Blanca 1800

Blanca 1800 -1900

After the War of Independence (1808-1814) Blanca's privilege was ratified by King Ferdinand VII in 1819. Nine years later the Kingdom of Murcia was hit by an epidemic of yellow fever and Blanca was elected by the Chapter of the Cathedral of Murcia as a refuge from the disease, and through the intercession of St. Roch the fever did not reach Blanca according to tradition. St. Roch was named as the pattern of Blanca seeing the results of praying of the inhabitants from Blanca to him. Freed from control by the Order of Santiago, in 1851 and after the revolutionary events and the restoration of the monarchy of Canovas del Castillo in Alfonso XII Blanca faced the beginning of the new century better prepared than some of the surrounding municipalities. In 1856 the inhabitants arranged building of a new bridge over the River Segura. In 1869 a rural road was finished to connect the city with the railway station. In 1894 public lighting was installed. Also in 1894 Blanca suffered several collapses from the hillsides destroying several buildings, including a home-hospital and shelter for the poor. The result was a complete change of the landscapes which motivated the construction of new houses and streets. 

1900 - 2000
 

During the twentieth century turbulent political and social periods were regularly occurring in the town and the rest of the region. Proclaimed the Second Republic in the 1931 elections the conservative parties grouped in the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights (CEDA) won the elections. The response of the left parties was an immediate development of the organization of trade unions and social organizations which in 1934 proclaimed a general strike in Murcia with violent demonstrations in many locations. The neighboring Cieza had to declare a state of war and there were several deaths in Alguazas. The 1936 elections, which were won by a coalition of leftist parties called "The Popular Front", returned to cause violent altercations throughout the region. This heralded the civil conflict that ended with the rise by a part of the army on 17 July of the same year. As in the rest of the country during these years, there were isolated social crisis. However, the most noticeable awareness was reflected in the attacks on convents and churches, such as the convent of "La Milagrosa" and the Parish of Blanca's church "San Juan Evangelista". As a result of this violence Blanca lost a significant amount of religious art, especially in religious imagery (saved from the same attacks one of the most prestigious and appreciated images was that of Christ tied to the column of a Salzillo style and authorship of Sanchez Tapia).

Despite remaining at the side of the Republic the region of Murcia remained far from the front lines because there was little military action, except sporadic bombing ports of Cartagena and Aguilas. In March 1939 the national side's troops occupied the city along with the rest of the region. From a demographic standpoint the twentieth century has been a time of stagnation for Blanca. A century earlier it had 6,000 inhabitants and the same figure remains in the twenty-first century. Today immigration is essential to maintain and increase this number. This is not surprising because the economy of the municipality at the beginning of the century was based on agriculture, esparto (10), and the sale of timber, which gradually disappeared with the advent of synthetic fibers. These circumstances, the closure of cannery industries, and abandonment of logging forced emigration of many local residents to other places. Only agriculture, currently devoted to fruit and grapes, received a significant boost with the waters of the Tajo-Segura. However, Blanca's inhabitants do not surrender to adversity and fight together to face future times in a remarkable effort to develop their city.