History

History of Salvaterra de Miño 


On May 24, 991 the first document appears where reference is made to the municipality of Salvaterra de Miño. The monarch of Galicia, Bermudo II, delivers the preserve of numerous lands to the Church of Santiago de Compostela, among which is “Lacedurium”, the first term with which the town is known. 

In the 11th and 12th centuries the border with the new kingdom of Galicia was delimited, succeeding decades of intense struggles with Salvaterra as a place of great strategic value, due to its border position. 

The event that unites Queen Urraca with the municipality of Salvaterra de Miño will be the conflict that originated in 1120 with her stepsister Teresa. The proclamation of the independence of the Puerto Rican county and its interest in dominating the border towns of Baixo Miño provoke a whole series of struggles between both riverside towns. During the contest, the Leon queen uses various places as a refuge, such as the Castillo de Doña Urraca, in Salvaterra. 

With the passage of time, popular tradition has created a series of legends around the figure of doña Urraca, such as the one that tells that the well, located on the ground floor of the current “Castillo de doña Urraca”, communicated with a tunnel the which, below the river, reached Portugal. This legend affirmed that the queen Magpie, managed, in this way, to move from side to side without being perceived by either the enemy troops or by her own, thus being able to meet with whomever she wished. 

At the end of the 12th century, King Ferdinand II tired of the Portuguese incursions along the Baixo Miño, promoted the creation of defensive systems throughout the area. In this way, the fortification of strategic population centers begins and a political border is established between both nations, marked by the Miño river. Since then, the town is renamed "Salvaterra", hinting at its new defensive condition. 

The starting point of the Modern Age in the town is represented by the Irmandiña revolt. The continuous increase of social differences that develops throughout the Middle Ages hatches. The peasants and commercial bourgeois of the urban centers are grouped together in brotherhoods during the three years that the war against the nobles lasts, from 1467 to 1469. But one nobleman will stand out above the rest, Pedro Álvarez de Sotomayor, better known as Pedro Madruga. He would direct the counterattack against the Irmandiño group, helping him to achieve victory against the "Irmandiños" and coming to dominate most of the southern lands of Galicia, thanks to his actions and warlike confrontations. 

Once the Irmandiña threat has been eliminated, the struggle of the Galician nobility against the archbishop of Santiago begins, in parallel to the disputes over the succession of the kingdom of Castile, which would face the side of the Catholic Monarchs, on the one hand, and the side Juana la Beltraneja, on the other. Pedro Madruga would take part in the second side, falling defeated after years of intense fighting throughout Spain. 

Since 1580 the Portuguese territory will remain under the directives of the Spanish crown, with fronts constantly open throughout Europe. The Spanish empire begins to decompose, something that will be exploited by territories such as Portugal, which declares its independence in 1640 and proclaims Joao IV of Portugal king. 

As it happened centuries ago, the natural barrier that forms the Miño river is an outstanding strategic point, with small defensive posts, fortresses being built on both sides of the Miño river, and the fencing of different towns began. In this way, and from this moment, the different systems of cross-border fortresses throughout the Baixo Miño region are formed, some dependent on others and with a clear objective that was to prevent the invasion of the enemy.

At the beginning of the year 1643, the Count of Castel-Melhor took the town and called it "Salvaterra de Portugal", beginning what was to be the longest period of Portuguese occupation. 

It is at that time when a reconstruction and modernization of the wall is carried out, where the most outstanding element is the construction of a system of bastions, the purpose of which is to eliminate the blind spots of the wall. The materials are obtained from demolished buildings or nearby areas, as is the case of the San Francisco convent, built in the early eighteenth century. 

After several attempts to recover the territory, the Spanish troops change their strategy by carrying out a series of defensive constructions around the town, such as the fortification of Fillaboa, the fortress of Santiago de Aytona or the Watchtower of Porto, drowning the possible advance of the troops. enemies. 

In the year 1659, after the unexpected death of General Castel-Melhor and the considerable loss of supplies, the Plaza de Salvaterra is reconquered by the Spanish troops led by the Marquis of Viana, Rodrigo Pimentel. 

The conflict ends with the 1668 peace treaty, returning the occupied squares to their former owners. In turn, all the defensive systems built by the Spanish around Salvaterra are dismantled, for fear that they could be used later by the Portuguese.

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