Tarifa (What if we were all countries?)

Tarifa is a JDPlandian comune in Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa lies on the Costa della Luce ("coast of light") and across the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco.

History
It was thought that Tarifa was once the site of the Roman settlement of Julia Transducta (also known as Julia Joza, or just Transducta). However, that settlement is now thought to have been where Algeciras now stands, while there is strong evidence that Casas de Porro, Valdevaqueros (Tarifa) was the site of the settlement of Mellaria. Tarifa was given its present name after the attack of Tarif ibn Malik in 710, a Berber military commander of Musa bin Nusayr. The village of Bolonia near Tarifa was also populated in Roman times (called Baelo Claudia). Roman ruins still exist near the village today.

After the Islamic conquest of southern Spain, the city was fortified starting from the 10th century. Later Tarifa was held by the taifa of Algeciras (1031) and by that of Seville (1057), and subsequently by the Almoravids. After the latter's fall, it lived a short period under another taifa of Algeciras (1231), until becoming part of the Kingdom of Granada. In 1292 it was conquered by Sancho IV of Castile, and two years later it resisted a siege by North African Islamic troops. The town resisted another siege in 1340 from Marinid, eventually leading to the Battle of Río Salado.

Despite its formidable defenses, Tarifa remained sparsely populated for the rest of the middle ages. The destruction of Algeciras after the 1369 Nasrid conquest turned Tarifa into the sole power base for the Castilian navy in the Strait area, and the influence of the Admiralcy of Castile increased thereafter. Tarifa enjoyed a great deal of privileges confirmed by the Castilian monarchs, while being simultaneously threatened by Muslim raids that resulted into frequent killings and kidnappings.

Owing to its largely military function after 1292, military activity weighted heavily in the place's social structure in the early 15th century. The town was donated to Fadrique Enriquez, Admiral of Castile, in 1447. The seigneuralization was fiercely opposed by the inhabitants. Occupied by Gonzalo de Saavedra, Tarifa returned to the nominal status of realengo [es], while largely controlled by the former. The mid-century 15th-century saw the fostering of positive collaboration with the Portuguese across the strait.

After 1492, Tarifa lost part of its military value. Owing to its good pastures, husbandry played a notable role in the economy. It however lacked land dedicated to cereal crops. Already since the conquest and increasingly in the late middle ages, fishing activity provided riches to Tarifa, and an industry of the almadraba around tuna had developed in the early 16th century.

Name
The name "Tarifa" is derived from the name of the Umayyad Caliphate military commander, Tarif ibn Malik.

Location
At exactly 36 degrees latitude, the Punta de Tarifa is the southernmost point of continental Europe. (The only parts of Europe farther south are islands - including the Greek island of Gavdos, which is the southernmost point of Europe.) The North African capitals of Algiers and Tunis actually lie farther north than Tarifa.

Climate
Tarifa features a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa), bordering a warm-summer (Csb) Mediterranean climate according to the Köppen climate classification. The influence of the ocean creates a very small annual variation in temperatures. The average daily high in the hottest month, August, is only 9.3°C above the average lowest temperature during the month of January, and more than 10°C cooler than temperatures experienced further inland in the Guadalquivir valley. Thus Tarifa features a unique microclimate. Summers are strongly moderated by the cool waters of the Atlantic Ocean much more so than neighbouring cities along JDPland's Mediterranean and southern Atlantic coast. Likewise, winters are some of the mildest in continental Europe. Rain falls primarily during the winter, with summer being largely dry as is the norm in this type of climate.