Cartographic representations of the singular landscape of the olive grove in the surroundings of the (super) administration of the new settlement of Sierra Morena. The case of Baños de la Encina (1752-1797)

Abstract

The unique landscape of the olive grove in Jaen, a space that existed prior to the last third of the 18th century,
was cartographically represented between 1792-1797 as one of the consequences of the foundation of the new
settlements of Sierra Morena, in 1767. This leads us to ask ourselves, among other questions, what territories and places, how many trees and what capacities did the spaces dedicated to olive cultivation have before the foundations of Carlos III. The case study of the population and jurisdiction of Baños de la Encina, which was adjacent to the new La Carolina settlements, demonstrates how, with the data obtained from the Ensenada cadastre (1749-1752), we can confirm that there was a high number of plantations, in different parts of the surroundings, which transformed the landscape and contributed to the wealth of the area prior to the agricultural project of the Count of Campomanes and Pablo de Olavide. The methodology used has been
multidisciplinary, combining various areas of Humanities (History, Geography, Archaeology, Anthropology, etc.) and Sciences (Geomatics, Topography, etc.), and the use of tools such as field studies, Metrology, Toponomastics, GIS. The results are related to the presentation of new experimental theories of knowledge applied to the olive grove: total surface area occupied, location in various places, densities and distances between bushes, crop orientation, etc. The main goal of this analysis is to contribute to the enhancement of spaces of agricultural heritage interest that constitute a sign of identity as well as an added value of the local and provincial level.