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In 1307 it was handed over, along with Vejer, to Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán. From the XV century, the Gúzmans, dukes of Medina Sidonia, enjoy the benefits that the almadrabas bring them. The insecurity at the coast increases, leading to the building of the Santiago Castle next to the Barbate river during the XVI century. This was meant to protect its entrance but Felipe II also gave orders for a series of crow’s nests to be built along the coast, those of Tajo, Meca and Trafalgarl. Located in strategic positions at the tops of cliffs, and in spite of including artillery, they were of an eminently preventive nature.

The famous battle of Trafalgar took place on its coasts, in which the English Navy, under the charge of Admiral Nelson, defeated the Spanish and French squadrons in 1805.

The development of the fishing industry and its by-products, created a growth in the economy of Barbate and its population, an event which provoked the desire for independence from Vejer de la Frontera and the achievement of this wish in 1938.