Cádiz is a port city in southwestern Spain. It was founded by Phoenicians from Tyre in Lebanon around 1104 BC. In the sixteenth century, it became the home port of the treasure fleet of the Spanish Empire. Christopher Columbus sailed twice from Cádiz, and in the sixteenth century, Barbary corsairs raided the city, and Englishman Sir Francis Drake occupied the harbour for three days. It has been an important port for the Spanish navy since the eighteenth century.