Cartagena

Qart-Hadast was founded around 227 BC by the Barcids of Ancient Carthage. Known as Carthago Nova under Roman rule, it was the capital of Hispania Carthaginensis. It was briefly held by the Byzantine Empire in late antiquity, before being raided by Visigoths circa 620–625. The Islamic city rebuilt around the Concepción Hill, mentioned as Qartayânnat al-Halfa, was noted by the 11th century as a great harbor.

Unsubmissive to the terms of the Treaty of Alcaraz, Cartagena was taken by force by the Crown of Castile in 1245, with aggressive settlement policies being pursued afterwards pursuant to Cartagena's status as a prize of war. While Cartagena ended up as the sole Castilian port in the region for years to come, its constrained prominence conformed to Castile's limited attention to Mediterranean affairs in the late middle ages. It was secured by the Crown in 1503 after a period in private hands, growing in saliency because of its increasing trade prowess and its role in the Hispanic Monarchy's intervention in the Maghreb, and becoming the base of the Spanish Mediterranean fleet in the 18th century. Following the re-opening of the mines in the Sierra Minera, a mining industry developed after 1840, otherwise prompting the 1860 segregation of the mining district into a new municipality. Cartagena was a hotspot of the Cantonal Rebellion in 1873.