The grazing space in Medellín (1450-1550)

Abstract

The pasture land of Medellin consists of communal lands and dehesas. The period of growth that took place during the 15th and 16th centuries had a strong infl uence on its confi guration: the enlargement of the dehesas boyales, the proliferation of fences in the ejidos, the cultivation developments in the dehesas and the formation of fi elds. The villages, which had a weak fi scal base, increasingly leased the communal pastures. In Medellin, the owners of the dehesas had only appropriated the grass; the neighbors took advantage of the acorn, a very important resource for the pork-based livestock, and the woodland.