Editing Reconquista (section)

==Christian repopulation==
{{Further|Medieval demography|Repoblación}}
The ''Reconquista'' was a process not only of war and conquest, but also of [[colonization|repopulation]]. Christian kings moved their own people to locations abandoned by Muslims in order to have a population capable of defending the borders. The main repopulation areas were the [[Douro]] Basin (the northern plateau), the high [[Ebro]] valley ([[La Rioja (Spain)|La Rioja]]) and central [[Catalonia]]. The repopulation of the [[Douro]] Basin took place in two distinct phases. North of the river, between the 9th and 10th centuries, the "pressure" (or ''presura'') system was employed. South of the [[Douro]], in the 10th and 11th centuries, the ''presura'' led to the "charters" (''[[foral|forais]]'' or ''[[fueros]]''). ''Fueros'' were used even south of the Central Range.<ref>{{Citation | title=Beyond the Reconquista: New Directions in the History of Medieval Iberia | chapter= The Life and Death of an Historiographical Folly: The Early Medieval Depopulation and Repopulation of the Duero Basin| date= 3 April 2020| pages= 21–51| publisher= Brill| doi= 10.1163/9789004423879_003| hdl= 10261/238570| isbn= 9789004423879| s2cid= 218803277| url= https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004423879/BP000003.xml| hdl-access= free| last1= Viso| first1= Julio Escalona| last2= Martín| first2= Iñaki}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=This source says repopulation is a myth.|date=June 2023}}

The ''presura'' referred to a group of peasants who crossed the mountains and settled in the abandoned lands of the Douro Basin. Asturian laws promoted this system, for instance granting a peasant all the land he was able to work and defend as his own property. Of course, Asturian and Galician minor nobles and clergymen sent their own expeditions with the peasants they maintained. This led to very feudalised areas, such as [[León (province)|Leon]] and Portugal, whereas Castile, an arid land with vast plains and harsh climate, only attracted peasants with no hope in Biscay. As a consequence, Castile was governed by a single count, but had a largely non-feudal territory with many [[wikt:freeman|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, Barcelona|Vic]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

During the 10th century and onwards, cities and towns gained more importance and power, as commerce reappeared and the population kept growing. ''[[Fuero]]s'' were [[charter]]s documenting the privileges and usages given to all the people repopulating a town. The ''fueros'' provided a means of escape from the [[feudal system]], as ''fueros'' were only granted by the monarch. As a result, the town council was dependent on the monarch alone and, in turn, was required to provide ''auxilium''—aid or troops—for their monarch. The military force of the towns became the ''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 Hispania had ''fueros'', or ''forais''. In Navarre, ''fueros'' were the main repopulating system. Later on, in the 12th century, Aragon also employed the system; for example, the ''fuero'' of [[Teruel]], which was one of the last fueros, in the early 13th century.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

From the mid-13th century on, no more charters were granted, as the demographic pressure had disappeared and other means of re-population were created. ''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 those living under them, who were prepared to go to war to defend their rights under the charter. In the 19th century, the abolition of the ''fueros'' in Navarre would be one of the causes of the [[Carlist Wars]]. In Castile, disputes over the system contributed to the war against Charles I ([[Castilian War of the Communities]]).{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}