Back in the 16th century, the towns were strong columns on which the Spanish Tercios were erected. The captains arrived full of pride to their streets and raised flags accompanied by sergeant, drum and fife. To the sound of the instruments the recruit began. The soflames flew, the ‘hurrahs’ for the monarch and the faith, and, with luck, the occasional down payment signature. Hard work had the officials since, during the reign of Felipe II, they were asked to get about 250 men per company. And in a country like ours, demographically depressed since the 1970s, that was an impossible mission.
The data confirms it. According to the studies of Professor IAA Thompson, the bulk of the companies were raised in Castile before 1580. And, although the Hispanic Monarchy did not take long to encourage recruitment throughout the country, the backbone of the Tercios were, for decades, the plateau towns. That is why the associationAlbaladejo Golden Age‘ will once again transform the municipality of Albaladejo, in Ciudad Real, into a villa from 1575 on September 9, 10 and 11. Because, as several of its members explain to ABC, its streets are irremediably linked to the history of Spain and the Tercios.
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Day to day
It is the second year that the Tercios will take over this municipality of a thousand inhabitants, and they will do so with many novelties. Among them, to give a vision of the civil network that supported the soldiers in the shadows. Those forgotten heroes for not carrying pikes and arquebuses. “In addition to the war issue, which is important, we want to publicize the peasant life that was done in these villages,” he confirms to ABC Jose Angel Macias, vice president of the association. To do this, part of the 150 reenactors who will come from all over Spain will dedicate themselves to showing how cheese was made, shoes were made or swords were forged. The day to day.
«In addition to the war theme, which is important, we want to make known the peasant life that was carried out in these villages»
All this, with the basis provided by the investigation. And it is that, throughout this year, the historians of the association have found a document that has been key to the event: a list of men born in Albaladejo who, in the 16th century, were assigned to a militia corps that it did not form. «The list, of 183 men, has given us a lot of information because it specifies the professions of the fighters. Blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakers… In this way, we have been able to find out what trades were practiced in the municipality and then recreate them, “explains Juan Víctor Carboneras, president of ‘Albaladejo Siglo de Oro’, to ABC.
The rest has been carried out by the re-enactors. Each one of them has soaked up, through documents and essays, what each of the trades that were done in the town were like. And, next September, they will be in charge of explaining it to those lucky enough to visit Albaladejo. They will do it dressed in the period, with tools of that time and with the language of the Golden Age. “We don’t want them to be simple mannequins. The basis will be the interaction with the public”, says Macías. Another novelty that the event will bring is that it will reveal the role of women in the 16th century. “They were one of the basic pillars of society. They did the key work, but you couldn’t see it », he says.
Recruit of the Spanish Tercios
Among the different activities that will be recreated in the Albaladejo, a classic 16th century recruit will stand out. This began with the captain arriving at the municipalities with his trusted officers, raising a flag and trying to get the local boys, always voluntarily, to join the Tercio. Before, he had received an ‘instruction’ in which a district was consigned to him. As the historian Antonio Rodríguez Hernández explains in his essays on the subject, “Castilla was overloaded with recruitment” at first. The data backs you up. In the 17th century, for example, a company was built in this region for every 20,000 residents, while in the Crown of Aragon, every 40,000. Although that does not imply that in the rest of the territories there was no call to arms.
Albaladejo, during the first days of the event
The captains sang the blessings of military life and attracted new recruits with the ‘help’, an amount of money that was equivalent to several female soldiers and allowed them to face the unforeseen travel and expenses of their new equipment. “When no more volunteers appeared in that place, the captain, his subordinates and the enlisted boys went to another, and so on, until reaching the necessary number of recruits, at which point the recruitment was terminated”, explains the historian Magdalena de Pazzis Pi Corrales in ‘Thirds of the sea’. In principle, this whole process should not extend beyond twenty days so as not to overload the expenses of the towns, since it was normal for the neighbors to house the inexperienced soldiers.
The usual thing, says Carboneras, was that the town received the soldiers without much rejection. However, there were also some specific abuses by the officers that disturbed the situation. From lodgings that are too extensive, to the obligation to deliver food. “Sometimes the population resisted. There are reports in which it is clear that an attempt was made to bribe the captains so that they would pass by, “adds the historian. Although he also insists that the Hispanic monarchy he fought frontally, and with all the means at his disposal, the corruption of some officials. In general, or so he emphasizes, the process “was well received by the towns”; the same as the combatants, who arrived to towns “like Albaladejo, who nurtured the Spanish Tercios with heroes.”
Art and gastronomy
In addition to portraying the society of the 16th century, the event aims to bring out the town’s heritage. «Albaladejo has a material and tangible cultural heritage that leaves its mark on the main streets. We will find the imprint of a rural life in a town that sinks its roots in history with discretion, but also with depth », he explains to ABC Miguel Angel Diaz Bracersmember of the ‘Campo de Montiel Platform, Origin of Don Quixote’ and the ‘Albaladejo Siglo de Oro’ association.
Díaz reviews in his head and lists from the most canonical heritage – «the remains of a castle, the Church of Santiago Apostol and the last remnants of a characteristic vernacular architecture»–, even the one that is often overlooked. “We will find the latter in the grounds of the next recreation days: whitewashed rammed earth facades, cellars, wooden gates, forging and even heraldry and porches of old manor houses,” he says. And lastly, he doesn’t want to forget about the intangible heritage. “We cannot forget Albaladejo’s relationship with Miguel de Cervantes and his flagship work. In addition to his literature, his art and the influence he had on the Order of Santiago », he completes.
Although it cannot be included as intangible heritage, Brazales emphasizes that one of Albaladejo’s greatest assets is not found inside the churches or on top of medieval columns –that too–, but rather in the character of its people: «The streets and the atmosphere will transport us back to a rural village from 1575, and this is thanks to the fact that the neighbors have been able to understand and contribute from the first moment to a pioneering and unique project in its concept, opening their arms and the doors of their houses to complete strangers. This is something that seems wonderful to me about Albaladejeños.”
Blood ties
On the other end of the phone, José Ángel, a countryman from Albaladejo, sounds animated. He has that contained illusion of the child who awaits the night of three kings. “For us it is something important. The whole town has joined. Without them we would not have been able to organize this event.” A Francis Xavier Macias –yes, they are family– the same thing happens to him. “We are looking forward to September. People congratulate us for having put Albaladejo on the map, and for doing it altruistically, because we didn’t earn a single euro”, reveals the group’s treasurer. Theirs is another war. They do not seek to enrich themselves, but to make local history known.
The proof that they are fighting for Albaladejo is that they have dedicated many free weekends to reforming a vintage winery that had been abandoned due to lack of resources. «We asked that it be transferred to us and we have been fixing it since March. We have removed sacks and sacks of debris, we have conditioned it and, now, it looks like it was in the Golden Age », she completes. Next September, this construction will be one of the central attractions of the event. “On the one hand, it will allow visitors to understand how people lived at the time. On the other hand, it will help us to publicize the vineyards of the Field of Montiel with a wine tasting open to everyone”, he says.
This cocktail of recreation, history, activities and revitalization of the municipality has forged inseparable ties between the inhabitants of Albaladejo and the re-enactors. “Everyone puts their grain of sand. Some help in the transformation of the town, others making the popular food that will be delivered to those present… », confirms Carboneras. Although what most touches ‘Albaladejo Siglo de Oro’ is that the neighbors have opened their doors to facilitate the event. «The 150 reenactors who will come will stay in the houses of the town. Thus, we will prevent them from having to go to sleep 150 kilometers away”, adds Fransico Javier. In short, the spirit of the Tercios has been reborn.