General Overview of Water Regulations in the Crown of Castile and the Madrilenian Territory during the Old Regime

Abstract

A land’s hydraulic resources have remarkably marked its inhabitants’ lifestyle from ancient times. Here we offer an overview of the way in which the secular scarcity of inland water and, in particular, the space which today shapes the Autonomous Community of Madrid, has influenced the regulation of its use. Political bodies, aimed at conflict solution caused by the flaws of such a vital resource, have been trying for centuries to generate a regulation system that could get beyond such controversy but the attempts to capture water have made it difficult for the different settlements in Madrid to cohabitate since old times and a truly efficient legal order to contain such disadvantages has never been arbitrated; there were too many interests at stake. This peculiarity derives from the idiosyncrasies of Madrid’s historical status as capital city, being necessary within the region to combine courtesan interests with those from certain seigneuries and the mere local interests. Superposition of different political estates would imply throughout the history of Madrid a clear setback when it comes to sharing the hydraulic water level of the territory.