The Conquest Seen Through Other Eyes: Livestock and the Construction of Rural Society in the Northern Region of the Kingdom of Valencia (1233–1335)

Abstract

Traditionally, the processes of conquest and colonization led by Latin Christendom have been interpreted primarily from an agricultural perspective. The focus has been placed on the development of farming spaces and the introduction of agricultural practices different from those used by indigenous societies. However, written and archaeological sources provide evidence of the significance that livestock raising acquired. Our aim is to assess its importance in the construction of rural society in the northern region of the Kingdom of Valencia during the first century of its existence. To this end, we will analyze the possible use of livestock in the invasion of al-Andalus, the organization of pasturelands following the thirteenth-century conquest, the social actors involved in its regulation, the conflicts it generated, and the scale reached by an activity that became hegemonic in the fourteenth century.