The 19th century began with an impoverishment that resulted in food shortages and epidemics, such as that of 1804; to this must be added the aftermath of the "French War": as the manor of Calp belonged to a Castilian House that offered resistance to the French occupation, its properties were seized and converted into national assets.
Although the Cortes de Cádiz abolished the manors, everything indicates that the French continued to collect the manorial rents in Calp, as well as other extraordinary contributions. This fiscal pressure led the people of Calp to offer resistance -some of them joined the guerrilla group of Josep Catalá, from Xàbia-.
The main feat of arms took place in May 1813, 300 French soldiers tried to set fire to the town and the guerrillas managed, after a battle, to put them to flight. A reminder of this event is the gap that remains in the old wall, known as the "Forat de la mar".
At the end of 1868, the drilling of the Mascarat tunnels began, putting an end to the problem of isolation from the southern regions, a key circumstance for the economic and social development of Calp.