The History of Valencia

The history of the Valencian Community started oficially in 1238. After the centuries-old war between the Moors and the Spaniards Spanish King Aragon proclaimed the territory of modern Alikante, Valencia and Castellon an independent state but a part of Aragon Crown. The state was called the Kingdom of Valencia.

For more than five centuries the Kingdom of Valencia had existed in peace. Without taking into consideration the terror of the inquisition. But by the beginning of the 18th century the period of prosperity had been put an end to. In 1701 there started one of the bloodiest conflicts in Europe known as “the War for the Spanish Inheritance”. France, Rzeczpospolita, England, Holland and the Roman Empire were involved into the war. As a result of the conflict King Philip V came to the Spanish throne. The new monarch canceled the autonomy of the Kingdom of Valencia and submitted its territory to Aragon Crown. Valencia lost its independence and appeared under the threat of losing its own language because the Valencian dialect was officially prohibited.

For the next 300 hundred years there had been the Time of Troubles for Valencia. The region survived trying to maintain its unique national property. The serious attempt to return local government to Valencia occurred at the beginning of the 30ies of the 20th century when the Republicans came into power in Spain. Unfortunately, the dreams of Valencian citizens did not come true. The Republican government discussed the question about the independence of Valencia but it was overthrown as a result of the Civil War by the troops of nationalists. Dictator Franco came into power and buried the hopes of the Valencian people to be independent for the following 40 years.

Only in 1982 after the fall of the dictatorship the autonomic rights of Valencia were sealed in the Constitution of Spain. And not long ago in 2006 some of the articles from the medieval Code of the Kingdom of Valencia were recognized valid on the territory of the modern community. Today Valencia is a great autonomous region of Spain with its own distinctive traditions and their own language.