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64-518: The river's name comes from the plains where it is born, known as La Gándara , under the Becerral crag. It flows from west to east until it reaches the Bolea and Regules bridge, where it changes direction towards the north. Not much later it changes again, to the east. In some areas, it detours round steep mountains; sometimes it plunges from considerable heights. The river is also known for various caves such as

128-588: A conurbation known as the Santander-Torrelavega metropolitan area. Castro Urdiales has an official population of 28,542, making it the fourth largest in the region because of its proximity to the Bilbao metropolitan area, there are a large number of people not registered in Castro Urdiales, and the true count may be double the official figure. The most populated municipalities of Cantabria as of 2018 are

192-475: A dominant effect on local microclimate in Cantabria. It is the main cause of the peculiar meteorologic situations like the so-called "suradas" ( Ábrego wind), due to the foehn effect : the southerly wind coming down from the mountains blows strongly and dry, increasing the temperature closer to the coast. This causes a decrease in air humidity and rainfall. These conditions are more frequent in autumn and winter, and

256-548: A framework was established and formal steps began to be taken, leading to administrative and legal unity in 1778. This all culminated in the success of the Assembly held in the Assembly House of Puente San Miguel on 28 July 1778, where the province of Cantabria was constituted. It was achieved by passing the common ordinances which had been developed to that end, and which had been discussed and approved previously in councils of all

320-461: A lack of resources, continued to be the main reason for Cantabria's weakness, aggravated by the progressive advance of the Bourbonic centralism and its administrative efficiency. The latter continually emphasised the impossibility of the smaller territories facing a multitude of problems on their own: from communications to the exercise of justice, from putting aside adequate reserves for hard times to

384-534: A region stretching out far into the east. From this period on, source documents barely reference Cantabria by name, with Asturias featuring in names of the comarcas called Asturias de Santillana , Asturias de Trasmiera and Asturias de Laredo . From a central core formed by the Hermandad de las Cuatro Villas ( Brotherhood of the Four Cities ) (Santander, Laredo, Castro Urdiales and San Vicente de la Barquera ),

448-411: A surge of eucalyptus – see eucalyptus article on Spanish Misplaced Pages – plantations (and to a less extent of pines ) which often hid the illegal destruction of native forests, just as the spread of livestock farming had done in the past by the endemic conversion of forest into prairie. These acts have been laxly controlled by the local councils or the central governments, in a process that clearly follows

512-485: Is Campoo , in southern Cantabria, with its Pyrenean oak. There are seven natural areas in this autonomous community designated as Natural or national parks : The most important of these is the Picos de Europa National Park, which affects Castile and León and Asturias in addition to Cantabria, the three autonomous communities sharing its management. Santoña, Victoria and Joyel marshes are also Special Protection Areas for

576-532: Is an autonomous community and province in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a comunidad histórica , a historic community , in its current Statute of Autonomy . It is bordered on the east by the Basque autonomous community ( province of Biscay ), on the south by Castile and León ( provinces of León , Palencia and Burgos ), on the west by the Principality of Asturias , and on

640-678: Is more rain. The rivers of Cantabria are short and rapid, descending steeply because the sea is so close to their source in the Cantabrian Mountains. They flow perpendicular to the coastline, except for the Ebro . They also generally flow year round due to constant rainfall. Nevertheless, the rate of flow is modest (20 m /s annual average) compared to the other rivers of the Iberian Peninsula . The rapidness of their waters, caused by their steep descents, gives them great erosive power, creating

704-623: The Austrian Institute of Archaeology and the Academy of the History of Madrid . His works feature Numantia, in Die Keltiberer und ihre Kriege mit Rom (1914); Tartessos (1924); Viriato ; Sertorius ; L'amour, l'amour est la véritable clef de l'Histoire ; Los cántabros y astures y su guerra con Roma (1943) is Schulten's most important monograph on his excavations. This article about

