operations, and banking, was added the development of transport; the arrival of the railway (1865) and the tramway (1904), united Linares with the main cities and with the mining work centres.
The important movements of capital prompted the opening of the Chamber of Commerce (1886) and the first branch of the Banco Español de Crédito (1908), as well as the installation of advances such as public lighting, telephone, sewage and water supply. The foreign origin of the companies that managed the industries implied the arrival of families of different nationalities and the installation of the English, Belgian, French and German vice consulates in the city. Linares had therefore become a cosmopolitan international city.
Industrialization and mining triggered a demographic boom, which tripled the population between 1860 and 1877. This increase overwhelmed the city’s infrastructure, with the lack of housing, terrible public health and absence of sanitation causing great social problems, which the local government tried to alleviate with new urban plans. The social conscience of the time in Linares, together with the political liberalism of the period, were an ideal framework for the emergence of the First International Workers Association in 1870.
During the first half of the twentieth century, Linares’s mines started to experience a decline, prompted by the fluctuations in the price of lead and the scarce business investment in technical advances. Numerous deposits closed in quick succession, leading to difficult years for the sector, except for brief periods of growth such as the First World War. These closures affected all elements of local society.
In 1955, through the “Plan Jaén” a new industrial model was promoted in the city, giving rise to the automobile industry, “Metalurgia Santa Ana” (Santana). Santana evolved and has become the Santana Business Park, reorienting its activity after signing alliances with other companies and equipping the complex with an R&D centre. Two other important industrial estates, Los Jarales and Los Rubiales, complete the rich industrial fabric of the area, whose ability to adapt has highlighted the maturity of the area’s economy.
Linares is today a nerve centre for commerce in the province of Jaén. Its dense network of small and medium-sized businesses grouped in the Open Shopping Centre, together with the large stores established in the city, have allowed the rapid development of the sector, whose success has been recognized with the National Trade Award in 2004.