Ferrol

 ( Www.ferrol.es Official Website ) 

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire the whole Iberian Peninsula, including Ferrol, was raided by the Vandals and incorporated in 411 to the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia; their kingdom was incorporated in 584 by Liuvigild to the Visigothic Kingdom. (Britoniensis ecclesiae episcopus) Mailoc was the bishop of Britonia who participated in the Second Council of Braga (572)

Following the collapse of the Suebic-Visigothic state, these Catholic Church parts of Iberia saw very little change in comparison with other parts of the peninsula, becoming part of the Kingdom of Asturias as early as AD 750. Over time, the Kingdom of Asturias would split into further Christian kingdoms, causing the area to change hands several times between Galicia, Leon, and finally Castile. During the Second Crusade Ferrol played a significant role when the crusade ships organised by Pope Eugene III en route to the Holy Land, sought refuge in its bay due to the rough waters they encountered after leaving Dartmouth and the English Channel in the Atlantic in May 1147 when the contingent carrying 6,000 English and Scottish crusaders just joined a continental fleet of 5,000 Germans and 2,000 Flemish crusaders numbering all together a total 164 ships that needed a safe haven and some of the ships repairs and resupplying. Once in the safety of the bay of Ferrol they did have time to visit neighbouring Santiago de Compostela on 24 May 1147 to celebrate Pentecost Day in the City of St. James the Great where they visited his Holy Remains. The sea journey to the Holy Land continued but another storm in the Atlantic forced the fleet to dock at Porto where they met King Alfonso I of Portugal who convince them to join forces in order to take the enclave of Lisbon from the Saracens and that's how the best port in the Iberian Peninsula fell to into Christian hands on 25 October 1147 becoming integral part of the Kingdom of Portugal straight away and from 1255 its very own capital.

Ferrol served as a strategic safe port during the Hundred Years' War and sided with the House of Trastamara during the Castilian Civil War. As a personal reward to Fernan Perez de Andrade, in 1371, Henry II gave the town to the powerful Andrade family. Ferrol Naval 1750 Ferrol Historia - Interesting document showing the royals of Spain from 1492 till 1805: Spanish Empire

In 1568"History of Ferrol" El Ferrolano Newspaper, 10 February 1846, no.1, Front Cover: Ferrol a fire reduced the old medieval town to rubble; in the same period some parts of the existing fortifications at the entrance of the estuary were built. World Heritage List: El Ferrol ( Submission Papers) UNESCO, 27 April 2007 The town was considered more important as a royal arsenal at this time than as a harbour.

With the arrival of the Bourbons in the 18th century, Ferrol became a leading naval centre. The City and Naval Station of El Ferrol during the Reign of Charles III of Spain by the Dutch pilot Hugh Debbieg (1731–1810) Ferrol was made capital of the Maritime Department of the North, formed under Ferdinand VI and Charles III for the defence of the Spanish Colonial Empire in America. Rapid improvements followed, notably under the leadership of the Marquis of Ensenada, and the position of Ferrol was made almost unassailable from the sea, the difficulties of disembarking troops on its precipitous coast being strengthened by a renewed line of fortresses and newly built castles, including that of San Carlos.

The Royal Dockyards of A Graña and Ferrol, built between 1726 and 1783, "Ferrol" Britannica.com, 2009 produced ships protected with copper sheets from the rolling mills of Xubia. In 1772, The Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers of Ferrol, the first such academy in Spain, was created. For the most laborious work, six hundred galley slaves were employed in the harbour.

Ferrol is famous in the history of the struggle between the Spanish Empire and the British Empire for being one of the only enclaves in the world, together with Cartagena de Indias, that always resisted occupation successfully; Ferrol was virtually impossible to blockade in the age of sail, as strong westerly winds would take any blockading force away along the treacherous north coast of Spain towards the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), where they had no safe haven. The geography of Ferrol meant that an entire Spanish fleet could slip out on a single tide. By the time the British were able to resume the blockade, the Spanish would be safely away and out to sea. Despite these advantages, a decline set in during the reign of Charles IV, and in 1800, during the Ferrol Expedition, after the defences had been reduced, a British fleet of 109 vessels landed troops on the beach of Doniños to take the Castle of San Felipe. Although only equipped with meagre artillery, the castle's small defence force under the command Count Donadio, together with a sizable number of volunteer citizens of Ferrol, successfully resisted the attack and the fleet withdrew. The alliance with the United Kingdom during the Peninsular War of 1808–1814 failed to prevent the deterioration in the town's fortunes. The arsenals and fortresses were abandoned and they were easily occupied by the French in 1809.

When the war with Napoleonic France was over, many of the South American colonies chose to pursue independence from Spain and the shipyards of Ferrol went into a serious decline, losing most of their civilian, clergy and military population. By 1824, Ferrol had a population of just 10,000 civilians and about 6,000 military personnel (stationed locally, if not permanently, at least during most of the year). Its mathematical school for marine artillerists, the pilot school, and the Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers were almost completely empty, in stark contrast to the glorious years of abundance before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Ferrol built only two ships of the line between 1794 and 1845,The 80-gun ships Neptuno (1795) and Argonauta (1796), see Enrique Garcia-Torralba Pérez, Navios de la Real Armada 1700-1860. although nine frigates and a considerable number of smaller warships were also constructed in this period. After half a century of decreased activity, it lost its title of capital under Ferdinand VII. However, there was a massive renovation during the leadership of Cardinal Alberoni and in just a few years fourteen great line-of-battle-ships were launched. New activities sprang up and Ferrol was employing 2,000 workmen in its foundries, now in full operation. A School of Naval Engineers was established where 40 students were taught the scientific principles of their profession by competent instructors educated in England and France. So successful in bringing the world's most advanced technologies was the administration of the Marquis de Molina, "The Armies of Europe, Spain as a War Making Power" New York Times, 6 February 1858, Page 4 the Spanish Minister for Naval affairs, that by 1858 the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol were launching Spain's first steam propelled ship, which was also its first iron-hulled sailing ship.