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768-470: The Autonomy Statute of Cantabria , approved on 30 December 1981, gave the region its own institutions of self-government. Numerous authors, including Isidore of Seville , Julio Caro Baroja , Aureliano Fernández Guerra and Adolf Schulten , have explored the etymology of the name Cantabria , yet its origins remain uncertain. The Online Etymology Dictionary states the root cant- is said to come from

832-568: The Basques . Cantabria is a mountainous and coastal region, with important natural resources. It has two distinct areas which are well differentiated morphologically: Towards the south are higher mountains, the tops of which form the watershed between the drainage basins of the Rivers Ebro , Duero and the rivers that flow into the Bay of Biscay. These peaks generally exceed 1,500 m (4,900 ft) from

896-761: The Cantabrian Armaments in Santander, a section of the army whose purpose was to travel to all the mountain passes from the Central Plateau to detain any French troop. Although defeated, he managed later to regroup in Liébana under the command of General Juan Díaz Porlier, calling his forces the Cantabrian Division , in which there were various regiments and battalions, such as the Hussars of Cantabria ( cavalry ) or

960-513: The Celtic for "rock" or "rocky", while -abr was a common suffix used in Celtic regions. Thus, Cantabrian could mean "people who live in the rocks" or " highlanders ", a reference to the steep and mountainous territory of Cantabria. The name Cantabria could also be related to the Celtic root "kant" or "cant" meaning edge or rim thus "coastal district," or "corner-land", "land on the edge" thus having

1024-587: The Civil War . Following the war and the subsequent marginalization of such efforts under the Francoists regime , the use of the name of Cantabria decreased, to the point that for official purposes it was relegated to sports associations, the only arena in which Cantabria was noted as a region. In 1963, the president of the Provincial Council, Pedro Escalante y Huidobro, proposed reapplying the name of Cantabria to

1088-620: The Hermandad de las Marismas ( Brotherhood of the Marshes ) was created, thereby uniting all the important seaports to the East of Asturias. During the period of the Reconquista, the Four Cities actively participated in the re-settling of Andalusia, dispatching men and ships. The coastal port cities of Cádiz and El Puerto de Santa María were settled by families from the Cantabrian Sea ports. Ships from

1152-601: The Province of Santander , as suggested in an academic report written by the historian Tomás Maza Solano. Although further steps were taken and many of the townships were in favour of the move, the petition did not succeed, mostly due to the opposition of Santander City Council. On 30 December 1981, a process that had been started in April 1979 by the Council of Cabezón de la Sal , under the presidency of Ambrosio Calzada Hernández, culminated in

1216-614: The Reconquista , Cantabria still appears to be acknowledged as a region. In the Albendense Chronicle , when speaking of Alfonso I , it says, "This was the son of Peter , the duke of Cantabria". During the 9th century, on mentioning the monastery of Saint Zacharias, in a letter sent to Wiliesind , bishop of Pamplona, Eulogius of Córdoba pinpoints it in Seburim (maybe Zubiri ) on the river Arga , "waters all of Cantabria", suggesting

1280-805: The Shooters of Cantabria ( infantry ). During the Carlist wars they formed a unit called the Cantabrian Brigade . The use of terms with ancestral resonance through the 18th and 19th centuries continued during the 20th century, taking on a political tone that was distinctly regionalist, until 1936. In fact, the Republican Federal Party produced an autonomy statute for a Cantabrian-Castilian Federal State that year, which would include present-day Cantabria and any neighbouring areas from Castile and Asturias willing to join it. It could not be passed because of

1344-770: The Vascones . To the north of this cordon, however, the Cantabri continued to live independently until the Arab invasion. In 714, a mixed Arab / Berber army of Muslim Moors invaded the upper valleys of the Ebro and succeeded in capturing Amaya, the Cantabrian capital, forcing the Cantabrians back to their traditional frontiers, where they joined forces with the Kingdom of Asturias . In the first chronicles of

