A small village located
on the side of a hill of the same name, set in a landscape typical
of the Axarquia region, sloping down from hills and dry peaks covered
in olive trees and vines to the fertile valleys of the Rivers La
Cueva and Cutar, the highlight of which is the valley known as El
Salto del Negro.
Historical notes:
In the north of Cutar's municipal AREA with a small castle, which
no longer exists; the village's name is derived from the Arabic
"hisn aqut", which means "pointed castle".
During the Moslem occupation, Almachar, El Borge, Cutar and Moclinejo
formed a group known as "The Four Villages", which enjoyed
the protection of Comares Castle.
The "Four Villages" tahá (an Arabic term meaning
district or region) was the scene of one of the most significant
events of the 15th century in the long struggle between the Christians
and Moslems which preceded the disappearance of the Nazari kingdom
of Granada: in March 1483, troops from Castile led by the Marquis
of Cadiz were defeated by El Zagal's army when the Christians were
on their way to conquer Malaga.
After the fall of the AREA to the Catholic Monarchs, a number of
its morisco (Moslem converts to Christianity) inhbitants left Cutar;
by about 1494, the population of the village had fallen to some
120 people.
Years later, in 1569, an almost general revolt against Christian
authority by the moriscos of Cutar, Benamargosa, Competa, Sedella,
Daimalo and other villages in the Axarquia region took place; the
rebels stronghold was El Peñon de Frigiliana, where they
were finally defeated by the governor of Velez, Alvaro de Zuarzo.
The harsh repression meted out by Alvaro de Zuarzo was followed
by the definitive expulsion of the moriscos from the AREA.
In the late 16th century, the village began to be resettled by
Old Christians from various parts of Spain.
One of the most serious setbacks suffered in recent times by the
population of this village was an outbreak of a phylloxera-induced
plague on La Indiana estate in the municipal AREA of Moclinejo,
close to Cutar. In next to no time the economy of the whole region,
whose economy was essentially based on vine cultivation, was in
ruins.
The village and its municipal AREA were also affected by the major
tremor known as the Andalusian Earthquake on Christmas Day 1884,
suffering serious material damage.
Area
Map of Cutar
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