Editing Guadalquivir (section)

=== Between Seville and Sanlúcar de Barrameda ===
During a significant portion of the [[Holocene]], the western Guadalquivir valley was occupied by an inland sea, the [[Tartessian Gulf]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abril |first1=José-María |last2=Periáñez |first2=Raúl |last3=Escacena |first3=José-Luis |title=Modeling tides and tsunami propagation in the former Gulf of Tartessos, as a tool for Archaeological Science |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |date=December 2013 |volume=40 |issue=12 |pages=4499–4508 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.030 |bibcode=2013JArSc..40.4499A |hdl=11441/135755 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The [[Phoenicians]] established the first anchorage grounds and dealt in precious metals. The ancient city of [[Tartessos]] (that gave its name to the Tartessian Civilization) was said to have been located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, although its site has not yet been found.

The [[Roman Republic|Romans]], whose name for the river was ''Baetis'', settled in [[Hispalis]] ([[Seville]]), in the 2nd century BC, making it into an important river port. By the 1st century BC, Hispalis was a walled city with shipyards building longboats to carry wheat. In the 1st century AD the Hispalis was home to entire naval squadrons. Ships sailed to Rome with various products: minerals, salt, fish, etc. During the Arab rule between 712 and 1248 the Moors built a stone dock and the [[Torre del Oro]] (Tower of Gold), to reinforce the port defences.

In the 13th century Ferdinand III expanded the shipyards and from Seville's busy port, grain, oil, wine, wool, leather, cheese, honey, wax, nuts and dried fruit, salted fish, metal, silk, linen and dye were exported throughout Europe.

Following the discovery of the [[Americas]], Seville became the economic centre of the Spanish Empire, because its port, under the jurisdiction of the [[Casa de Contratación]] (House of Trade), had come to hold the monopoly of the trans-oceanic trade. As early as the Middle Ages navigation of the Guadalquivir River was already becoming increasingly difficult: by the year 1500, a great deal of heavy cargo was being handled farther downstream at the harbor of [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]], where the Guadalquivir exits into the sea.<ref name=mercaderes /> As a consequence, Seville finally lost its trade monopoly to [[Cádiz]].

During the late 18th century, a long series of works was started to again provide Seville with a good connection to the sea. The construction of the canal known as the [[Corta de Merlina]] in 1794 marked the beginning of the modernisation of the port of Seville. After five years of work (2005–2010), in late November 2010 the new Seville lock designed to regulate tides was finally in operation.