History and economy
The
fertile bank of the river Martín fostered the progressive population
of an area whose peoples have known, and still preserve, traces of numerous
cultures. Prehistoric settlers, Iberians, Romans, Muslims, Jews and Christians
have left their mark in Bajo Martín.
As evidence of those ancient cultures, in the county we can find the cave paintings of the Cultural Park of the River Martín, which are a valuable example of Levantine art and have been acknowledged as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage.
Iberian times were undoubtedly of great splendour in the county, as there are archaeological sites in every single town in Bajo Martín. The most outstanding of all is the settlement of Cabezo de Alcalá, in Azaila, which is one of the best preserved and most widely documented settlements in Spain.
During the Middle ages the county of Bajo Martín, like most of Spain, was a mixture of cultures and traditions. All the towns had a Moorish quarter, the aljama. The Jewish community was less numerous and, for the most part, they clustered in Híjar, where a medieval synagogue from the 15th century has been preserved.
All over this area the expulsions of all the Moors and Jews from Spain brought about a deep demographic and economic crisis from which it took a long time to recover. After losing its entrepreneurial and professional energy, during the following centuries it was agriculture, particularly the olive tree, that became the main activity in Bajo Martín, reaching remarkable quality and production levels. Other products such as vegetables and cereals, combined with the push of the developing textile industry, spurred a certain degree of economic development.
In the 20th century the railroad and land irrigation, which was made possible
thanks to the reservoirs of Escuriza (1893) and to the Cueva Foradada (1920),
shaped the economic landscape of the county. Moreover, the exploitation of
the lignite mines became a significant source of employment and prosperity.
In the last few years, despite the closure of the coal mines, the industrial
and service sectors have replaced agriculture as the main source of wealth
and economic development.
In
that respect, it is worth mentioning several initiatives like the industrial
zone of Venta del Barro (in Puebla de Híjar) or the European Programme
LEADER, managed by ADIBAMA, the association for development of Bajo Martín.
Generally speaking, the economy of Bajo Martín today shows the typical features of rural areas, such as the lack of a business fabric and the high number of self-employed workers, mostly belonging to the primary sector and services.
The major challenges for this county are industrial diversification, agricultural modernization and the development of new initiatives.
