Starting in medieval times, the life of Calp was marked by pirate raids.
At the beginning, both the coastal and inland towns had to provide men to guard the coastline.
In spite of the supervision exercised, pirate attacks were frequent, particularly those of 1637 and 1744, which had serious consequences for the human and economic development of Calp.
During the 1637 attack, a large part of the population of Calp was captured and the estates were stolen by the North Africans. Forty years later, the monarch was still being asked for tax reductions and aid for the repair of the walls in order to alleviate the effects of the assault.
The depopulation of Ifach, the authorities’ lack of interest in improving the walls and the existence of a large suburb outside them led to a new attack in 1744, the last documented attack.