OTERO THE SARIEGOS HISTORY

  The human presence in these lands has been linked since Prehistory to the exploitation of salt. Some think that the nickname of Sariegos could be transcribed by "saliegos" or salt producers, but until the depopulation of the 17th century the town of Otero was known by the nickname of Serigo or Seriego. Possibly this name refers to an important character of Visigothic roots called Serico or Serigo who would have his rustic possession as a villa in the current Otero and who lent his name to it (just like Fáfila to Villafáfila, Revelle to Revellinos or Erico to Villarigo). .

The fact is that the inhabitants of these places, four thousand years ago, were dedicated to producing salt through the procedure of boiling brackish water by applying fire, until the salt precipitated, forming easily transportable "cakes". The salt trade gave rise to the formation of hierarchies and the appearance of ruling classes that would control the production and distribution of this precious food. The young woman, whose grave appeared in the archaeological excavations carried out in the Santioste area, on the eastern shore of the Laguna de las Salinas, in 1990, would belong to them. The dating of this burial has been made around 1800 years before Christ, in the early Bronze Age. The grave goods found next to the skeleton included a plain bowl, a native silver necklace, a bracelet of pieces of bone and an ivory button, apart from abundant ocher around the right hand. The burial had been carried out in a small factory for manufacturing salt, consisting of a well, several ovens for boiling brackish water and some beds of embers with multiple holes to place some clay pellets, on which were placed some small clay containers. to finish off the salt production process.

Another result of this trade could have been the introduction of metal pieces that have appeared in the Otero environment, such as a bucket chisel and a flat axe, all deposited in the Provincial Museum of Zamora.

In the vicinity of the "urban" center, the Roman and Visigothic presence is traced with the appearance of flat tegulas and ceramics from those times, but it was during the Middle Ages, when the entire area of ​​the salt flats reached its peak, with the emergence of numerous villages in the region, whose main activity was the exploitation of the salt mines. Otero itself, which in 1178 was included in the alfoz of Villafáfila, was located between three small villages: Requejo, located on the east bank of the Salina Grande, Prado, possibly on the south bank of this same lagoon, and Santa Cruz del I have no other references.

  The first reliable information about Otero de Sariegos as such dates back to 1116, when the assets of León's cathedral in Lampreana are cited, but possibly the village of Sancto Martino, which is cited since 930, could correspond to Otero. The fact is that in 1155 two Oteros are mentioned, one from Frades (located in Teso de los Plateros) and another from Serigo, which corresponds to the current one, as well as another Oterino (Auterol), in the term of Villarrín. In the 14th century it belonged to Doña María de Solier, Lady of Villalpando, and passed by inheritance to her descendants, the Constables of Castile. The lordship included the vassalage of the neighbors who had to pay the breasts or martiniega, the ordinary and extraordinary jurisdiction with the right to appoint mayors, a third of the tithes and the right to present to the parish priest,

The priest of the church of Otero was appointed by the bishop of Astorga, but the candidate was presented by the Constable, thus in 1540 Antº de Bernero, originally from Burgos, was serving as priest. He had previously occupied the Francisco Rosel benefit.

  During the 16th century, the town of Otero de Sariegos had a growing population. Thus, in 1561 there were 26 residents, in 1587 there were 46 and in 1591 52 residents, which could correspond to some two hundred inhabitants, and the regiment of the council was made up of two mayors, two aldermen and a solicitor.

Thus we know that in 1539 Lucas Álvarez settled in Otero de Sariegos and wanted to receive the privileges of nobleman that the council denied him, for which he filed a lawsuit before the Royal Chancery of Valladolid. The mayors of that year were Pedro Mielgo and Pedro Lozano, both of the general state, and the aldermen Juan Reguilón and Pedro de Cozano. The following year Juan de Mózar and Vicente de San Martín served as mayors, as alderman Alonso Gallego and as attorney general of the council Bernardino Prieto.

