The historical origins of Alboloduy go back to prehistory, with settlements in the Late Neolithic Almeria (VI century BC) and especially in the third phase of the Bronze (VI century BC), located in the Queen’s Rock, with findings, which mentions the farmhouse on its journey from Almería to Granada as Boloduy. Around the first half of the 13th century, when the Kingdom of Granada was formed, the Taha de Alboloduy (administrative unit into which the Nasrid sovereigns divided the entire Alpujarra territory) was created.
After the Capitulations of Almería, the taha belonged to Boabdil, along with others, as a fief until 1493, to be definitively granted in 1504 to Don Sancho de Castilla y Enríquez, Lord of Gor, as a reward for the help provided in the Reconquest. The 16th century was characterized by the uprising of the Moors and their final expulsion in 1570 after their defeat, leaving Alboloduy depopulated. With the repopulation, a new historical chapter begins with the predominance of the new power, which will try to erase all Muslim traces without success, since in Alboloduy an urban planning and a network of ditches with a clearly Arab profile still subsist. It is a confused century of place names, capital and superficial limits. The lord of Gor transferred the capital to Santa Cruz, leaving Alboloduy as a place; the names Albolodud or Alhiçan are used interchangeably to hide exchanges between the crown and the lords of Gor, and the places of the taha de Marchena and Alboloduy are mixed and confused like a puzzle. The situation seems to clear up in the 16th century; According to the Cadastre of Ensenada, the lordship is made up of the towns of Santa Cruz and Alboloduy, belonging to the Count of Torrepalma, Don Antonio Verdugo y Castilla, Lord of Gor. The town regains its status as the capital and after two centuries from the repopulation it presents a considerable demographic increase. The 19th century erupts with an economic decline and liberalism, the most significant being the abolition of manors and the confiscation, events that produce the decomposition of the señorío de Alboloduy, and each municipal term acquires independence and autonomy, like Santa Cruz in 1850, to appoint a mayor and a councilor in the town.
In 1863, Isabel II creates the marquesate of Alboloduy, granting itself to doña María Elvira Fernández de Córdoba Bohórquez, granddaughter of the Duke of Gor. The first third of the 20th century is characterized by social tensions, unemployment and a severe drought, which is linked to the Civil War, a period that takes place with the difficulties of the moment and a harsh and poor post-war period. After Franco’s death, the democratic period began, configuring Alboloduy as a participatory and quiet town, with a pleasant and helpful population for the stranger who comes to know this town so representative of the region’s cultural traditions.
The first statistical reference to the population of Alboloduy dates from 1577, related to the repopulation after the expulsion of the Moors, 51 old Christians settled in the town from Western Andalusia, Extremadura and Levante, although previously it had been an important population settlement, since, according to the survey and population book From 1574, the town was made up of 153 houses with 150 Moorish neighbors, 3 Old Christians, the sacristan and two beneficiaries, data that denote a large town.
The 17th and 18th centuries are characterized by the historical demography of the Old Regime, high birth and mortality rates, but despite this a population continuity is maintained that when the Ensenada Cadastre was carried out in 175253 a significant demographic increase was observed, with 1,562 inhabitants. .In the 19th century there is a constant growth of the population, due to the economic wealth provided by the monoculture of the Ohanes grape, reaching its maximum peak in 1857, when 2,490 inhabitants were registered. This growth rate will be maintained until the beginning of the century, reaching its maximum census of this time in 1910, when 2,280 inhabitants were counted. In the coming decades we witnessed a rapid population decline, which is accentuated to this day. The growth rate is interrupted by the world and Civil wars and the closure of international markets, beginning an emigration that has been accentuated in recent decades. According to FIAPA data, in the years 1976-1991 the population decline continued, due to a low birth rate, an exceptional mortality that indicates a high rate of aging, plus emigration, which is due to a great drought suffered by the area and the lack of infrastructures. According to the 1991 census, the demographic rate is 911 inhabitants, tending to decrease in recent years, when observing the current data with 847 inhabitants.