Inbreeding, Migration and Age at Marriage in Rural Toledo, Spain

Abstract

The natural region of the Jara, with an area of 2500 km2 occupies much of the south west of the province of Toledo, and extends into the provinces of Caceres and Ciudad Real. It is situated between the Tajo and Guadiana rivers, south of the town of Talavera de la Reina, the centre of the economic life in this region. Its highlands are covered with xerophytic vegetation, of which the most common plant is the jara (Cistus ladaniferus), from which this zone takes it name, (Fig. 1). It has been occupied from the neolithic period onwards by peoples of different origins, e.g. Romans, Muslims, Jews, Mozarabs (Jimenez de Gregorio, 1959) but the present population derives from settlement from the north of the Tajo river beginning in the 14th century following the upheavals of the Moslem–Christian wars.