Las leyes del regadío murciano: conflictividad social y codificación (1479-1503)

Abstract

This paper analyses the process of compilation of legal dispositions corresponding to the huerta of Murcia during the reign of the Catholic kings. The creation of a body of laws for irrigation in Murcia Region was a time-consuming task due to conflicts of economic interests between the Council oligarchy and the Granada campaigns. Since 1470, the critical situation of the huerta, affected by natural factors (floods and droughts) and social (corruption in the institutional framework and non-compliance) was a reality. Legislative reforms undertaken by the kings ended at the beginning of the 16th century with the enactment of the ordinances or laws for the irrigation in Murcia Region.