Historically, the Bay of Cadiz has been a strategic location for the shipping of goods.
It seems natural that the Bay of Cadiz has always been home to some type of important port activity. In fact, thanks to this, Cadiz's history includes some glorious moments, from the actual founding of the city (going back to 1104 BC in the reign of the Phoenician King Habis) until the period under Roman and Punic rule, when Gades (Cadiz) was the most important city in Hispania and the third most important in the Empire..
We know of the construction, still undated, of a stone quay in Rota that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 and that was probably one of the main Tarshish entry ports. There is written confirmation (the first referring to the existence of a port) of the construction of "Portus Gaditanus" by Balbo on the shores of the Guadalete River and of the first shipyard in the Trocadero with references to the construction of ten ships for the war between Julius Ceasar and Pompey. It was during Caesar's reign that the Port of Cadiz first achieved notoriety and splendour with the exportation of salted fish and wine to Rome and other provinces of the Empire and Africa.
Its history darkens between the 4th and 15th century when Spain was ruled by the Catholic Kings and the first real port was established in the Bay of Cadiz, in Puerto Real. A Royal Decree was issued for the port to be built and also laid down that it should be exclusively used for trading. At the end of that century and throughout the 16th century, trade was mainly with Africa. The New World was discovered at that time, which would open the doors to new overseas trade.
