Map of the Province of León (1786)

This map was created by Spanish cartographer Tomás López de Vargas Machuca in 1786 and published posthumously by his sons in the “Geographical Atlas of Spain” from 1804. The map depicts the eastern part of the Province of León with the territorial boundaries prior to Javier de Burgos's provincial administration reform in 1833.

The province of León covered more territory than is shown on this map. As the author indicates in the text, the map leaves out the Ponferrada match. This part of the province bordered the Principality of Asturias, to the east with the Carrión match and with the Province of Palencia, and to the south with the Province of Valladolid.

The territorial organisation of the Province of León was extremely complex, added to which this map is the first ever made of the province of León. For this reason, the map shows the subdivisions, but does not clarify the number of districts in the province, although it is possible to distinguish between the District of León and the District of Villalpando in this part of the province. Among the subdivisions, we can find several types:

Towns: mainly in the north, such as Bavia de Arriba, Bavia de Abajo and Valdeón.
Jurisdictions: mainly in the south, such as Palacios de la Valduerna, de la Ribera and Astorga.
Brotherhoods: mainly in the vicinity of the city of León, such as those of Bernesga de Arriba, La Valdoncina, and Las Regueras.
Abbeys: such as those in Arbas or Sahagún.
Valleys: mainly in the north, such as Valdeburón, Reyero, and La Reyna.
Infantazago: the only one near the city of León.
Vega: a single one near the city of León.

Everything marked in red on the map corresponds to the subdivisions that belonged to the Corregimiento de León, which had a smaller territorial scope than that of the Partido de León.

In the central part, it is worth noting the existence of a large enclave that belonged to the province of Valladolid.

You can read more about Tomás López and his atlas in this article from the newsletter: Tomás López and the first detailed atlas of Spain (1804).