The second half of the 19th century brought to the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol not only employment, but also concomitant social and political tensions, which culminated in the failed republican uprising of 1872. "Entrance into Ferrol of the Government Troops" New York Times, 16 October 1872, Page 1 Steamers between Ferrol and the port of Havana in Spanish Cuba were in frequent operation at the time, such that shipyard workers who got into trouble with the local authorities in Ferrol often fled to the Spanish Main.

From the days of the Armada to the present, the Bay of Ferrol has attracted numerous ships seeking repairs or refuge after meeting with disaster or rough waters trying to cross the Bay of Biscay in bad weather. Such was the case of Cleopatra, carrying one of the two Cleopatra Needles, which stands today on the Thames Embankment in London, UK. It arrived in Ferrol on 19 October 1877 after almost sinking off the west coast of France five days earlier. A plaque commemorating the event and those who died can be seen at the base of the Needle in London.

Ten years after the Spanish–American War of 1898, "Great Activity at Ferrol" New York Times, 11 June 1898, Page 1 The launch of "Cardenal Cisneros" the first "Pre-dreadnought battleship" built in Ferrol, Spain (1897) "The Ferrol and the Galician-rias commercial-role with North, South and Central America": El Correo Gallego (Spanish Newspaper) 19 March 1897 by Jose R. de Trujillo, Spanish Royal Navy Commander in which Spain lost Cuba and the Philippines, the Antonio Maura government, in an attempt to restore the Spanish Navy and Spanish shipbuilding industry, hired the Spanish Society for Naval Construction, whose major investors were a British-Spanish conglomerate taking contracts In the following proportions: 40% Vickers Sons and Maxim, 30% Marquis of Comillas of the Spanish Transatlantic Company, and 30% Biscay Furnace Company.

For a period of sixteen years, the technicians were exclusively British, and the situation was not altered till 1925, when management was taken over by Spanish engineers. This was one of the new policies introduced by the newly installed government of the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1930). The arrival of the British coincided with the construction of a local tram system (1924–1961). Vistas y curiosidades sobre la historia de El Ferrol y España Amazing Charley Inc.

In view of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, and due to the fear of social unrest in the naval station, the Foreign Office in London "British Vice-Consulate at Ferrol" General Correspondence FO 63/1041, The National Archives "British Vice-Consulate at Ferrol" General Correspondence FO 72/1689, The National Archives organized a ship to repatriate all the remaining British citizens. On 22 July 1936, HMS Witch "British Sending Troops" New York Times, 22 July 1936, Page 3 left Ferrol bound for Britain. At the beginning of the war, the shipbuilding yards, workshops, foundries and dry docks in Ferrol were taken over by the state. They were fully nationalized in 1945 under the name "Bazán", later renamed "IZAR", and, from January 2005, Navantia. The town was the birthplace of Francisco Franco, after whom the city was officially known as El Ferrol del Caudillo from 1938 to 1982. The end of the Spanish State and the arrival of democracy in 1978 did little to arrest Ferrol's economic decline, Shipbuilding Ferrol Historia - Shipbuilding crisis aftefr the arrival of democracy in Spain Spanish shipyard resists that sinking feeling Financial Times, 19 October 1984 and from 1982 to the early 1990s, the city faced numerous problems due to the waning of the naval sector. The beginning of the new millennium, however, has been a time of economic expansion and prosperity in general. Fridtjof Nansen class frigates during one of the final stages for completion in Ferrol Ferrol Historia A new motorway and an outer-port Views of the new outer-port of Ferrol, an intermodal freight transport port design to suit the new needs Ferrol Historis have been built, as have numerous arcades and shopping centres, mostly in the outskirts of the city between Ferrol and Naron. Young shoppers and their families frequent the stores and enjoy weekend days out with amenities like bowling, cafeterias, fast food outlets, cinemas and sports facilities.

The Spanish Navy Spanish Squadron still takes part in naval demonstrations and in June 2008 Ferrol hosted the large NATO Maritime Exercise Loyal Mariner (Royal Navy). NATO Maritime Exercise Loyal Mariner (RN)

The Ferrol Terminus railway station, connecting Lugo to Ferrol, branching off from the line from Madrid to nearby A Coruña, was sanctioned by the Cortes in Madrid as early as 1865 but was not finally inaugurated until 1904. A century later, the High Speed AVE Railway suffered similar delays, eventually opening in 2013.

In September 2017, a new local railway branch serving the outer port of Ferrol (known as the Canelinas-Ferrol container port), the inside of the bay docks and the Ferrol Terminus railway station was given the green light to begin construction, and aims to move large numbers modern containers in and out of Ferrol, distributing goods throughout Galicia and the rest of Spain and Europe. A small railway local branch operated here in the early years of the 20th century. At that time, Ferrol itself and its ports were intended solely for the Royal Navy and its shipyards, and hence were not open to the general commerce per se. Historically, however, there have been many exceptions, with local businesses including PEMSA (timber), PYSBE (dried and salted cod) and HISPANIA (pencils), in addition to Hatmaking, paper and leather, plus naval and hardware stores. Items such as Maize, wine, brandy, vinegar, Sardine and (and other produce from Ferrol's own fisheries) have also been exported.

[http://www.semanasantaferrol.org/fotos.asp Official website of one of the organisers "Cofradias de Dolores"]