And now for something different

Apart from his geography lesson, our Spanish teacher also explained some of the history of Bigastro.

The Vega Baja was part of the Kingdom of Murcia until it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Valencia by the Treaty of Torrijos.

Following the expulsion of the Moors in the 17th century, the area was repopulated by Murcians. By the 19th century it became part of Alicante.

Bigastro was the summer residence of the canons of Orihuela. It took the land owners in the town until the end of the 18th century to regain possession of their land from the church.

A lawsuit in the Real Audiencia de Valencia during the first quarter of the 19th century was intended to emancipate the town from the clergy. The decision was in favour of the clergy but gradually the land owners won out. The Town Hall in Orihuela demanded compensation for their loss but in the end the State denied them any.

Bigastro was by then a town in its own right.

Obviously there was scandal to report even then.