Reconquista

For other uses, see Reconquista (Disambiguation).

Repopulating Hispania: the origin of fueros

The Reconquista is a process not only of war and conquest, but mainly of repopulating. Christian kings took their own people to abandoned places, in order to have population capable to defend the borders. The main repopulation areas were the Duero basin (the northern plateau), the high Ebro valley (La Rioja) and central Catalonia. Repopulation appeared as the result of Berbers abandoning the land that they were given and the population growth of the Christian kingdoms.

Related Topics:
Repopulating - Ebro - La Rioja

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The Duero Basin was repopulated in two different ways, in two different periods of time. North of the river and between the 9th and 10th centuries it was used the presura system. South of the Duero (in the 10th and 11th centuries) the presura lead to the fueros. Fueros were used even south of the Central Range.

Related Topics:
Presura - Fueros

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The presura meant a group of peasants which crossed the mountains and settled in the abandoned lands of the Duero basin. Asturian laws promoted this system with laws, as the one which gave a peasant in property all the land he was able to work and defend. Of course, Asturian and Galician minor nobles and clergymen set their own expeditions with the peasants they maintained. This led to very feudalised areas, such as Leon and Portugal, whereas Castile, an arid land with vast plains and hard climate only attracted peasant with no hope in Cantabria and Biscay. As a consequence, Castile was only governed by a single count, but had a big, low-feudalised territory with many free peasants. Presuras also appear in Catalonia, when the count of Barcelona ordered the Bishop of Urgell and the count of Gerona to repopulate the plains of Vic.

Related Topics:
Free - Vic

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During the 10th century and onwards, cities and towns gained more importance and power, as commerce reappeared and the population kept growing. Fueros were charters documenting the privileges and usages given to all the people repopulating a town. The fueros were the way to escape from the feudal system, as fueros were only given by the monarch, as a counterpart, the town council (the concejo) only was dependant on him and had to help their lord (auxilium), and their military force was known as caballeros villanos. The first fuero was given by count Fernán González to the inhabitants of Castrojeriz in the 940?s. The most important towns of medieval Spain had fueros. In Navarre, fueros were the main repopulating system and also in Aragon (in a later stage: 12th century mainly), for example the fuero of Teruel, which was one of the last fueros, in the early 13th century.

Related Topics:
Charter - Feudal system - Auxilium - Castrojeriz - Teruel

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In the 13th century no more fueros were given, as the demographic pressure had disappeared and other ways of repopulation were created. While presuras allowed Castile to have the only non-feudal peasants in Europe other than cossacks, fueros remained as city charters until the 18th century in Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia and until the 19th century in Castile and Navarre. Fueros had an immense importance for medieval people, and defended them with war if necessary. The abolition of the fueros in Navarre was one of the causes of the Carlist wars. In Castile they had a great importance and were the cause of the war against Charles I (Castilian war of the Communities).

Related Topics:
Cossacks - Carlist war - Castilian war of the Communities

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