Phoenicians and Greeks carried out commercial activities
along its 8 km of coastline, but the it was Romans who founded
an important factory-town at the mouth of the River Argentino,
meaning "silver river” (on a site now known as
Punta de Torrox or Faro de Torrox), which was dependent
on the larger Caviclum -present-day Torrox-, a prosperous
Roman city founded in the first century which underwent
continuous growth, reaching its peak in the 4th and 5th
centuries before being occupied by the Visigoths and, in
the 8th century, the Arabs. In 755 Prince Omeya Abd-el-Rhaman
settled in Torrox, leading his followers from here to Cordoba,
where he founded the independent Emirate. During the Andalusi-Arabic
period, Torrox was known throughout the Mediterranean for
the production and sale of silk fabrics, sugar cane plantations,
oil, almonds and figs. At the time of the conquest by the
Catholic Monarchs in 1487, Torrox consisted of 3 neighbouring
hamlets -Alhaguer, Almedina and Alhandac- protected by Torrox
Castle which, in time, would lend its name to the town.
The definitive capture of Torrox by the Christians didn't
come until 1488, after a brief spell during which the Moslem
leader El-Zagal took over of the town and its castle. Henceforth,
the area’s population fell as its morisco - Moslem
converts to Christianity - inhabitants fled in the face
of the difficult living conditions imposed by their new
governors. The situation of those who stayed behind worsened
daily, until open rebellion broke out; the moriscos established
a stronghold at Peñon de Frigiliana Castle, where
they successfully resisted the first attacks by forces sent
by the governor of Velez-Malaga Arevalo de Zuarzo; in fact,
the uprising was not subdued until reinforcements sent by
sea under Don Luis de Requesens, High Commander of Castile,
landed on the beaches of Torrox and laid siege to Frigiliana
Castle, causing over 2,400 rebel deaths. The High Commander
of Castile ordered the destruction of the castle, which
was reduced to ashes. In 1570, the process of expelling
the moriscos was completed; the land confiscated from them
was redistributed among Old Christian settlers. Another
important episode in the town’s history occurred during
the War of Independence (1810-12), when, on withdrawing
from Torrox, Napoleon’s troops blew up the castle,
which was left in ruins. The town and its municipal area
were shaken by the major tremor known as the Andalusian
Earthquake on Christmas Day 1884; extensive material damage
was suffered. On 20 January 1885, a concerned King Alfonso
XIII visited the area, staying in the building which today
houses Torrox’s Cultural Centre. Sugar cane exploitation
ushered in prosperous times in the 19th century, and a number
of the town’s most noteworthy houses and buildings
date back to this era, such as the sugar factory, built
in 1890.
