History of the cultivation of artichokes in the town of Benicarló

Benicarló is a very old city whose origins (archeologically proven) lie in the pre-Iberian and mid-Iberian periods with a wealth of important material testimonies from the La Tossa and the El Puig de la Nau Iberian sites, both of which are situated within the municipal boundaries of this city. After a long period of Roman occupation and the dark Visigoth age, Moors had settled here by the year 711 and remained for more than 500 years. This was an extensive period during which time Islam greatly influenced all aspects of life, customs, work, and religious practices. Also influenced was the culture of the inhabitants of the booming farmstead of Benigazlún and Benigazló, of which Jaubert de Passa said, “Benigazló saw her parched fields transformed into a magnificent and rich allotment, and her sterile land transformed into a vast garden.”

The name Benigazlún, which is the oldest documented denomination (13^th century) of Benicarló, is generally believed by historians to come from the Arabic Beni-Gazlún, or descendants of the Gazlún, a group of Berbers settled on these lands from the north of Castellón and south of Teruel, who decided to move here before founding the Benicarlanda farmsteads.

500 years of territorial occupation is a lot, and a clear and lasting cultural influence is inevitable. Many aspects of this cultural influence have left a deep mark, and have lasted right up to present day, where they can be found in the agricultural practices of our villages. This is especially true with horticulture, harvesting techniques, storage, and water piping for irrigation purposes. Names like sènia/waterwheel (ár. saniia), caduf/bucket (kaduz), aljub/well (al-gubb), safareig/laundry room (saharaig), alquería/farmstead (al-kariia), almàssera/mill for making olive oil (al-ma'sara), etc., and others related to the vegetable garden such as albergínia/aubergine (al-badingana), bacora/fig (bakora), albercoc/apricot (al-barkok), carxofa/artichoke (xorsofa), safanòria/carrot (isfanariia), garrofa/carrob bean (xarroba), safrà/saffron (za'faran), síndria/watermelon (sandia), etc., are still applicable – both in terms of their cultivation as well as in the use of popular names given by the residents of the local villages.

What I would like to say by all of this is that the aforementioned crops, including the artichoke and others besides, have been grown by our ancestors since the presence of Arabs in this area. From there began the ancient tradition of the Benicarló vegetable garden - for producing artichokes, carrots, watermelons, saffron, carob beans, alfalfa, etc. for family consumption and for feeding domestic animals.

Graphic evolution of the artichoke flower in the Benicarló coat of arms.

With respect to the origins of the cultivation of the artichoke plant in Benicarló, I believe it important to clarify from the outset that a lack of documentation means it is now lost in the memories of time. However, it is almost unanimously agreed amongst the elderly that it dates from long, long ago. They claim that their fathers and grandfathers grew artichokes, but not the current variety of artichokes and not for commercial ends, but as a gastronomic complement to family meals. For this they planted a variety of artichoke plants from which they used the tender stems (cardets) and the small artichokes that they produced. The botanist Cabanilles refers to them as Scolimus hispanicus and talks of their abundance throughout the irrigated lands of Valencia during his lifetime (late 18^th century). The cardets make up the base of the renamed olleta benicarlanda, an ancient popular condiment passed on from generation to generation until the present day.

The natural representation in the 1842 coat of arms did not receive criticism from any town councillor, meaning all councillors were familiar with the form represented (an authentic artichoke plant), and the observation that “no further difference existed between this coat of arms and the previous one other than greater dimensions and a cleaner background” leads us to believe that 200 years ago or more people were convinced that what was represented on the coat of arms was the artichoke that they cultivated and not the symbol of a family named Cardona.