"Va el lobo". Historical approach to the predator in the Region of Baza in the period from the last decade of the 15th up until the middle of the 17th Century

Abstract

Va o viene el lobo were the words usually said by shepherds and flock guards when they were suddenly surprised by town councilors in clear illegal situations. What is being analyzed here is the historical evolution of this predator in the Region of Baza during the period which goes from the last decade of the 15th up until the midle of the 17th Century, a topic not often studied in Spanish historiography. The Actas de cabildo and the books of Propios from the town council have been the documents used to built a balance of rewarded captures of wolfs and wolfs cubs. It has also been studied the way in which the predator was hubnt to extinction thanks to the town council action: the rewards offered, the creation of their oxn policy, te appointment of a “Killing manager”, etc. The important action of the Mesta local which was really interested in exterminating the animal, has been analyzed too. Furthermore, the origin of wolf hunters, their degree of specialization, the way they hunted... etc. has also been studied. We have tried to calculate the number of wolfs which lived in the region, which serves as a barometer of the human situation. The golden age of wolf hunter (when more wolfs were hunted) goes from 1580 to 1616, when the Repopulation was taking place. To sum up, the danger and threat that the wolf represented was an obstacle to Felipe ILspolicy in the East of the Ancient Kingdom of Granada.