<p><b>Carcaixent</b> is a town and <a href="/pages/w/138466146177505">municipality</a> in the <a href="/pages/w/1531497143780734">province of Valencia</a>, eastern <a href="/pages/w/113019615379046">Spain</a>, with c. 20,000 inhabitants. Its origins go back to prehistoric Iberian and Roman times, with some remainders in its area. It is located in the <a href="/pages/w/137411569614034">Ribera Alta</a> <i><a href="/pages/w/108375729194725">comarca</a></i>, 40 km south of the provincial capital <a href="/pages/w/105500002816247">Valencia</a>. It is the birthplace of the orange growth and its flourishing commerce in the 19th and 20th centuries. Currently, its inhabitants live basically on agriculture and the service sector.</p><h2>Carcaixent, in the heart of the Ribera Alta</h2><p>Remains of <a href="/pages/w/109431425741819">Neolithic</a>, <a href="/pages/w/115179275161278">Iberian</a> and <a href="/pages/w/112534848759184">Roman</a> settlements have been found in the area of Carcaixent, although the municipality actually originated from a <a href="/pages/w/108007655887415">Muslim</a> farmhouse. <a href="/pages/w/110300932355690">King Philip II</a> awarded Carcaixent the title of University in 1576. After upgrading it to Villa Real, the king issued Royal Privileges granting it the right to vote in the Courts of Valencia. Economy and population boomed in Carcaixent in the 18th century thanks to the sound production of silk, although crops were replaced by orange trees in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Carcaixent was awarded the title of city in 1916.</p>