La Coruña

During the Early Modern period, the story of La Coruña goes hand in hand with that of the Monarchy of the Austrias. During the reign of Charles V, the Casa de Contratación de Especias was installed which made a better defensive system against potential invaders mandatory. La Coruña saw the Invencible Armada sail from its port in 1588, bound for its resounding defeat in the English Channel. The following year, the defense system of the city, centered on the Castillo de San Antón and the heroic deeds of María Pita, managed to repel the assault led by Englishman Francis Drake. During the seventeenth century until the mid-eighteenth century, La Coruña experienced a period of intense recession, mainly due to the high population pressure and the tax generated by the incessant wars that involved the Spanish monarchy. Only in the mid-eighteenth century did the city begin to recover its role as an important center of maritime trade.