A brief history of the Reconquista (718-1492 AD): Conquest, repopulation and land distribution

This article is an attempt to summarize in the space of barely twenty pages some of the characteristics of the historical process known as the Reconquista in the territories of today’s Spain. Since this was a process that spread across eight centuries, this brief history obviously is not and does not claim to be exhaustive. On the contrary, it goes without saying that it is partial, biased and incomplete, and should be considered simply as an introduction to the subject. It looks at the Reconquista from a territorial perspective with the intention of presenting some of the key elements that led to the creation of particular institutions. These varied from region to region and, it can be argued, had an impact on the long-term economic evolution of the various territories within Spain. On the one hand, the work focuses on the timing and evolution of the military conquest of territory, from north to south, in different historical stages, while on the other it looks at the subsequent repopulation of these conquered territories as the military action moved southwards. The institutions that were created and the way society was organized at each stage of the Reconquista, including the distribution of land ownership, depended on the different factors and circumstances prevailing in each historical period.Este trabajo es un intento de resumir en el espacio de apenas veinte páginas algunas características del proceso histórico conocido como Reconquista en el territorio que hoy ocupa España. Obviamente, tratándose de un proceso que se extendió a lo largo de ocho siglos, esta breve historia no es, ni pretende serlo, exhaustiva. Al contrario, es parcial, sesgada e incompleta, como no puede ser de otra manera, y tiene un carácter meramente introductorio. El texto se aproxima a la Reconquista desde una perspectiva territorial con objeto de presentar algunas claves para la creación de determinadas instituciones, regionalmente diferenciadas, que habrían persistido en el tiempo y tenido un impacto sobre la evolución económica de largo plazo. En particular, el trabajo se centra, por un lado, en presentar la evolución de la conquista militar de los territorios, de norte a sur, en diferentes etapas históricas. Y por otro, en ofrecer las principales claves de la posterior repoblación de los territorios conquistados a medida que se avanzaba hacia el sur. Las instituciones que se crearon y la manera en la que se organizó la sociedad en cada etapa de la Reconquista, incluida la distribución de la propiedad de la tierra, dependió de los diferentes factores y circunstancias que prevalecieron en cada período histórico

Two stories, one fate: age-heaping and literacy in Spain, 1877-1930

This study looks at human capital in Spain during the early stages of modern economic growth. We have assembled a new dataset for age-heaping and literacy in Spain with information about men and women from six population censuses and forty-nine provinces between 1877 and 1930. Our results show that, although age-heaping was less prevalent during the second half of the 19th century than previously thought, it did not decline until the early 20th century. Given that literacy increased throughout the whole period, our study thus unveils stark differences between age-heaping and literacy, which raises further questions regarding sources, methods and interpretation

Capital humano y desigualdad territorial. El proceso de alfabetización en los municipios españoles desde la Ley Moyano hasta la Guerra Civil

El objetivo de este estudio es ofrecer nueva evidencia acerca de los niveles de alfabetización en España para el período 1860-1930. En particular, a lo largo de las siguientes páginas se presenta una base de datos que permite desgranar la evolución del proceso alfabetizador, con una desagregación territorial correspondiente a los municipios y distinguiendo entre hombres y mujeres. Con esta nueva información, se analiza la evolución y se apuntan algunos de los potenciales determinantes de la alfabetización desde los albores del período contemporáneo y a lo largo de la primera gran fase del proceso de desarrollo económico español, que transcurre durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y el primer tercio del siglo XX. En este contexto, el objetivo final del presente trabajo es contribuir a la comprensión de los determinantes profundos de la desigualdad económica territorial en España y, por extensión, de los países hoy desarrollados

Cut-offs and response criteria for the Hospital Universitario la Princesa Index (HUPI) and their comparison to widely-used indices of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Objective To estimate cut-off points and to establish response criteria for the Hospital Universitario La Princesa Index (HUPI) in patients with chronic polyarthritis. Methods Two cohorts, one of early arthritis (Princesa Early Arthritis Register Longitudinal PEARL] study) and other of long-term rheumatoid arthritis (Estudio de la Morbilidad y Expresión Clínica de la Artritis Reumatoide EMECAR]) including altogether 1200 patients were used to determine cut-off values for remission, and for low, moderate and high activity through receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. The areas under ROC (AUC) were compared to those of validated indexes (SDAI, CDAI, DAS28). ROC analysis was also applied to establish minimal and relevant clinical improvement for HUPI. Results The best cut-off points for HUPI are 2, 5 and 9, classifying RA activity as remission if =2, low disease activity if >2 and =5), moderate if >5 and <9 and high if =9. HUPI''s AUC to discriminate between low-moderate activity was 0.909 and between moderate-high activity 0.887. DAS28''s AUCs were 0.887 and 0.846, respectively; both indices had higher accuracy than SDAI (AUCs: 0.832 and 0.756) and CDAI (AUCs: 0.789 and 0.728). HUPI discriminates remission better than DAS28-ESR in early arthritis, but similarly to SDAI. The HUPI cut-off for minimal clinical improvement was established at 2 and for relevant clinical improvement at 4. Response criteria were established based on these cut-off values. Conclusions The cut-offs proposed for HUPI perform adequately in patients with either early or long term arthritis

