pirateswere also frequent in the 16th century, and continued until the early 18th century. At that time, huge iron mines were discovered and French and British companies set up business in the area, bringing renewed prosperity and returning Almería to a position of relative importance within Spain.
During the Spanish Civil War the city was shelled by the German navy, and the front page headlines of the Diario de Almería, dated June 3, 1937, referred to the press in London and Paris carrying the news of the "criminal bombardment of Almería by German planes".Almería and Málaga were the last Andalusian cities to surrender to Francisco Franco's nationalist forces.
In the second half of the 20th century, Almería witnessed spectacular economic growth due to tourism and intensive agriculture, with crops grown year-round in massive invernaderos – plastic-covered "greenhouses" – for intensive vegetable production.
After Franco's death and popular approval of the new Spanish Constitution, the people of southern Spain were called on to approve an autonomous status for the region in a referendum. Although there were 118,186 votes for and 11,092 votes against it in the province of Almería, an absolute majority was needed, and the results in Almería were just 42%. The Government impugned that result, and Almería is now part of the newly autonomous region of Andalusia as we know it today