In 1582 the mayors were Pedro Mielgo and Bartolomé de la Barrera, the aldermen Bernardo de Valle and Bernardino Prieto, the attorney Domingo Mielgo, who together with 21 other neighbors granted power to sue over the garment of some Villafáfila sheep that had entered the graze in term of Otero. That is why we know that between the two towns it was worth fleeing when they entered the other to graze without a license and were not caught by the guard.

The dynamism of the town is also deduced from the existence of two brotherhoods, one called Vera Cruz, surely with medieval roots for penitential purposes; and another of the Blessed Sacrament, more modern for the exaltation of the Eucharist. It also had a pósito or alhóndiga, founded by Mr. Saldaña, a priest who had been from Otero, with certain loads of wheat stored in a panera, which he lent to the neighbors to be able to support himself, with the annual return without interest.

In 1629 Santiago de Mózar and Juan Sánchez, mayors, Fco. Mielgo and Santiago Lorenzo, aldermen, Francisco Rodríguez, PG. Francisco Reguilón, Fco. Gutiérrez, Asensio Mielgo, Fco Prieto, Macías Calvo, Aloº Gallego, Tomé de Mózar, Juan Pérez, Bartolomé Villalba, Santiago Suena, Juan de la Fuente, power to head the alcabalas with the Condestable.

But the demographic crisis at the end of the reign of Felipe II caused a gradual abandonment of the neighborhood towards the nearby towns and little by little it was running out of people. Still in 1630 there are, at least, sixteen neighbors, who grant power to head with the Condestable the alcabalas, that is to say to arrange a fixed amount of money as alcabala (a sales tax), and the following year In a census carried out in Castile for the consumption of salt, 18 neighbors are listed, equivalent to 70 people, 19 heads of cattle and 930 sheep. But in 1668 there were no neighbors left and the appeals judge of Villalpando had to intervene, as Mayor of Otero, in the absence of an ordinary mayor, because some were dismantling the houses and taking the tile and the wood. In 1673, the assets of the church of Otero, which is uninhabited, were added to the parishes of Villafáfila, and the books, liturgical objects, census deeds and properties were deposited. Even the altarpiece dedicated to Saint Martin was moved to the church of the same name in Villafáfila in 1675 by order of the Bishop of Astorga, after consulting the Constable, as Lord of Otero. That year, as the church is abandoned, a passenger from Toros had entered it and had taken the image of Santa Bárbara, and they had to pressure him for justice to return it. The prospects of repopulation should not have been very evident because that same year the bones of Mr. Antonio de la Peña, who had been a priest of Otero years before, were transferred to Villafáfila.

The depopulation lasted a few years, since in 1682 a memorial was presented to the Council of the Treasury stating that " in 1665 it was completely depopulated and its neighbors went to live in other places and their church was demolished and in 1681 they had gone to inhabit the town six neighbors at the request of the Constable of Castile ”. These neighbors ask for, and are granted, tax exemption for six years. The following year there was already a priest and the town of Otero comes to life again, reiterating the requests for tax exemption "due to the wars in Portugal and the calamities of the times it was depopulated, and having, after a few years, gone to populate it five and a half, His Majesty was served to relieve them for ten years of the contributions of millions and other royal income, also in consideration of that the Constable for the same time forgave them their sales tax... they ask that they be given a card for the Sala de Millones so that they are not forced to pay taxes” .

We know the name of some of these new settlers, they were residents of nearby towns who had estates there. So in 1679 two residents of Villafáfila " José García and Antonio Vela got lost and went to populate a place called Otero de Serigo ", the same was done by the brothers Tomás and Santiago Bueno, from Villafáfila, whose descendants have remained in Otero until today. , and Domingo Sancho, Juan García, Andrés Pérez, from Riego del Camino, and Antonio Salagre. These were the pioneers of the second repopulation.

During the 18th century, new people arrived in the town, some to take charge of their ancestors' estates, others by marriage, and others as servants or shepherds of the neighboring landowners.

