History of Santiago de Calatrava
by Saskia Mier
Archaeological remains from Roman and Arab times have been found in the area, which certify the former presence of these cultures in its territory. After the delivery of the fortresses of Martosto the Kingdom of Castile in 1225, King Fernando III donated Martos and his term to the Religious-Military Order of Calatrava in 1228. Martos was designated by the Order of Calatrava,Head of the Andalusian Party, constituting the Encomiendas de Martos and that of the Víboras, which included the Villa de Martos itself, the Villa de Torreximeno, the annex of Xamilena, Santiago, the Figuera de Martos, the Torre de Alcázar and Venzalá, the Monte de Lope Álvarez, about 200 yugada in the inheritance of Arjona and the Villa de Porcuna. The latter would become effective its delivery to the Order of Calatrava when it was conquered from the Arabs.
It is believed that Santiago de Calatrava received itsname from the Knights of the Order of Santiago. Situated on a frontier, the town was affected by the raids that the Nasrid Kingdom of Granadalaunched against the territories of the Order of Calatrava, particularly that of September 29, 1471, whichdevastated the thenHiguera de Martos and Santiago.
Followingthe death of the master,García López de Padilla, the mastership of the Order of Calatrava passed into the hands of the Crown of Castile, therefore towns and areas became the possessions of the King. The jurisdiction of the town of Martos lasted until theMayor of Santiago, Don Fernando Merchante, requested, on June 18, 1551, the independence of Santiago from Martos, a request that was attended by King Felipe II on January 20, 1593, after the citizens of Santiago paid a sizeable sum of gold to the Crown of Castile. It was at this point that the town obtained its current name, Santiago de Calatrava.
In the sixteenth century, a group of Santiago residents came to repopulate the town from Arenas, in Malaga. Some of these settlers had the surname “Pareja”, currently a very typical surname of this town in the Axarquía of Malaga. In April 1939, the Francoist Army, taking advantage of the fact that the population had been evacuated during the Civil War, installed a concentration camp for prisoners in the town. According to oral testimonies, the captives themselves were forced to surround the town with barbed wire.