History

In 1310 Ramon de Moncada sells the “lloc” of Moncofa located in the municipality of Nules to Bernat d’Esplugues, citizen of Valencia, with “denéu thousand sous zinc cents censals and facilities.” King Peter I makes the sale.
The same monarch warns years later to Guillem Ramon de Moncada, about a new tax imposed by him to his vassals and Nules Moncofa. By not remove imposing a penalty of ten thousand drams.
In 1316 Gilabert of Centelles buys his father Ramon de Moncada Nules castle and its lands to “populations” of Moncofa thus becomes the new lord of the barony. The bishop of Tortosa Berenguer Prats Gilabert of Centelles granted half the tithes of the fruits that are established in the new farmland – les Marjalería palafangues- of Nules and Moncofa, and advised to put limits landmarks the new land.
The departure of Beniezma, cited in the donation from Peter Gilabert of Centelles Centelles, preceptor of the Cathedral of Valencia, land and inheritance situated therein, according dated Moncofa writing, the June 1, 1319.
The Alfonso Benign monarch in 1329 grants the guardians of Gilabert Centelles, heir to the lordship of Nules, the power to allocate land in Moncofa to build the church and the house and garden for the pastor. By then-Number 1325 “parrochia Moncofa pay the” Three cents sous delmes “Tortosa Cathedral.
In Gilabert Centelles’s will, dated November 14, 1365, lets “them obres i iluminaria of madonna yglesia Sancta Maria Magdalena of lloch nostre Moncofa two cents sous Dita currency”.
During this century our town and its surroundings will be involved in the War of the Union between the nobility and the monarchy of the Kingdom of Aragon. They were also the years of the scourge of the Black Death that decimated our population, joining the ravages caused by the war.
During the reign of Peter IV the Wall- “mura” between 1330 and 1340 rose, in order to defend the little villas Moncofa neighborhood as banditry and attacks by pirates, who in their looting raids from the sea coastal populations. The walls of Moncofa had two doors one to the north, the site of Nules, and another southeast, the portal of the Sea with an adjoining tower.

by Eduardo Canós Rius

The great tribulation of those years as a result of the fever produced by plantations of rice, forced to ban its cultivation, the continuous attacks of piracy to coastal areas, over the newspaper scourge of the plague, which were not totally disappears s most important events of the XV.

But the event that most impacted the sentililiento of vecliios was Moncofa beach arrival to our image of Santa Ma Magdalena on the ship captained by Bemardo of sparkle, and that came from the city of Marseille. This fact, considered by our ancestors as extraordinary, and in a miraculous way, given the circumstances that framed the landing occurred in the fall of 1423, the reign of Alfonso V the Magnanimous. Probably, to commemorate this event a primitive chapel under the invocation of our patron on the ruins of the old Arab rápita he rose.

by Eduardo Canós Rius

From the S XIV, documented, it is considered as Moncofa Beach Pier Manor Nules, highlighting fisheries as an important activity. This helped into the S XVI, King Carlos I authorize natural Manor, as well as outsiders to embark and disembark all kinds of goods in our beach. Fishing continue until the first half of S XX.

In the same reign, came the mournful struggle of the “Germanies”. Moncofa, villas and manor Burriana sided with the king, being defeated the “agermanats” near Sagunto.

Continuing in our villa concern for the sanitation of the marshes and its transformation into “noves palafangues”. But the backwaters and the marjalerías those from floods of Belcaire, during the hot months continued to rage in public health, endemic diseases such as tertian and quartan.

Repeated semultiplicaron Berber incursions in our coast (Oropesa, Castellón, Vita-real, Xllxes, …). These events forced build on the coast lookout towers (Guaita tower) or remodel existing ones as happened with Almenara Beniezma (Moncofa), Borriana, among others. For the same reason Felipe II ordered the reinforcement of the walls of the towns and cities near the coast. Moncofa Tower was guarded by four guards on foot and on horseback cuiatro.

In the middle of S XVI, the “consells of Vilavella, Nules Mascarell i Moncofa” that formed the dominion of the Centelles, raised lawsuit against them to proceed to the actual jurisdiction reaching that purpose by actual sentence in 1582. From this date , Moncofa and other villas Manor Nutes be governed by the privileges of the crown and will have the same form of government as the real Borriana or villas Vila-real.

by Eduardo Canós Rius

Two important facts are linked to the history of Moncofa: the expulsion of the Moors and the construction of a new church.

In 1609 King Philip III decreed the expulsion of the Moors from the Kingdom of Valencia, the culmination of measures enacted in the previous century and discomfort created among the population by the revolts of the same in the mountainous hinterland. Moncofa Tower becomes once again the protagonist embark on their beach about five Moors in 1600, under the command of Captain Gaspar Vidal. Moors were coming from the valley of the Palancia, of the Sierra de Espadán and Mijares area, ie, the Duchy of Segorbe. Other documentary sources put the figure of embarking on our beach about ten thousand.

1617 Moncofa juries and other towns of the Plana at the request of the king, are addressed to Pope Gregory XV begging the dogmatic statement of the Immaculate Conception.

King Philip IV in his journey from Valencia to Barcelona spent the day May 4, 1632 in the vicinity of our villa. Loa “jurats” and all “oficlals” come to the royal road to greet and kiss his hands as a sign of allegiance, offering the service of a certain amount of pounds “the qual servicil agrairia Majestat Sa ho would molt and memory “. This act was repeated in every village where the royal procession passed.

It was these lavish years calamities; Splash of war in Catalonia, which were very heartfelt in our Governorate “Riu Uxó” rejoined the plague, that for the years 1647 and 1648 caused great slaughter, reaching ban in some villages, as Castellon , the entry of people and goods from Moncofa and other locations where the epidemic had disproportionately priming. Such was the confusion and lack of authority, which flourished banditry, looking juries la Plana villas payable to form a column of troops to defend such outrages our people.