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1408-745: The Ancient Cantabria, as opposed to Castile , which referred solely to the Central Plateau . This distinction has survived into modern times. With the rise of the Catholic Monarchs , the Brethren of the Marshes disappeared, leaving the Coregiment of the Four Villas, which included the whole area of influence of the old Brethren of the Four Villas (almost all of Cantabria). During the ancien régime ,

1472-475: The Cantabri, particularly concerning the precise location of the territory that this people had occupied. It was not until the 18th century that the debate about the location and size of Ancient Cantabria was settled in a series of works which described the history of the region such as La Cantabria by the Augustinian father and historian Enrique Flórez de Setién. Concurrent with the resurgence of this interest in

1536-749: The Cantabrian Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The variation in the altitude of the region, which in a short distance ranges from sea level to 2,600 meters in the mountains, leads to a great deal of diversity in vegetation and a large number of biomes . Cantabria has vegetation typical of the Atlantic side of the Iberian Peninsula. It is characterized by forests of leafy deciduous trees such as oak and European beech . Nevertheless, human intervention dating back to ancient times has favored

1600-425: The Cantabrians and the clarification of the aforementioned polemic, many institutions, organizations and jurisdictions in the mountainous territory received the name of "Cantabrian" or "of Cantabria". In 1727, the first attempt to unify what would later become the province of Cantabria occurred. Despite this, the high level of autonomy that the small entities of the fractured estate of Cantabria enjoyed, combined with

1664-660: The Country in Cantabria, and presides over the Government, coordinating its activities. Adolf Schulten Adolf Schulten (27 May 1870 – 19 March 1960) was a German historian and archaeologist . Schulten was born in Elberfeld , Rhine Province , and received a doctorate in geology from the University of Bonn in 1892. He studied in Italy , Africa and Greece with support from

1728-615: The Cueto-Coventosa ,Tibia-Fresca, Tonio-Cañuela and the Sistema Gándara. This article related to a river in Spain is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to Cantabria , Spain is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cantabria Cantabria ( / k æ n ˈ t eɪ b r i ə / , also UK : /- ˈ t æ b -/ ; Spanish: [kanˈtaβɾja] )

1792-510: The Four Cities took part in the taking of Seville , destroying the ship bridge linking Triana and Sevilla, a victory that is represented by the Carrack and the Torre del Oro of Sevilla in the coat of arms of Santander , Coat of arms of Cantabria and Avilés (Asturias). In the 16th century, the name La Montaña ( The Mountain ) was widespread in popular usage and in literature, as a designation of

1856-563: The Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere. It is certain that they participated in the Second Punic War , from references by Silius Italicus and Horace . When C. Hostilius Mancinus was besieging Numantia , he withdrew upon learning that Cantabri and Vaccaei were present among his auxiliaries . The Cantabrian Wars began in 29 BC. They were defeated by Agrippa with great slaughter in 19 BC , but they revolted again under Tiberius and were never entirely subdued. In older geographers,

1920-653: The Institute of Archaeology. After obtaining the chair of ancient history at the University of Erlangen , he continued his work in Spain with great dedication and to this day is considered a key influence upon archaeological study in Spain. Schulten led the 1905-12 excavations of the Celtiberian city of Numantia and the Roman camps nearby and in 1924 searched without success for the location of Tartessos . Starting in 1948 he worked on

1984-720: The Parliament are: to exercise the legislative power , to approve the budgets of the Autonomous Community, to motivate and control the actions of the government, and to develop the rest of the competences that the Spanish Constitution , the Autonomy Statute and the rest of the legal order bestow on it. The President of the Autonomous Community holds the highest representation of the Community and ordinary representation of

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2048-539: The Pass of San Glorio in the west to the Pass of Los Tornos in the eastern part: Peña Labra, Castro Valnera and the mountain passes of Sejos, El Escudo and La Sía. The great limestone masses of Picos de Europa also stand out in the southwest of the region: most of their summits exceed 2,500 m (8,200 ft), and their topography is shaped by the former presence of glaciers . Due to the Gulf Stream , Cantabria, as well as

