History History

Archaeological research dates the first human traces to more than ten centuries BC.

It was the Greek historian Polybius who first mentioned the presence of the "Andosins" in his description of Hannibal's crossing of the Pyrenees. A visit to the different archaeological sites of the Roc d'Enclar in Santa Coloma or the Roc des Bruixes in Canillo allows the curious to observe fragments of ceramics, engravings, jewellery and other objects of daily life dating from this period.

Soon the first signs of Christianization of the Principality appeared with the construction of the first pre-Romanesque churches.

Legend has it that Charlemagne founded Andorra in 805, to thank its inhabitants for helping him fight the Saracens. The charter of the foundation of Andorra can be found in the archives of the Casa de la Vall in Andorra la Vella. However, according to the act of consecration of the cathedral of La Seu d'Urgell (in Spain) in 860, the Andorran territory remains under the domination of the county of Urgell.

In order to preserve his domain and his power, Bernat Sanç, bishop of Urgell, was obliged to sign a treaty with the noble Arnau de Caboet. This agreement confirmed the sovereignty of the bishopric over the valleys of Andorra and stipulated the donation of the Andorran territory to the house of Caboet in fief.

In accordance with the alliances between the county houses, the rights of the valleys passed successively from the Caboets to the Castellbós in 1185, and then to the Counts of Foix in 1208. Refusing to pay homage to the bishop of Urgell, Roger IV of Foix opened a period of hostilities between the lords of Andorra.

Peace only came with the mediation of the King of Aragon, Peter III the Great. After various negotiations, he proclaimed in 1278 a mixed treaty between the Church and the lay lordship: the Paréage. The parage lists and distributes the attributions (economic, judicial and military), confirms the old prerogatives and establishes the payment of a tax in exchange for the protection of two lords. The parage made the co-princes sovereigns, concentrating, in principle, all powers.

Born to Galceran d'Urtx and Blanca de Mataplana at an unknown date, Pere d'Urtx held the position of archdeacon of Prats when he was elected bishop of Urgell on 3 November 1269, a position he held until his death in 1293. When the treaty of parage was signed in 1278, as head of the bishopric of Urgell, he became the first de facto co-prince of Andorra. He now lies in a sarcophagus painted by Arnau Pintor, buried in Urgell Cathedral.

Andorra's autonomy was gradually affirmed. To protest against the abuses of certain notaries and bailiffs, an inhabitant, Andreu d'Alàs, sent a petition to the co-proprietor, the bishop of the Seu d'Urgell, in the name of the "principal men" of the valleys of Andorra. The petition proposed the constitution of a general council to intervene in internal affairs and to enforce rights, liberties and privileges. The co-princes accepted this request, but with one condition: that this assembly could not act against them or their successors. As the privileges were mainly related to land and property, the council took the name of Consell de la Terra (Council of the Land). One or more elected trustees could thus negotiate and act in court on behalf of the Andorrans. Thus, in 1419, Andorra acquired a permanent institution, a Parliament elected by popular vote.

The following centuries were marked by the struggle for mercantile and legal privileges. While the Andorran economy survived thanks to trade, the privileges of tax exemptions were abolished following the War of Succession between Catalonia and Castile (1702-1715), during which Andorra was able to maintain its neutrality. The Andorrans were thus obliged to pay 10% of the value of imported products. After tenacious negotiations, Andorra obtained an agreement, the Sentència Manutenció, exempting products from Andorra from taxes. It was not until the first Industrial Revolution that the exploitation of iron gave a new lease of life to the Andorran economy. This development was accompanied by the appearance of new trades: blacksmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, millers, weavers... and later, from 1880 onwards, cigarreres (women employed to roll tobacco). These jobs created by the forges and the transport of ore led to a growth in the population and a change in the social structure. The casaler households (without inheritance and without land) supplanted the foc households (heirs to the patrimony and landowners).

Andorra was thus preparing to enter the 19th century in full social and economic change, although it still retained medieval institutional structures. The country began by defending its original identity and its neutrality, which had been challenged by France in the post-1789 context, where it was fighting against privileges and feudalism. In 1806, Napoleon I regained his rights over the Principality, and he was recognized as a co-Prince. After experiencing internal political unrest, the Pyrenean country reformed its institutions.

The third baron of Senaller y Gramenet, Guillem de Plandolit i d'Areny was an Andorran politician and industrialist working in the iron industry. In 1866, he became the spokesman for an institutional reform to improve the participation of the whole population in public life. The project, submitted to the co-princes, proposed the creation of the Consell General to the detriment of the Consell de la Terra, the extension of the right to vote to all heads of family and the organisation of the different representative bodies. His efforts led to the signing of the Nova Reforma.

