Governance and environment in the Bay of Cadiz at the end of the Middle Ages: the Ordenanzas de Lastre

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper reflects on the environmentalist paradigm and its possible applications when analysing the changes that took place at regional and global level in the transition from the 15th to the 16th century. A case study is presented, the Ordenanzas de Lastre of 1540, which serves to study the governance of the cities of Cádiz and El Puerto de Santa María. The economic and demographic growth of the coastal towns during the 15th century is the basis for analysing the solutions adopted by the authorities and the conflicts that arose between the agents involved in the anthropic impact on the Bay of Cadiz. A particularly sensitive environment that was increasingly affected by maritime and commercial growth, as the contemporaries themselves were able to highlight and denounce.