The Almina of Ceuta. Graphic Analysis of Its Historical Cartography

Abstract

At the beginning of the XVIII century the number of military engineers who were part of the army was limited; the arrival of Felipe V to the throne of Spain, led to a clear attempt to modernize the country, its communications, cities and infrastructures. To carry out this the Royal Military Engineering Corps (created by Royal Decree on the 17th of April 1711 specifically for this purpose) supported the Monarch for the first time in the Siege of Cardona. During the next few years, the influence of this new Corp of Engineers became notorious throughout the national territory. It soon became the driving force behind the development of existing defence systems as well as the construction of new fortresses, citadels, barracks, hospitals, stores or arsenals, all of them aimed at effectively establishing a fierce and safe defence of the metropolitan territory and the Indias.The objective of this article is the analysis of the influence on the urban development of Ceuta, of the work carried out by military engineers during the 18th century. For this, and focusing on the area called La Almina (see Fig. 1), the methodology used is based on studying the existing historical cartography both in the General Archive of Simancas and in the General Military Archive of Madrid, classifying and ordering the different actions carried out military engineers and develop a cartography that reflects the urban situation at the end of the 18th century in comparison with the current situation.