Badajoz
[key], city, capital of Badajoz prov., SW Spain, in Extremadura, on the
Guadiana River. Situated in an agricultural region, food processing is the
main industry. Strategically located near the border of Portugal, it has an
active trade with that country. Badajoz was a fortress city in Roman times
that rose to prominence under the Moors as the seat (1022–94) of a
vast independent emirate. Alfonso IX of León liberated it in 1228.
Thereafter Badajoz was repeatedly attacked by the Portuguese and was
consequently strongly fortified. The city has often been besieged; in the
Peninsular War the French failed to take it in a long siege (1808–9)
and succeeded in 1811 only to be driven out by Wellington in 1812 after
bitter fighting. In the civil war of 1936–39 the capture (1936) of
Badajoz by the Insurgents after a bloody battle was followed by hundreds of
executions. A 1952 irrigation project, Plan Badajoz, intensified the city's
development, raised its standard of living, and provided increased
electrical power. Notable landmarks are the massive cathedral (begun in the
13th cent.) and the remains of the Moorish citadel. Manuel de Godoy, the
favorite of Charles IV, and the painter Luis de Morales were born in
Badajoz.
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