The Mesta: How Sheep Built the Spanish Empire

This episode explores the Honorable Council of the Mesta, the powerful guild of sheep ranchers that shaped Spain's economy, landscape, and imperial ambitions for over 500 years. Lucas and Luna trace the Mesta's origins in the Reconquista, its privileges granted by Alfonso X in 1273, and its vast seasonal migrations along the cañadas reales. They discuss how the Mesta's immense flocks of merino sheep supplied the wool that fueled Spain's early modern economy, funded Charles V's wars, and made Spanish cloth prized across Europe. But the Mesta's power came at a cost: it stifled agriculture, accelerated deforestation, and concentrated wealth in the hands of a few grandees. The episode also covers the Mesta's decline in the 18th century, as Bourbon reformers tried to curb its privileges, and its final abolition in 1836. A story of wool, power, and unintended consequences. #Mesta #MerinoWool #AlfonsoX #CañadasReales #SpanishEmpire #MedievalSpain #Reconquista #Sheep #WoolTrade #CharlesV #BourbonReforms #Deforestation #Castile #HonorableCouncil #Transhumance #EconomicHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo