Editing Fuero (section)

==Characteristics==
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[[File:Vidal Mayor Primera recopil·lació dels Furs d'Aragó.jpg|thumb|left|upright|King [[James I of Aragon]] receives from Vidal de Canyelles, Bishop of [[Huesca]], the first compilation of the ''Furs d'Aragó'' (the "Fueros of Aragon"), 1247]]

'''''Fuero''''' dates back to the medieval period: the [[lord]] could concede or acknowledge a ''fuero'' to certain groups or communities, most notably the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the military, and certain regions that fell under the same monarchy as [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] or, later, [[Spain]], but were not fully integrated into those countries.

The relations among ''fueros'', other bodies of law (including the role of precedent), and [[sovereignty]] is a contentious one that influences government and law in the present day. The king of León, [[Alfonso V of León|Alfonso V]], decreed the Fuero de León (1017), considered the earliest laws governing territorial and local life, as it applied to the entire kingdom, with certain provisions for the city of León. The various [[Basque Country (historical territory)|Basque]] provinces also generally regarded their ''fueros'' as tantamount to a municipal [[constitution]]. This view was accepted by some others, including [[President of the United States]] [[John Adams]]. He cited the [[Biscay]]an ''fueros'' as a precedent for the [[United States Constitution]]. (Adams, ''A defense…'', 1786)<ref>Adams, John [http://www.constitution.org/jadams/ja1_04.htm ''A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America''] (1786) The Biscayan Fueros are discussed in his letter IV.</ref> This view regards ''fueros'' as granting or acknowledging [[rights]]. In the contrasting view, ''fueros'' were [[Privilege (legal ethics)|privilege]]s granted by a [[monarch]]. In the letter Adams also commented on the substantial independence of the hereditary Basque Jauntxo families as the origin for their privileges.

In practice, distinct ''fueros'' for specific classes, estates, towns, or regions usually arose out of feudal power politics. Some historians believe monarchs were forced to concede some traditions in exchange for the general acknowledgment of his or her authority, that monarchs granted fueros to reward loyal subjection, or (especially in the case of towns or regions) the monarch simply acknowledged distinct legal traditions.

In medieval Castilian law, the king could assign privileges to certain groups. The classic example of such a privileged group was the Roman Catholic Church: the clergy did not pay taxes to the state, enjoyed the income via [[tithes]] of local landholding, and were not subject to the civil [[court]]s. Church-operated [[canon law|ecclesiastical]] courts tried churchmen for criminal offenses. Another example was the powerful [[Mesta]] organization, composed of wealthy sheepherders, who were granted vast [[grazing rights]] in [[Andalusia]] after that land was reconquered by Spanish Christians from the Muslims (''see [[Reconquista]]''). Lyle N. McAlister writes in ''Spain and Portugal in the New World'' that the Mesta's ''fuero'' helped impede the economic development of southern [[Spain]]. This resulted in a lack of opportunity, and Spaniards emigrated to the [[New World]] to escape these constraints.<ref>McAlister, Lyle N., ''Spain and Portugal in the New World''. 1984, Univ of Minnesota Press, {{ISBN|0-8166-1216-1}}.</ref>