Society and social structures in livestock-raising communities in the mountains of Leon at the end of the 16th century: Babia

The community of Babia is located on the southern slope of the Cantabric Co rdillera. We know this society through documents concerning taxes, Expedien tes de Hacienda (in particular those of 1584) and by some notarized documen ts: we have been able to reconstitute 136 exploitations at the end of the 1 6th century. The were divided into self-sufficient, surplus and poor exploi tations. For all these farms, the quantity of cereals produced is weak, low er than the standards of consumption of the time. The fact of farming mount ainous spaces does not seem to compensate for the increase in population: t he inhabitants still have to buy bread outside Babia. On the other hand, th ese communities are specialized in rearing animals, which provides signific ant profits. The livestock consists of cattle (1/4 of the total number), bu t mainly sheep and goats. Its distribution between the three types of farms is as uneven as that of the property: the poorest rent the animals, the ri chest have a very large number of animals of all kinds.