New evidence on the quality of the geographic information contained in the pre-cadastral sources: analysis from an eighteenth-century cabreveAbstract.

Identifier:  imarina:9366537

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9366537

Authors:  Gimenez-Font, Pablo; Zaragozi, Benito

Abstract:
Pre-cadastral records are a very relevant historical source for studies of agrarian history and ownership evolution. However, these are generally textual fonts without graphic representation, which implies obvious limitations. In the case of the territories where the enphyteutic contract predominated, the concurrence of rights over the same plot (freehold and copyhold), forced the generation of highly accurate control documents, among which the cabreves stand out. In this study we analyze a cabreve from the barony of Sella (Alicante), dated to 1726, from which a case study has been carried out in the Tagarina valley, with an approximate area of 1000 ha. The neighborhood relationships contained in this cabreve have been modeled as spatial graphs and through an iterative process it has been possible to overlay the parcel structure of 1726 above other layers of cartographic information (mainly toponymy, relief and orthophotography). Combining the spatial graph with other geohistorical sources (establiments from 1613 and the cadastre from 1917), allows us to observe the evolution of property through the monitoring of families of emphyteuts who became owners. These new evidences confirm the quality and the possibilities of exploitation of the geographic information contained in the cabreves.