Jaén (Spanish: [xaˈen]) is a city in south-central Spain. The name is derived from the Arabic word jayyan, (crossroads of caravans). It is the capital of the province of Jaén. It is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The inhabitants of the city are known as Jiennenses. Its population is 117,540 (2006), about one-sixth of the population of the province. In the last years Jaén has had a great increase in cultural tourism. Jaén is also known as the World Capital of Olive Oil, because it is the biggest producer of this liquid gold (as the locals refer to it). The layout of Jaén is determined by its position in the hills of the Santa Catalina mountains, with steep, narrow streets, in the historical central city district. The city of Jaén is the administrative and industrial centre for the province. Industrial establishments in the city include chemical works, tanneries, distilleries, cookies factories and textile factories. On April 1, 1937, the city was bombed by the Nazis.
The motto of the city is: (Spanish) "Muy Noble y muy Leal Ciudad de Jaén, Guarda y Defendimiento de los Reinos de Castilla", (English) "Very Noble and very Loyal City of Jaen, Guard and Defense of the Kingdoms of Castile". This title was given by king Henry II of Castile to the city of Jaen, due to the privileges that the city had, and to the role that the city was playing in the defense of the kingdom of Castile against the Moors.
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
Isaac Peral y Caballero (Cartagena, 1 June 1851 – 22 May 1895, Berlin), was a Spanish engineer, sailor and designer of the Peral Submarine (launched in 1888).
Isaac Peral was officer of the "Cuerpo General de la Armada", where he made a career as officer in different warships. Peral was also teacher of the Escuela Superior de la Armada.The Peral submarine was first conceived on 20 September 1884, when Lieutenant Isaac Peral wrote a paper which would become his Proyecto de Torpedero Submarino ("Project for a submarine torpedoboat").
After several studies and experiments, and having gained support from his superiors and fellow officers, Peral exposed his idea to the Spanish navy staff. He wrote a letter to the Spanish naval minister, vice-admiral Pezuela y Lobo, the following year in September, 1885. Pezuela y Lobo called Peral to Madrid to have a personal interview with him. After the interview Pezuela y Lobo agreed to finance Peral's preliminary studies in Cádiz with an initial budget of 5,000 pesetas, before launching a program to build a full-scale submarine boat. The Peral submarine was the first practical submarine ever made. In a test with naval authorities, the Peral submarine successfully attacked a cruiser at night without been noticed and returned to port without any damage on the 8th of September of 1888. The submarine was coastal, however, because it lacked a double-hull and Diesel engine (petrol engines were not reliable at the time). Its performance was hardly equaled ten years later in other submarines. But a second project was rejected by naval authorities. It is assumed that political reasons, in and out Spain, were the cause of such rejection after successful tests.