Sanlúcar de Barrameda’s history can be traced as far back as the Paleolithic era, along with most of the other locales in the Cádiz province. It served as a strategic port in later occupations by the Phoenicians and Greeks.
The Romans occupied Sanlúcar in around 200 BC, but were later expelled by the Moors. It was during Roman times that Sanlúcar was officially a town.
In 1297, Guzman El Bueno was rewarded by the Spanish king Sancho IV with the town of Sanlúcar.
After the New World was discovered by Christopher Columbus, the Sanlúcar port became a very important and major port. In 1498, Christopher Columbus started his third journey here. A few decades after him, Ferdinand Magellan kicked off his monumental trip to circumnavigate the world from the very same Sanlúcar port.
Sanlúcar de Barrameda entered a period of decline in the early half of the 17th century, when it was no longer under the rule of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia. Trade routes from the Americas no longer passed through Sanlúcar. It was only in the 19th century that Sanlúcar was “rediscovered” and again became part of the trade routes around Europe.
