Christian Kingdoms’ Rise and Repopulation in Iberian Peninsula

Posted on Apr 5, 2025 in Geography

The Rise of Christian Kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula

Navas de Tolosa: Christians defeated Muslims. This battle effectively led to the conquest of Andalusia by the Castilians.

Repopulation Methods

Castilian Kings: More Independent than Aragonese Kings

The kings of Castile were more independent because the kingdom of Aragon had its own institutions. The Aragonese king relied on these institutions, resulting in less royal power compared to Castile.

Jews lived in juderías (Jewish quarters), and Muslims lived in quarters called morerías (Moorish quarters).

The Origin and Evolution of the Christian Kingdoms

The Kingdom of Asturias

The kingdom of Asturias emerged in 718 when the Visigoths in Cantabria chose Pelayo as their king. They defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Covadonga. Asturian kings expanded the territory: by 800, the kingdom of Asturias stretched from Galicia to Alava. By the 10th century, Alfonso III occupied the valley of the Duero.

The capital of the kingdom moved from Oviedo to Leon, and the region became the kingdom of Leon. Castile was a county inside the kingdom of Leon, a semi-independent territory during the rule of Count Fernan Gonzalez. After Fernan Gonzalez (end of the 10th century), it became an independent kingdom. Fernando I of Castile annexed the Kingdom of Leon to Castile in 1035 and extended his kingdom towards the south. Alfonso VI conquered the city of Toledo in 1085, making it the new capital city. In 1147, the County of Portugal gained its independence as a new kingdom.

In 1492, Granada was annexed to Castile by the Catholic Monarchs.

The Pyrenean Region

The Pyrenean region formed the Spanish March within the Carolingian Empire. In the 9th century, the Carolingian Empire dissolved, and three different independent regions formed: Navarra, Aragonese counties, and Catalan counties.

Navarra

Navarra was created in the 9th century and became the most powerful kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula under Sancho III of Navarra (1035), who annexed Aragon and Castile to Navarra. The kingdom was divided after the king’s death.

Aragon and Catalonia

Aragon and Catalonia were two independent counties that united in 1137. This kingdom conquered the Ebro valley. Then, in the 13th century, Jaime I conquered Mallorca and Valencia, integrating them under the Crown of Aragon.

In the 14th century, Aragonese kings conquered territories in the Mediterranean Sea, such as Sardinia and Sicily.

Repopulation

The new territories were repopulated by four different methods:

• Repopulation by the Presura System (8th to 10th century): A group of peasants crossed the mountains and settled in the deserted lands of the Duero Basin. Asturian laws promoted this system (for instance, granting a peasant the land which they could work and defend). It took place in the north of the Iberian Peninsula until the Duero River.
• Repopulation by the Town Council System (Concejos) (11th -12th centuries): It was common between the Duero and the Tajo, and the Pyrenees and the Ebro. The King gave some charters (fueros) to set the fortified town duties and privileges.
• Repopulation by Military Orders (12th-13th centuries): It took place between the Tajo and Sierra Morena. Military Orders occupied these territories to defend the border against Muslims. The most important Spanish Military Orders were Santiago, Calatrava, and Alcántara (appeared in the 12th century in the Crown of Castile) and Montesa (in the 14th century in the Crown of Aragon).
• Repopulation by Distribution (13th century): It took place in the Guadalquivir Valley. These territories were distributed as fiefs among nobles who took part in the war.