These are some important hints in Doñana´s ancient history:

The origins of Doñana as a region go back to ancient times. About 10 centuries before Christ some very old texts placed the mythical Tartessos in this area.

Civilizations like Etruscans, Phoenicians and Greeks left their prints in the National Park. Today it's still possible to find some important Roman remains hidden in the sands.

In Roman times there still was a large inner lake called Lacus Ligustinus surrounded by the Guadalquivir River and its tributaries and the coastal sand bars to the south.

After an historical parenthesis, the king Alfonso X The Wise, gives away a part of the Guadalquivir Marshes to the City of Seville in 1255.

• 1262
  Alfonso X "The Sage"  wins the county of Niebla back from the Moors and soon after that set up a  Royal Hunting Place at La Rocina Forests. He also build a small sanctuary on the river banks, lost today ,called Santa Olalla. 

• 1294
  His son, Sancho IV "The Brave", donates some lands, west of the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, to the Duke of Medina Sidonia (Alfonso Perez de Guzman) for defending Tarifa from the Moorish. He was given all the land up to where the strains of a  boiler being beating at a central point could be heard.

• 1493
  The Reyes Católicos give his Secretary of Finances, Esteban Perez, some of these lands near the Madre de las Marismas, where today the village of El Rocío is located.
  Some years later the Council of the City of Almonte buy it from his son.

• 1495
  The third Duke of Medina Sidonia decides to put in productivity the forests and introduces reed deer for hunting. He also organizes a beating to get rid of the wolves in the area in order to encourage cattle grassing in the marshes.

• 1585
  The seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia buy the lands of his ancestors from the City of Almonte up to the Madre de las Marismas.
  He was married to Mrs. Ana de Mendoza y Silva, daughter of Eboli´s Princess. Ashamed of her mother's libertine life at the royal court, she moves to the Duke´s game reserve where he build an appropriate house for her. It was then when the area starts being called the Coto (Spanish for hunting ground) of Doña (Spanish for Mrs.) Ana, later Doñana.

• 1599
  The name of Doñana is found for the first time on a document.

• 1624
  The king Felipe IV visits the Coto for hunting. This is a landmark in Doñana´s history. The old Casa del Bosque is deeply refurbished up to the present Palacio de Doñana. 

• 1797
  Goya makes in Doñana a portrait of the Duchess of Alba, married in that time to the owner of the Coto, Jose María Alvarez de Toledo. It is said that he also painted here the famous pictures of "Las Majas" and that the Duchess could have posed for the painter again for them.

• 1829
  Some dromedaries are brought to the area to work as beasts of burden in the construction of a road.

• 1854
  First mention on a printed document of the Avifauna of Doñana: "Catálogo de las aves observadas en algunas provincias andaluzas" (Catalogue of the birds watched in some Andalusian Provinces) by Antonio Machado y Nuñez.

• 1883
  First visit of Abel Chapman (hunter, naturalist and writer), English egg collectors know about the marvellous Spanish far south. He is the first to point out the Euro African character of Doñana and its importance for the migratory birds.

• 1899
  First photographs of Doñana´s wildlife by R. B. Lodge. This is to be considered like the first visit to Doñana with a constructive purpose.

• 1900
  Mr. Guillermo Garvey buy El Coto from the Count of Niebla, last representative of the House of Medina Sidonia. Hunting start becoming a profitable business.

• 1909
  The Duke of Tarifa brings another golden era to Doñana. He enlarges the Palace  and build the Pier of La Plancha. He also supports and finances Adolfo Shulten works in his search without success of Tartessos signs in the Guadalquivir River mouth. The king Alfonso XIII is often seen hunting in Doñana.

• 1912
  Fallow Deer is introduced in Doñana for hunting.

• 1923
  First projects to transform part of the marshes into farm land by Islas del Río Guadalquivir Limited. Finally and after several failures, rice is chosen as the ideal crop for the poor soils of the marshes.

• 1934
  First project for building a road connecting Cádiz and Huelva provinces across the Coto.

• 1951
  The last wolf is killed by a warden and congratulated for it.

• 1952
  In one side, the newly established dictatorship was of the opinion to make empty lands profitable for the sake of people and finances. In the other side naturalist and nature lovers wanted to preserve the biological values for the future. They get to slow down the eucalyptus planting projects. The fight for the preservation of Doñana has started.
  