2112-521: The Villa of Pujayo, the Villa of Pie de Concha y Bárcena, the Valley of Anievas, and the Valley of Toranzo. Having learned lessons from the failed attempt of 1727, the first objective of the new entity was to obtain approval from King Charles III for the union of all the Cantabrian jurisdictions into one province. The royal ratification was granted on 22 November 1779. The 28 jurisdictions that initially comprised

2176-594: The approval of the General Courts on 15 December 1981, the King of Spain signed the corresponding Organic Law of Autonomy Statute for Cantabria on 30 December of the same year. Thus, the province of Santander broke its link to Castile, and left the former region of Castile and León to which it had belonged up to that time, together with the provinces of Ávila , Burgos , León , Logroño , Palencia , Salamanca , Segovia , Soria , Valladolid and Zamora . On 20 February 1982,

2240-557: The average annual precipitation is about 1,200 mm (47 inches). Cantabria has archaeological sites from the Upper Paleolithic period, although the first signs of human occupation date from the Lower Paleolithic . The most significant site for cave paintings is in the cave of Altamira , dating from about 37,000 BCE and declared, along with nine other Cantabrian caves, as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO . Historically,

2304-496: The birds (ZEPA ). Furthermore, nine Sites of Community Importance (LIC ) have been declared: Western Mountain, Eastern Mountain, Western Rias and Oyambre Dunes, Dunes of Liencres and Estuary of the Pas, El Puntal Dunes and Estuary of the Miera, Ria de Ajo, Marshes of Noja - Santoña , Escudo de Cabuérniga Range and several caves with important bat colonies. According to the 2009 census,

2368-569: The collapse of the Roman Empire, Cantabria regained its independence from the rule of the Visigoths . In 574, King Liuvigild attacked Cantabria and managed to capture the south of the country, including the city of Amaya , where he established a Visigothic province called the Duchy of Cantabria (see picture), which would serve as a limes or frontier zone to contain the Cantabri as well as their neighbors

2432-430: The creation of pastures, allowing the existence of large areas of grassland and prairies suitable for grazing cattle. These grasslands are mingled with plantations of eucalyptus and native oak. The southern part of Cantabria, including the comarca of Campoo the fringes of the Castilian plateau, is characterized by the transition to drier vegetation. Another diversifying factor which contributes to local variation within

2496-402: The desire to respect fundamental rights and public freedom, at the same time as consolidating and stimulating regional development through democratic channels. This document gathers all competences of the Autonomous Community that were transferred from the Government of Spain . As in other Autonomous Communities, some competences were not transferred, for example, Justice. The Statute also defines

2560-521: The first Regional Assembly (now Parliament) was formed, with provisional status. From this time, the former province of Santander has been known as Cantabria and has thereby regained its historic name. The first home-rule elections were held in May 1983. The 4th Legislature (1995–1999) brought into effect the first great reform of the Autonomy Statute of Cantabria, approved by all the parliamentary groups. The Autonomy Statute of Cantabria of 30 December 1981, established that Cantabria has in its institutions

2624-413: The following joined in quick succession: the Abbey of Santillana , the Valleys of Tudanca , Polaciones , Herrerías , Castañeda , the Villa of Torrelavega and environs, Val de San Vicente , Valle de Carriedo , Tresviso , and the Pasiegan Villas of La Vega , San Roque and San Pedro , as well as the city of Santander with its abbey. Competition between the townships of Laredo and Santander led to

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2688-507: The following: The first written reference to the name Cantabria emerges around 195 BC, in which the historian Cato the Elder speaks in his book Origines about the source of the Ebro River in the country of the Cantabri : ...The Ebro River starts in the land of the Cantabri , large and beautiful, with abundant fish... There are about 150 references to Cantabria or the Cantabri in surviving Greek and Latin texts. The Cantabri were used as mercenaries in various conflicts, both within

