Gestión pública y privada del agua en la Edad Media. Los casos de Madrid y Guadalajara

Abstract

Water management was a key element in municipal politics during the Middle Ages. Guaranteeing access to water became one of the basic mechanisms for justifying the exercise of power by institutions from which almost the entire population was excluded. The authorities of the Castilian cities undertook a large number of works for the maintenance and improvement of the supply systems, which served to legitimise “good government”. The high costs involved endangered public water management, as they became an opportunity for private individuals seeking to use the public for individual gain. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to have a capacity of influence only within the reach of the great noble families, such as the Duque del Infantado, one of the greatest beneficiaries of the privatisation of water.