Rural Councils in Early Modern Galicia: Valladares: Self-Government, Jurisdiction and Seigneurial Fights

Abstract

In the 18^th century, early modern Galicia was organized into two kinds of local administrative institutions known as jurisdictions and councils. There has been no analysis to date of Galicia´s rural municipal phenomenon, despite being the most common; although urban councils have been widely studied, in some cases rural council organisations and officers remain unknown. Therefore, this work aims to study the rural council of Valladares, in the jurisdiction of Muros, which coexisted alongside the urban council of the jurisdiction capital. This study reveals the self-governing ability of rural Galician communities, whose efforts were not only aimed at managing community resources. Their importance resulted in the transference of prerogatives which would have otherwise been in the hands of judicial officials; in this case it played an essential role in the preservation of the territorial unity in the Late Middle Ages, against the division of the jurisdiction into three separate manors. Furthermore, an analysis of the councillors and their responsibilities, as well as the problems they must have faced, provide an outlook of the social stratification of rural communities, common interests and strategies.