The roots of land inequality in Spain

There is a high degree of inequality in land access across Spain. In the South, and in contrast to other areas of the Iberian Peninsula, economic and political power there has traditionally been highly concentrated in the hands of large landowners. Indeed, an unequal land ownership structure has been linked to social conflict, the presence of revolutionary ideas and a desire for agrarian reform. But what are the origins of such inequality? In this paper we quantitatively examine whether geography and/or history can explain the regional differences in land access in Spain. While marked regional differences in climate, topography and location would have determined farm size, the timing of the Reconquest, the expansion of the Christian kingdoms across the Iberian Peninsula between the 9th and the 15th centuries at the expense of the Moors, influenced the type of institutions that were set up in each region and, in turn, the way land was appropriated and distributed among the Christian settlers. To analyse the effect of these two factors, we rely on the number of farm labourers for all 471 Spanish districts (partidos judiciales) using the information contained in the 1860 Population Census. In line with various classic works, our results show that although geographic factors did play a role, the institutional setting that arose from the Reconquest is key in explaining the unequal distribution of land in Spain, particularly in the former territories of the Kingdom of Castile

Electrochemical oxidation of meglumine in a pharmaceutical formulation using a nanocomposite anode

The electrocatalytic oxidation of meglumine and gadoterate meglumine (Gd-DOTA) on a TiO2-Ni(SO4)0.3(OH)1.4 composite anode was investigated in alkaline medium (5 M KOH) using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The composite was prepared by hydrothermal method and the morphology and structure of the produced nanoparticles were studied by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, BET surface area analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The characterization revealed the formation of Ni(SO4)0.3(OH)1.4 nanobelts dispersed on TiO2 nanoaggregates. The composite was coated onto a porous graphite rod, showing good adherence without requiring any binder (according to their anodic and cathodic charges). The supported composite was electrocatalytic, allowing the oxidation of meglumine, either as pure reagent or contained in gadoterate meglumine solutions. Electrochemical methods allowed determining the kinetic parameters, such as the electron transfer coefficient α, the total number of electrons n and the standard heterogeneous rate constant k0 for the reaction of meglumine. The chronoamperometric tests informed about the good stability of the composite anode upon meglumine oxidation at +0.6 V for 10 h. The electrochemical oxidation of meglumine in a commercial pharmaceutical formulation (Dotarem®) was corroborated via ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Influence of polymer composition on the sensitivity towards nitrite and nitric oxide of colorimetric disposable test strips

The influence of polymer composition on the sensitivity towards nitrite (NO 2 − ) and nitric oxide (NO) of a series of 19 polymeric hydrogel films has been stud- ied. The polymers, based on the hydrophilic monomer 2- hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), are able to encapsu- late the colorimetric indicator 1,2-diaminoanthraquinone (DAQ) and to respond to NO 2 − and NO by visual chang- es. In the case of nitrite, the calculated limits of detection (LOD) for two of the polymeric sensors (10 μ M) are very close to the sensitivity estimated for free DAQ in solution (LOD 5 μ M), but with the advantage of a solid supported sensor with the format of a disposable test- strip made with affordable starting chemicals. The re- sults are interpreted taking into account the nature and proportions of monomers and cross-linkers used for the synthesis of polymers. Key factors for obtaining sensi- tive materials are the hydro philic character of the film along with the utilization of low levels of cross-linker and the use of an acidic monomer, like acrylic acid, as a building block.Financial support from the Spanish MINECO (CTQ2015-68429-R) and Fundació Caixa Castelló-UJI (P1·1B2015-76) is acknowledged. V. F. thanks the financial support from UJI (predoctoral fellowship). We thank SCIC/UJI for technical assistance