Back to search

Collection of documents on Abària Island

Date
1782
Archive
Montsià County Archive
Document type
Textual
Reference code
CAT-380-18-1
Link to the online document
Description

In 1782, in the middle of the century of enlightened reforms, several documents related to the ownership and distribution of Abària Island, in the heart of the Ebro Delta, were compiled. This set of documents is much more than a record of litigation or rights of possession: it is a direct witness to the process of colonization and the formation of population centers in a territory that had not been exploited until then. The Delta, border space between land and water, becomes the scene of an economic and social transformation that reflects the modernization dynamics that swept through Europe. This collection shows us how, from the geographical periphery, Catalonia participated in the great projects of territorial rationalization and agricultural exploitation promoted by the European monarchies. It is a document that talks about territory, community and the future, and that connects us to a Europe that was also drawn from the margins.