city, capital of Burgos provincia (province), in Castile-León comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), northern Spain. It is located on the lower slopes of a castle-crowned hill overlooking the Arlanzón River, about 2,600 feet (800 metres) above sea level. Founded in 884 as an eastern outpost of the Asturian kingdom by the Castilian count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, it became the capital of the county and, later, of the kingdom of Castile. In 1494 all foreign trade of Castile, particularly in fine wool, was put under the jurisdiction of the Burgos Guild, the shipping department of which became the model for the famous Casa de Contratación (House of Trade) at Sevilla. Burgos enjoyed the prestige of a capital city until the reign of Philip II (1556–98); then it sank to political insignificance after 1560, when Madrid (150 miles 【240 km】 south) was declared the única corte (“only court”). With the decline of Castilian trade, Burgos languished until its revival in the 18th century under Charles III. In the Peninsular War the French, in 1808, defeated the Spaniards at Burgos. The French in turn were besieged in the city in 1812 by the British, who eventually captured it in 1813. In July 1936 conservative Burgos became the official seat of Gen. Francisco Franco (Franco, Francisco)'s Nationalist government during the Spanish Civil War and was a base for campaigns toward Madrid and the Basque states.