According to the data provided by the Cadastre of the Marquis of Ensenada in 1752 there were a total of 17 neighbors with their own houses, in addition to the priest, corresponding to 86 inhabitants, 49 males and 37 females, of which:

11 are farmers,

1 day laborer,

1 baker,

1 grain handler,

1 poor,

1 shepherd and

1 waiter,

and in addition 5 servants, 2 shepherds and 2 shepherds, who live in the house of the masters, are registered. Only one neighbor, a native of Villarrín and who married in Otero, Don Francisco Calzada, was a hidalgo, the rest are from the general state. Of the 26 adults whose origin we know, 7 were from Villafáfila, 7 from Villarrín, 5 were born in Otero and from each of the following towns: Barcial del Barco, Belver, Cerezal de la Encomienda, Quintanilla del Olmo, Riego , Santovenia and Villalba, came a neighbor. There were 19 houses and one ruined, three paneras, and, in the absence of private threshing floors, they threshed in the meadows of the council. The neighbors had 823 sheep, and they leased pastures to ranchers from other places, such as Pinilla de Toro, Vezdemarbán, Abezames, etc. There were a total of 64 oxen or farm cows, 31 donkeys, 45 pigs and 8 mares.

The town of Otero belonged at that time to the Duke of Frías, to whom the lordship and vassalage corresponded, with the power to provide and appoint a mayor and a councilor every year at the proposal of the antecedents, and, given the scarceness of the neighborhood , repetition in the same positions for many years was frequent. In order to carry out the election freely, without the intervention of the Duke or his delegates, the council paid him 40 reals every year. In addition, he received 14 loads of averaged bread (wheat and barley) from the income from his lands, and they took them to Villalpando, along with the lambs that belonged to him by reason of the tithe of the parishioners, for being patron of the church.

The Otero council had an annual budget of 507 reais, which it spent:

2r. to the master of the Canto de Astorga, of alms.

93r of the rogation of San Marcos.

36r the day of taking the accounts.

16 p. well cleaning.

4 rs of paper.

36r to the priest for the processions and votes of the council.

30 p.r. to the clerk for taking the accounts and other testimonies.

40r to the duke for the council and justice elections.

100 r of salary to the mayor and alderman for collecting distributions and trips to Zamora.

R150 of wine that they spent all year.

The neighbors paid the tithes (more or less a tenth of the yields) of everything they produced and they were distributed in the following way:

-Of the lambs and grains, the Bishop of Astorga took a third, the Duke of Frías another third, and the priest of Otero the remaining third;

- and of the rest of the productions: wool, chickpeas, wine, etc., one third goes to the bishop and two thirds to the priest.

In 1751 the following ecclesiastical institutions owned property in Otero:  

The parish church of San Martín.

Memory of Mr. Saldaña.

Chaplaincy of Santa Catalina de Villafáfila.

Chaplaincy of the neighborhoods of Villafáfila.

Bond of Mr. Fernando Díaz de Villafáfila.

Priest of San Pedro de Villafáfila.

Ecclesiastical chapter of Villafáfila.

Convent of Santiago de Zamora.

Saint Nicholas of Benavente.

Santi Spiritus of Benavente.

Manuel Gómez, priest of Villarrín.

Saint Mark of Leon.

Orphans of San Salvador de Villafáfila.

Chaplaincy of Francisco Bueno.

Moreruela Monastery.

Christ of Villarrin.

Hermitage of Villarigo.

Santa María la Nueva de Villafáfila.

Saint Benedict of Valladolid.

Chaplaincy of San Lorenzo de Villafáfila

Don Manuel Vida de Villafáfila.

Board of Trustees of San José de Villarrín.

Don Bernardo Redondo, priest of Villarrín.

Don Pablo Suena, priest of S. Salvador de Villafáfila.

D. Manuel Cea priest of Otero.

Over the years the number of residents of the town continued to grow. In the tax distribution register of 1772 there are 19 residents, including the priest and a widow:

Manuel de Coca, priest.

