La Monarquía Hispánica y el control de los recursos hídricos: hacia la desecación de Las Tablas de Daimiel de 1751

During the Modern Age, the Hispanic Monarchy made control of water resources a political objective in La Mancha. The desiccation by Fernando VI in 1751 of the wetlands that today make up Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park, is a good example of this control. This article analyses the factors behind that decision which led to the Bourbon monarchy’s first major hydraulic project in the Guadiana river basin. The main focus of the study has been the development of flour mills around Las Tablas de Daimiel during the Modern Period, the conflicts caused by flow control and the local climate at that time. The pressure placed on the river by millers and the increase in aridity caused rising tensions which the monarchy sought to resolve by desiccation. However, the primary goal was to satisfy the monarch’s own revenue interests and those of a series of local livestock farmers linked to the King.