2752-427: The granting of self-rule to Cantabria, outlined in Article 143 of the Spanish Constitution . Cantabria based its claim to autonomy on the constitutional precept that made provision for self-government for " provinces with a historic regional character ". A Mixed Assembly formed out of provincial deputies and national members of parliament began the task of drawing up an Autonomy Statute on 10 September 1979. Following

2816-439: The greatest jurisdictional lordships of Cantabria were mainly under the control of three of the Grandee families of Spain: that of Mendoza ( Dukes of Infantado , Marquises of Santillana), of Manrique de Lara (Marquises of Aguilar de Campoo, Counts of Castañeda ), and to a lesser extent that of Velasco ( Dukes of Frías , Constables of Castile ). From the 16th century on, there was renewed interest in studying Cantabria and

2880-471: The indiscriminate levees for soldiers, and above all the progression of fiscal impositions. All of this led to an acceleration of contact between villas, valleys and jurisdictions, which tended to focus on the Assemblies of the provinces of the Nine Valleys, led by the deputies elected by the traditional entities of self-government. There were two events that triggered the culmination of the integration process in this second attempt: In this General Assembly

2944-416: The latter, having initially allowed the name of Cantabria for the province created at the beginning of the 19th century, later retracting its consent and demanding that it bear the name of Santander, so there would be no doubt as to which was the capital. When in 1821 the Provincial Council presented before the constitutional Courts its definitive plan for the provincial borders and legal entities, it proposed

3008-412: The name of province of Cantabria, to which the Township of Santander replied that " this province must retain the name of Santander ". However, many newspapers still showed in their headings the name of Cantabria, or Cantabrian. During the War of Independence (1808–1814), Bishop Rafael Tomás Menéndez de Luarca, a strong defender of absolutism, promoted himself as the "Regent of Cantabria" and established

3072-421: The narrow V-shaped valleys characteristic of Green Spain. The environmental condition of the rivers is generally good, although increasing human activity due to rising population in the valleys continues to pose a challenge. The main rivers of the region, sorted by drainage basin , are: Cantabria is the only autonomous community whose rivers flow into every one of the seas which surround the Iberian Peninsula :

3136-401: The north by the Cantabrian Sea , which forms part of the Bay of Biscay . Cantabria belongs to Green Spain , the name given to the strip of land between the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Mountains , so called because of its particularly lush vegetation, due to the wet and temperate oceanic climate . The climate is strongly influenced by Atlantic Ocean winds trapped by the mountains;

3200-432: The population were immigrants. The predominant countries of origin for immigrants to Cantabria are Colombia , Romania , Ecuador , Peru , Moldova , and Morocco . The majority of the population resides in the coastal area, particularly in two cities: Santander , with 183,000 people, and Torrelavega , the second largest urban and industrial centre in Cantabria, having a population of around 60,000. These two cities form

3264-431: The province of Cantabria were clear in their intention that all the other jurisdictions that formed the Party and Baton of the Four Villas of the Coast should be included in the new province. To this end they set out the steps needed for this to happen as soon as those jurisdictions should request it. They would have to abide by the ordinances, having the same rights and duties as the founders, all on an equal footing. Thus,

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3328-460: The region has a population of 591,886 which constitutes 1.29% of the population of Spain, with the population density numbering 106.8 people per kilometer. The average life expectancy for male inhabitants is 75 years; for female inhabitants, it is 83 years. Eight years later in 2017 the population has fallen to 581,477 according to INE. In relative contrast to other regions of Spain, Cantabria has not experienced much immigration. In 2007, only 4.7% of

3392-469: The region is the Mediterranean ecotone , giving rise to species unique to the region, such as the holm oak and arbutus trees , which are found in poor limestone soils with little moisture. In Cantabria there are several zones of plant life: During the last two decades of the 20th century, and due mainly to European agricultural policies ( CAP ), many farmers substituted forestry for livestock farming, so as to avoid unemployment and poverty. This provoked

