1826 and all that

If you’re living in or around Pinoso, you’ve likely noticed the Town Hall gearing up for a milestone celebration: the 200th anniversary of Pinoso’s independence from Monóvar. The calendar of events ranges from historical exhibitions opposite the church to performances by local theatre groups through to a formal event. However, the most enduring tribute to this bicentenary will be the inauguration of the newly redesigned Plaza de España, complete with a brand-new central fountain. With such a significant anniversary on the horizon, this year’s Villazgo promises to be even shinier and brighter than usual.

Pinoso broke free from Monóvar in 1826. The royal charter of privilege—a formal legal document granting special rights or status—was signed by King Fernando VII on 12 January that year. This document granted the town the status of Real Villa, a town recognised as such by the monarch, with full municipal jurisdiction and its own municipal boundaries. At the time, this territory included the caseríos, or rural settlements, of Algueña and La Solana; it was not until 1933 that Algueña separated from Pinoso. The document explicitly confirmed Pinoso’s legal segregation from Monóvar and authorised the establishment of the town’s own independent notary public office. In effect, it recognised Pinoso’s boundaries, its local judicial and administrative authority, and its right to elect its own officials and establish an appropriate administration. The news reached Pinoso about a month later, leading to celebrations on 12 February 1826—a date the locality still observes today as its Día del Villazgo, which does not translate easily into English but means something like “town-making day” or “independence day”.

Prior to this, Pinoso had functioned as a pedanía of Monóvar: a settlement dependent, administratively and judicially, on Monóvar within the domains of a feudal estate, the Duchy of Híjar. Demographically, Pinoso had expanded significantly since the eighteenth century, evolving from scattered caseríos into a substantial population with an economy capable of sustaining self-government. Pinoso lay some distance from Monóvar, and in an era of poor roads and travel largely on foot this caused practical problems with land disputes, judicial procedures, taxation and general administration. Even attending church could be difficult.

Pinoso’s push for autonomy began in the year of the Cádiz Constitution of 1812, a relatively liberal constitution for its time, which abolished feudal lordships and enabled the creation of new municipalities or independent towns. With the law on its side, Pinoso duly established a local town council in 1812. The trouble was that this period of Spanish history was even more chaotic than usual. King Fernando VII had forced his old dad to abdicate, only to abdicate himself and allow Napoleon’s brother to take the throne during the years when the French ruled Spain, until Wellington’s forces pushed them out. As soon as the French king was gone, Fernando regained the throne and abolished the 1812 Constitution. Fernando VII was probably the worst king Spain has ever had—and given the Bourbon record in Spain, that is saying quite something. He was a firm believer in absolute monarchy, and his scrapping of the constitution meant that the Pinoso town council had to be abolished too—it only lasted till 1814.

Fernando did not, however, have everything his own way. There were repeated power struggles between the Crown and politicians, and for a short period the constitution was re-established. It was against this background of liberal and democratic aspirations clashing with absolutist monarchy that discontent in Pinoso over its dependence on Monóvar reached its climax.

By early 1826, with Fernando once again firmly in control, Pinoso could no longer rely on constitutional mechanisms and instead submitted a direct petition to the Crown for independence from Monóvar. At the time, Fernando was in deep financial difficulty. Nearly all of Spain’s overseas possessions in North, Central and South America were fighting for their independence, creating a double drain on the royal exchequer: falling income and the high cost of sending armies to try to stem the losses. Pinoso almost certainly paid a high price for its independence by making substantial payments to the Crown and, with cash as the lever, Fernando signed the paperwork elevating Pinoso from pedanía to full town, or villa, status.

Although the civil and administrative changes took effect in 1826, ecclesiastical ties with Monóvar continued until the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1851 Pinoso adopted the Virgen del Remedio as the town’s patron saint. She is also the patron saint of Monóvar ( but presumably a new wooden figure was commissioned at the time. In 1856 the first cofradías—religious brotherhoods, such as those that process during Holy Week—were established in Pinoso, further confirming the town’s religious as well as its civil identity. As an aside, and this is a bit of a guess, the original statue of the Virgin in Pinoso was probably burned during the Spanish Republic, with the current figure carved in 1940.

Naturally, there were celebrations in the town in February 1826, and shortly afterwards the first post-independence town council was constituted. Elections allowed resident male heads of families to vote—essentially property-owning, tax-paying men aged at least 25. Day labourers, women and those without property were excluded. The first mayor was José Rico Lucas, a surname still common in the town today. I cannot help wondering whether there is any family link with Francisco Rico Lucas, the mayor responsible for commissioning the Torre del Reloj, which remains one of the town’s most recognisable symbols.