Napoleon III confirmed the decree of the Nova Reforma, issued two years earlier, in April 1866, by bishop Josep Caixal i Estradé.

The concession of the Forces hydroélectriques d'Andorre SA in 1929 was granted to foreign contractors. This event brought a large foreign workforce to Andorra and caused the first cultural clashes between the local population, which was naturally austere and closed-minded and unaccustomed to foreigners, and the mainly Spanish workers who came with new ideas. A new economic fabric was timidly formed. Shops opened, a bank was set up in 1935, Correos (the Spanish Post Office) arrived in 1928 and the Post Office in 1931.

From an institutional point of view, 1933 was an exceptional year. Internal disputes concerning the degree of democratisation of the Council led to the signing of a decree on 19 August. The right to vote could now be exercised by all Andorran men over the age of 25.

Born in Vilnius, which was then still Russian imperial territory, Boris Skossyreff remained famous in Andorra for having been its king for a week. His story is worthy of a true adventure novel: after many tribulations around the world, he was expelled from Majorca for fraud and arrived in 1934 in poor and desolate Andorra. Supported by a high-ranking member of the government, he promises to turn the economy of the small country around. He managed to win the confidence of the members of the Council of the Valleys and, opposing French authority, proclaimed himself King of Andorra on 6 July 1934, under the name of Boris I. On 14 July 1934, on the decision of the two co-princes and with the help of a squadron of Spanish gendarmes, Boris I was deposed and driven to Portugal.

Throughout the Second World War, Andorra was a territory of transit and refuge. Polish soldiers, French resistance fighters, Allied airmen, Jews fleeing from Pétain's regime, and later, in 1945, Nazis and other collaborators seeking to escape to Spain stayed there. The dynamism of the country increased and little by little the autarkic mentality of survival gave way to a liberal and capitalist spirit, favouring the growth of the country, especially after the Second World War.

The right to vote was granted late to women. In 1978, Escaldes-Engordany became the seventh parish in the country.

Following various political demands, two important decrees were signed in 1981. The first provided the Principality with a real government whose head was responsible to the General Council. The second increased the number of General Councillors to 28, with 4 per parish, elected for 4 years and renewable. The first head of government, Oscar Ribas i Reig, was elected in January 1982. However, the institutional reality of Andorra, which originated in the Middle Ages, soon showed its limits. The role granted to the co-princes had not evolved much since the Paréages, which accentuated the dissymmetry between the evolution of the notions of nation in the western world and that experienced by the Principality.

However, the country retains certain commercial privileges. Indeed, while its economic links with France and Spain were threatened by their entry into the EEC, Andorra signed a partial customs union agreement with the organisation in 1990. This was the first time that Andorra signed an international agreement on its own initiative.

Thus launched, Andorra created a dynamic for a profound reform of its institutions and for international recognition. The Andorran Constitution was approved by referendum on 14 March 1993. It defines the characteristics of the State (State governed by the rule of law, independent, democratic and social) and the political system (parliamentary co-principality).

Until the early 2000s, Andorra built up a diplomatic network by becoming a member of some twenty international organizations, including the United Nations (1993), the Council of Europe (1994), UNESCO (1994), the World Tourism Organization (1996), the World Health Organization (1997) and the International Organization of la Francophonie (2004). It has signed and ratified more than 200 international treaties and agreements, including the United Nations and Council of Europe human rights conventions, an agreement on the free movement of persons with France and Spain, and later with Portugal, and a cooperation agreement with the European Union.

Andorra enters the euro zone.

The modernization of legal and economic structures continues through legislation. Numerous laws are being enacted in areas as diverse as the education system, heritage protection, public finance, immigration, access to citizenship, social protection, etc. The aim is to continue to support the country's growth and sustainable development.

The international crisis has hit the country hard (though not as hard as its immediate neighbours) and has forced it to review some of its tax laws to comply with European law and Brussels' policy against tax havens. These reforms are still underway and have recently developed significantly following the investigation into money laundering from organised crime launched by the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Division (FinCEN) against the main Andorran bank, Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA). In response to these difficulties and accusations, the Andorran National Institute of Finance announced that it was taking control of the BPA. Since then, nothing seems to be able to disturb the tranquillity of this principality nestled in the heart of the Pyrénées-Orientales.

Upon assuming the French presidency, Emmanuel Macron automatically becomes co-Prince of Andorra

Legislative elections. The Democrats for Andorra party lost the absolute majority but retained power thanks to a coalition with two other parties: Third Way and the Liberals of Andorra

Since December 17, 2021, regular flights between Madrid and Andorra-La Seu d'Urgell airport (30 minutes by bus from the capital of the principality) make Andorra much more accessible. The flights, operated by the company Air Nostrum, last about 1 hour and 20 minutes.