3456-611: The rest of "Green Spain", has a much more temperate climate than might be expected for its latitude. The region has a humid oceanic climate , with warm summers and mild winters. Annual precipitation is around 1,200 mm at the coasts and higher in the mountains. The mean temperature is about 14 °C (57.2 °F). Snow is frequent in the higher zones of Cantabria between the months of October and March. Some zones of Picos de Europa, over 2,500 metres high, have an alpine climate with snow persisting year-round. The driest months are July and August. The mountainous relief of Cantabria has

3520-399: The ruins of Tarraco and in the localities of Mainake , Munda and Segeda . In recognition of his work, Schulten received a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Barcelona and the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise , from the Spanish state in 1940. He was a member of the Institutes of Archaeology and History at the Patria de Módena and was a lead writer for

3584-402: The same probable derivation as the name of the English county of Kent and Canterbury , one of its major cities. During the Spanish liberal regimes of the 19th century, the term came to be increasingly associated to the province of Santander. However, in late medieval and Modern Period literature, Cantabria and Cantabrians refer to the Basque Country, especially the lordship of Biscay, and

3648-427: The saying: " Pan para hoy, hambre para mañana " (which translates as 'Bread for today, hunger for tomorrow'; i.e., "short-term gain, long-term pain"). The plantation of pines has given way in the last decades to that of eucalyptus because this non-indigenous species has no natural attacker within the European ecosystem (while pines are highly vulnerable to the pine processionary ). Both in relative and absolute terms

3712-404: The symbols that should represent the region: The flag , the coat of arms and the anthem of Cantabria . The Parliament of Cantabria is the principal self-government institution of the Autonomous Community, being the representative body of the Cantabrians. Presently it is constituted by thirty-nine deputies elected by universal, equal, free, direct and secret suffrage. The primary functions of

3776-412: The temperatures are commonly higher than 20 °C (68 °F). Fires are often helped by this type of wind: one example is the fire that destroyed part of the city of Santander in the winter of 1941 . In these specific cases in the southern part of the mountain range the dry adiabatic gradient produces different conditions to the rest of the region: the wind there is fresher and more humid, and there

3840-399: The term Cantabria referred to an expansive country bounded by the Cantabrian Sea (the Bay of Biscay ), the western side of the Sella valley in Asturias , the hillfort of Peña Amaya in Burgos , and along the Aguera River almost as far as Castro Urdiales . It thus included areas of Asturias , Santander , Biscay , and Guipuzcoa . Following the Roman conquest of Spain , however, it

3904-424: The territory sits in the area of Cantabria in the ancient period , but from the late Middle Ages to the early 19th century, the name Cantabria also referred to the territory of the Basques , especially the lordship of Biscay . The modern province of Cantabria was constituted on 28 July 1778 at Puente San Miguel, Reocín . The yearly Day of the Institutions holiday on 28 July celebrates this. The Organic Law of

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3968-433: The use of woods for forestry has increased in Cantabria, and is now almost 70% of all woods in the region. Along with these characteristics it would also be necessary to mention peculiarities of the comarca of Liébana , which has a microclimate very similar to the Mediterranean , allowing to grow cork oaks , vines and olives , and which is still very well conserved from human activity. The other remarkable comarca

4032-440: The villas, valleys and subscribed jurisdictions. They were, in addition to the Nine Valleys: Rivadedeva, Peñamellera, the province of Liébana, Peñarrubia, Lamasón, Rionansa, the Villa of San Vicente de la Barquera, Coto de Estrada, Valdáliga, the Villa of Santillana del Mar, Lugar de Viérnoles, the Villa of Cartes and environs, the Valley of Buelna, the Valley of Cieza, the Valley of Iguña with the Villas of San Vicente and Los Llares,

4096-455: Was restricted to the area of Santander and eastern Asturias , forming a part of Hispania Tarraconensis (" Tarragonan Spain"). The principal tribes of the area were the Pleutauri , the Varduli , the Autrigones , the Tuisi , and the Conisci or Concaui , who were known for feeding on their horses' blood . The area was well settled, with the largest city being Juliobriga , and the local mountains exploited for lead mines. Following

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