The second half of the century lived expectantly with the construction of the new church, larger than the former, but the contract for demolition of the first and the construction of the new, do not be formalized until 30 June 1691.

The new church responded to the tastes of the time, with a facade of transition between baroque and neoclassical Valencia, Baroque interior, preserving the ancient church the altarpiece.

The parish council consists of the pastor José Catalá, the “batle” Miguel Macia, the justice Ignacio Bonet, the cónsulles Alós and Cristobal Jose Muñoz, the mayor Baltasar Macia, the trustee Bartolome Alemany, Miguel Juan Castellá ,, guard riding Antonio Marti and Antonio Roque Aman “guards to walk and master builder Antonio Navarro, all residents of Moncofa, formalize that contract with the builder and architect of Segorbe Lasierra before the notary Francisco Vicent Sans Valencia.

The chancel was renovated again in 1796 according to the neoclassical trend.

by Eduardo Canós Rius

War of Succession brings new disasters and pecuniary sacrifices to the advice of the villas.

Migueletes patrolling our area many outrages committed in our villa. Bourbon troops approach defending the rights of Philip V against Charles of Austria, who was supported by most of the cities of the Kingdom of Valencia.

Significantly, the bishop of Tortosa expelled from Catalonia in 1705 as a supporter of Felipe V was established in the village of Nules where he lived more than a year, “and zelebró three times general orders, he administered the holy sacrament of confirmation in several Sometimes I ASSI children of Moncofa, Nules and Vilavella … ”

In July 1707 the first town hall-style is Castilla, with the mayor, aldermen, bailiff and clerk. The first council was formed by the mayor, aldermen justice as jurors, that is, the same people who were part of “previous leasehold consell”.

At the end of the century in 1793 Moncofa had 200 inhabited houses and 900 inhabitants, the fields produced grains (60 cahices), “Jewish (10 cahices), oil (350 pounds) and carob (1500 pounds). T, cultivated mulberry imbiéii and the vineyard.

The eighteenth century can be considered as a period of recovery in every way.

by Eduardo Canós Rius

In 1802, the royal road again becomes event for our town and its neighborhood chaired by the city come out to greet and kowtow to their majesties Carlos IV and Maria Luisa, with those of Etruria, Prince Ferdinand, infants and Prime Minister Godoy pass towards Valencia from Barcelona.

A royal order issued on grounds of public health orders cemeteries (fossars) Located in the town center were moved out of stocks. Therefore closes the “fossar” beside the outer walls of the church and built a new one with Calvary in the new access road Xilxes.

In 1850 the first building of the new town hall is built between the Plaza Mayor and San Antonio Street.

The urban expansion to the north and south respectively following the road axis crossing the town, forcing down many of the walls, building materials for the construction of new homes.

During this time the Count of Cervello owned land and houses in Moncofa.

As claimed a century before Jose Antonio Cavanilles the Belcaire river continued to rage in its periodic floods, destroying property and flooded waters in summer were due to illness.

by Eduardo Canós Rius

At the beginning of century Moncofa has a population of 1820 souls and accounted for at the end of 3688 the same as the municipal census of 1994. The population data are reflected in the following study population:

Moncofa population throughout the 20th century

The people in the late eighteenth century had begun to widen following the north-south axis, now following the east-west, especially along the camí La Vall.

In 1890 Burriana Vila-real and cultivated the first orange plantations, which would transform the economy of the peoples of the Plana, quickly spread to all the crop land.

Citrus exports to beginning of the century was done through the port of Castelló and piers Burriana and Moncofa. The shipment is made by boats carrying heavy boxes of oranges to the ships anchored offshore.

In the stores that were in the street San Pascual or the maritime village, the women made the boxes, which were transported to the boarding area with horse-drawn carts.

Because in January the residents of Moncofa were into full naranjera campaign, as happened in other towns in our area, the festivities, in our case of “Sant Antoni” were moved to the third Sunday in October, before wheat planting and harvesting oranges. With the emergence of earlier varieties, in 1986, these parties were moved to the first Sunday in October, when they dealt with the same grouping PEÑAS, since before the organized clavarios.

Continuing practiced fishing trawler until mid-century. Our purpose fishing beach had 160 ships and maritime orientation had school. The electricity produced by a generator Vicente Ramon condo first Alós Moncofa neighbor comes to town in 1914 and to the beach in 1925, when the fountain in the square of the Church is inaugurated. The war of 1936 was a sad parenthesis in our history, the town was almost entirely demolished, forcing inhabitants to evacuate to safer areas neighbors.

Between 1941 and 1944 the parish church, the chapel, the slaughterhouse and laundries, within the program of Devastated Regions rebuilt. Later the railway station is inaugurated and two neighborhoods of new houses within the program of reconstruction quoted above are constructed.

The postwar period was a hard period of hardship and deprivation, it was the epoch of ration cards and black marketeering. But slowly with the effort of all the people the economic recovery begins. With the arrival of tourists begins the rise of our beach. Agriculture rich and varied vegetables, citrus and fruit gives way to the ceramic industry.

Moncofa anthem, composed by Pascual Rius Marti and Eugenio Martí Catalá synthesizes the way of life of our people and the beauty that characterizes our land.

I would like to state at the end of this brief review of our history, my personal appreciation to the residents of Moncofar, which moved by a deep feeling of love for our land, they have collaborated in this work, done that symbolizes our collective identity The pride we feel for our historical past to live a beautiful present, the result of efforts of all, that will make us dream of a brighter future for our community.

by Eduardo Canós Rius