ABSTRACT
Possibly the most important single event in the entire history of La Nava de San Miguel was the signing on 27 February 1878 of the document by which the villagers bought back from the Spanish state the sierra above the village which had been their common property since the time of the Reconquest. Disentailment was carried out in two main phases, each period known by the name of the minister of Hacienda associated with it. Most importantly, rights to the Sierra de Socios are strictly limited to vecinos - those born in the village (hijos del pueblo) or married to someone born in the village - with permanent residence there. The post of sierra guard (guarda de la sierra) is filled annually by a curious system referred to by the villagers as a subasta. When most villagers still had sheep they would always take all the sheep up to the sierra every summer at the feast of St Peter.
