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Spanish Mesta Shepherds' Guild

Type Object Region Spain Time 1273–1836

The Mesta was a shepherds' guild consolidated by royal decree in the Kingdom of Castile in 1273, governing seasonal transhumant pastoralism (the caña…

Timeline

  1. 1273Valladolid · CastileKing Alfonso X of Castile issued a decree consolidating scattered shepherding groups into the Mesta guild, establishing the legal droving roads (cañadas) for seasonal transhumance and guild jurisdiction.
  2. 1400–1600Meseta Plateau · CastileThe Mesta controlled the spring and autumn migrations of millions of Merino sheep; wool was exported through Burgos and other towns to the textile centers of Flanders and Italy, and the guild's privileges and droving-road system reached their historical zenith.
  3. 1836Madrid · SpainSpanish liberal reforms abolished feudal privileges and guild monopolies; the Mesta guild was formally dissolved, and the droving-road system gradually gave way to agricultural cultivation and modern property institutions.

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