D. Antonio de Calzada, mayor 59 reais.

Diego Bueno, alderman, 13 reais and a half.

D. Francisco de Calzada, 50 reais and a half.

José Ledesma, 37 reais and a half.

Sebastián Vaquero, 40 reais and a half.

Francisco Salagre, 18 reais and a half.

Jerónimo Rodríguez, 14 reais and a half.

Andres Cowboy, 26 reais.

Manuel Guayo, 27 reais and a half.

Alonso Vicente, 2 reais.

Jose Gervas, 4 reais.

José Méndez, minor, 2 reales.

José Méndez, older, 2 reales.

Francisco Bueno, 2 reais.

Manuel Elena, 6 reais.

Francisca Mendez, 2 reais.

But some neighbors such as Francisco Pascual, Isidoro Pozuelo, Matías Bueno and Juan Seijo, who for some reason (being servants in a house or being very old) do not contribute, do not appear on the register.

Two years later there are already 21 residents, we do not know how many inhabitants it amounts to, which, if it appears in the Floridablanca census of 1787, which lists a total of 98 inhabitants, 55 men, 17 of them married and 2 widowers and 43 women, of which 17 married and 1 widow.

In 1772 Don Francisco Calzada and his sons Antonio, Félix and Ambrosio and his grandson Manuel, initiate a lawsuit before the Royal Chancery of Valladolid, claiming half of the town hall and justice offices from the council for being hidalgos, the only family with this status. in Otero (the lawsuit is joined by Don Manuel Ojero, a hidalgo from Villalobos who settled in Otero in 1777 when he married María de Calzada, Francisco's daughter). The rest of the neighbors oppose this distribution. In 1776 the court acquitted the council of the lawsuit, but the Calzadas appealed and in 1783 the sentence was revoked and it was determined that the offices of justice and regiment be distributed, alternating each year the mayor and alderman of each state, hidalgos and pecheros.

Population of Otero in the 19th century

1857- 166 hab.

1873- 153 hab. and 66 buildings.

1877- 129 hab.

1887- 132 hrs.

1897- 148 hab.

1900- 158 hab.

We know the taxpayers of 1878 who could vote in the elections, since suffrage was still not universal, and it was exercised based on contribution levels:

By territory they include

D. Crisógono Costilla, farmer, domiciled at Calle de La Paz, nº 3 with 81 pts.

Francisco Martín, farmer, Calle del Medio nº 6 with 52 pts.

Felipe Gómez, tilled, Calle Traviesa nº 2 with 80 pts.

Gervasio Calzada, the street does not appear with 51 pts.

Juan Antonio Gómez, farmer, in Plaza nº 4 73 pts.

Lucas Alonso, Labrador, Naughty 4 with 40 pts.

Manuel de León, farmer, Closed 1 with 123 pts.

Tomás Fidalgo, farmer, Plaza 2 with 82

Teodoro García, farmer, calle el Sol 10, with 87

Valentín Miranda, farmer, Calle de la Paz 6 with 123.

Hilaria Costilla appears as Hilario, and contributes 87 pts.

By capabilities they contribute

Mr. Ángel Miñambres Gómez, parish priest who lives at Calle del Sol 6 and Marcelino Calvo Calvo, teacher, at Calle del Medio nº 3

A tragic event that some people still remember from family stories is the murder of La Ojera. She is Mrs. Gertrudis Fidalgo, a native of Villaveza who had married in 1810 Mr. Manuel Ojero, a hidalgo from Otero, where she moved to live. They had a son, Manuel, and several daughters, Manuela, mother of the Ignacias, Josefa, mother of Las Montemolinas, and Luciana, grandmother of the Ciego. In 1837 she was left a widow AND MARRIED DON Rafael de León, also a widower from Otero. In 1852, when she was going from Otero to Villafáfila, she was attacked by a shepherd of hers whom she had fired and killed, leaving her body lying in the field, in a trail where she appeared days later. The news as it appeared in a Madrid newspaper:

Spanish notary gazette

Murder. According to what they say about Benavente, on the night of the 20th of last August, a lady was treacherously murdered on the Villafáfila road. to Otero de Sariegos, and near the path that those from Villarrín take to the first of these points. The body was found at dawn on the 21st with two mortal wounds, one to the skull from a strong blow, and the other made with a sharp and cutting instrument, which reached the heart. Despite the activity and zeal of the court, it has not been possible to capture the authors of such a horrible attack, and without raising a hand it commissioned, as a result of his many occupations, the lawyer Mr. José Alonso Gómez, to investigate what there was about the individual. He exactly fulfilled the assignment this zealous and learned jurisconsult; but without any regulation so far. According to the story, the pastor stole a silver garter belt and gave it to his girlfriend. When he's bragging about the gift, he made it public,

The parish priests of Otero:

In 1683 there was already a priest in the church, Don Francisco Lubiano, who appears until 1722.

He is succeeded later by D. Francisco Aguado.

In 1727 the parish priest had already changed and D. Pedro Fernández Vallador was mentioned until he died in 1749.

Don Manuel de Zea Gómez follows him in office and already in 1756 we find Don Manuel Coca who was born in Otero in 1730, as parish priest until his death in 1794. From the end of the century until the War of Independence he was in charge of the parish don Manuel Garrido Fernandez, of Carbajales.

In 1815 Juan José Moreno until his death in 1825 at the age of 44, and in 1826 Don Fernando García de la Vega, who moved.

In 1833 don Lucio Rodríguez until 1843, when he died at the age of 52 and the following year Agustín Aparicio appeared as vicar, and in 1848 the priest was Dámaso Costilla, from Villafáfila. In 1857 Remigio García, and in 1860 Agustín Aparicio already appears, this time as a priest who died in 1864. From that year we find Ángel Miñambres, from Villarrín. In 1910 Antº Miranda is the priest.

News of the War of Independence

“ Ad perpetuam rei memoriam: anno 1811 & 12

In the August of one thousand eight hundred and eleven the harvest was generally so barren that little more than the sowing was harvested. It came to this other misery as great or greater: namely, the war that the French were waging against us internally, that after devastating us by taking the estates and wealth of all and intercepting the businesses, they gathered with various pretexts the few grains that there were and the they stored in the cities and large towns, and then had their troops maintain the towns. Thus they called with great haste on this miserable Kingdom to famine, so that the bushel of wheat came to be worth four hundred and fifty reales and the baked bread at 16, 20 and 24 rrl the four pounds, and thus respective to rye and barley. This rye and barley bread was sugar cubes even for the rich and powerful,

From here and from the great anarchy that these famines aroused, innumerable gangs of thieves arose, some made up of scattered Spanish soldiers, others deserters, and others from the towns, who, without the slightest embarrassment and many without very legitimate need, universally killed themselves. to steal the farms of the countryside and those of the houses with lousy and iniquitous treatment and death of their owners. So much was the misery and unhappiness that still, even many of those who by trade were obliged to defend the country and the Religion with their weapons, converted their authority and power into enriching themselves and theirs.

From here many poor people died on the roads and towns, some from hunger, others from error.

History and public papers will give more timely news of this unfortunate catastrophe, what has been said is enough to form a confused idea of ​​such a terrible event.

However, it is worth noting that, despite the fact that these great and general works came from our faults, nevertheless, men every day seemed more daring, more perviccious, more stiff-necked, more arrogant, more blasphemous and more luxurious.

But the most pious bowels of the Lord, out of respect for that blessed seed that he has left in Israel for the preservation of his church, provided a very abundant harvest to the world in August 1812. Be Blessed forever. Amen".

Author – Text:

Elijah Rodriguez Rodriguez.

History of Otero de Sariegos.

http://villafafila.net/oterohistoria/oterohistoria.htm

Photography:

Jose Luis Dominguez Martinez.

Transcription and Assembly:

Jose Luis Dominguez Martinez.

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