To speak of history in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain is to go back to the Neolithic era, an era that has left proof of being the first to settle here. From then until now, Xerez or Jerez as it is known as now, has developed into being the 5th city of Andalusia, and it is a city in which many things have happend that have written the history of this area.
The Neolithic, Taressians, Phoenicians, Romans, Muslims, Christians and a few other civilization have settled in what today is Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain. This Tartessian town is recognized as the first great civilization in this area.
The Roman Era in Jerez began after the settling of the Romans in cities such as Baelo Claudia or Cadiz. Afterwards came the Arab occupation and Jerez was turned into an important city in Western Andalusia.
Afterwards came the Middle Ages and the Christian reconquering. In the 12th and 13th century Jerez lived it's most prodigious and when the biggest development occured. Fortresses were built to defend against invasions, especially from the moors. Jerez went on to form part of the Crown of Castilla and Xerez was given the title of Jerez de la Frontera, a title that other cities in the area recived, whose lives depended on the defense of the Castille Kingdom. Cities like Castellar de la Frontera, Conil de la Frontera, Arcos and Chiclana were given their names during this era.
Around these times the economical development of this city was based on the winde industry and agricultural, as well as construction and cultural. The building of several emblamatic places like the Alcazar.
The 15th century was in important moment in the history of Jerez. The discovering of America caused a great development process in the area. In 1492 the dated that Christopher Columbus set foot in the new worlds, the Catholic King and Queen conquered Granada, and with the city, the country and the entire Penninsula.
They were times of splendor for the entire city, a situation that went on into the 17 century when a downfall in the political and economical aspects of the country. In the 18th century the city began regaining strength and began a tradition famous in the entire world with thier Sherry wines in Jerez.
During the wars of the 18th century and the 19th century Jerez de la Frontera where many paintings were sold, works of art like Zubaran, abonded the city. A pillage that the city took a long time to recover from, and it's works of art as of today are scattered around the Grenoble Museum in France and the Cadiz Museum amongst a few others.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Industrialization started to take plae in the city with the coming of the railroad, and the railroads uniting Jerez with Puerto de Santa Maria, with the sea, Puerto real and an urban train.
In this era during the 18th and 19th centuries the Jerez society started it's actual profile, business owners, wineries, exporters around the area, while in the surrounding towns the social classes are poor and working class. This division provoked a few country people revolts.
During the 20th century Jerez as many other cities had to fight off vineyard plagues that invaded the city. It regained itself after the crisis that this cause and was able to move forward. It's exclusive wine was one of the main reasons to get back on it's feet again. The agriculure in the area also became an important economical development in this area.
In the beginings of the 21st century the city suffered an important transformation when the railroads were changed and what united the city with small towns nearby were taken away. The new infrastructures like the A-4 or the A 318 gave the city better access to Cadiz, Seville, Gibraltar, and the port of Algeciras which is the most important port in Spain for it's containers and merchandise. This situation caused Jerez to be the middle point between Seville and Algeciras, which gave new infrastructure to the area and made it a first class logistic city.