  José A. Valverde is invited by  Francisco Bernis for an expedition to Doñana. They meet Mauricio Gonzalez-Gordon who is of a great help to carry out some studies on the birds of Doñana. This is the germ of the SEO (Spanish Ornithological Society), eventually founded in 1954.
  
  Guy Mountfort is invited to join a French expedition to the area.

• 1957
  Jose A.Valverde is invited to the second British scientific expedition.

• 1959
  The society "Coto del Palacio de Doñana S.A." sells out the land to build the tourist urbanization of Matalascañas and a tarmac road connecting it with El Rocío is built. Tourism industry is starting to push hard in the area.

• 1961
  A growing conscientiousness in Europe of the need to protect the area. An anonymous Swiss donor, offers to the Spanish government more than 8 million pesetas to buy properties in the area. In May, the World Wildlife Fund is created in London by J. A. Valverde and G. Mountfort among others. They offer 11 million pesetas for Las Nuevas State.
  
  Leo Biaggi, a well-off  Italian, come forward and buy it  for 14 million pesetas .

• 1963
  WWF and Spanish government buy at last 6,300 has. of forests and marshes for more than 33 million pesetas and creates the Doñana Reserve.

• 1965
  The Doñana Biological Station is founded in order to manage the protected area and J.A.Valverde is named its director.

• 1969
  A piece of 3,200 has. of marshland is bought by the WWF and the Guadiamar Reserve is created.
  
  Doñana National Park is founded with an extension of 35,000 has. The Biological Reseve is still under the ownership and management of the Ministry of Education and Science  but the lands around it, included in the National Park, are owned privately and controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture through ICONA (Institute for the Conservation of Nature )

• 1972
  An agricultural plan of the government to put in productivity large parts of the marshes and plains surrounding the Reserve is a new threat to the conservation of the species. The Guadiamar River, one of the main sources of water for the marshes is canalised.

• 1973
  60,000 birds get killed at Las Nuevas by the polluted and salty water from the Guadalquivir River used to flood the marshes to attract birds for hunting.

• 1974
  L. Biaggi sells out Las Nuevas State for 90 million pesetas to be exploited as a goose hunting ground.
  
  200 Kg of American Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) are introduced in Isla Mayor Rice Fields in order to replace the decreasing populations of the native species.  The expected positive effects on the local economy turned into high losses for damages to the hydrologic system and worsen rapidly the situation of the local crayfish.

• 1978
  The National Park is enlarged up to 50,720 has. and a buffer area of some 22,000 has. called Prepark is created around it.

• 1980
  Doñana is classified by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve. First plans for the hydrologic regeneration of Doñana.

• 1982
  Doñana is included in the RAMSAR Convention List.

• 1984
  First Use and Management Plan for the National Park is approved.

• 1985
  Doñana receives the European Management Award. Later again on 1990 and 1995.

• 1986
  A new high death toll of about 30,000 birds.

• 1988
  Doñana is classified as a Zone for a Special Protection of Birds (ZEPA).

• 1989
  Doñana Natural Park, with some 54,000 has., is crated by the Andalusia regional government.

• 1990
  Hard social opposition against the urbanization of coastal areas contemplated on the "Costa Doñana Project".

• 1993
  A Plan for the Sustainable Socioeconomic Development of Doñana area is approved with funds from Spain and the European Community.

• 1994
  Doñana is classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

• 1998
  A mine accident at Aznalcollar causes the spillage of many thousands tones of toxic mud into the Guadiamar River. Emergency measures are taken to protect Doñana and clean up the river bed.
  
  The "Doñana 2005" and "Corredor Verde" projects are approved in order to regenerate the hydrologic system in the area.

• 2000
  The European Council decides to renew the European Management Award.

• 2002
  The ZEPA is enlarged to include the Natural Park.
  
  Spanish Supreme Court decides to impose sanctions of about 45 million euro in fines and compensations on Boliden Swedish company for the Aznalcollar dam burst disaster. Boliden appeals the decision.

• 2005
  The National Park is enlarged up to 54,120 has.
  The Natural Park is also enlarged  up to 53,835 has. and included in the list of Ramsar sites.

• 2006
  Spanish Court maintain most of the sanctions imposed on Boliden reducing only in 1,3 million over the original amount.
  
  In July the competences in the management of the National Park are transferred from the National government to the regional administration. Thus it will be the Junta de Andalusia who will manage both parks from now on. We start talking about Doñana Natural Site in contraposition to National and Natural Park, which in the other hand will keep on existing as such.

Book of the Hunt, XIII century

Guy Mountfort