Teruel – The Epicenter for the Minguillons
The Minguillon family has, as its epicenter, the province of Teruel which had a population of 134,176 in 2020 making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain.
The Province of Teruel
Within the autonomous community of Aragon, you find the province of Teruel in the southernmost region of the territory. Teruel’s capital is also called Teruel and it is famous for its harsh climate, its jamon Serrano (cured ham) and its pottery.
A quarter of all inhabitants live in the capital city of Teruel, the rest in the 236 small towns and villages (quite a few with extremely low populations of under 1,000, and some in the low 100s) scattered around the province. The scenery throughout the Province of Teruel is rural Spain at its most impressive - high, majestic mountains and green lush valleys and dry plains in the North.
Teruel is also famous for its Mudejar (Moorish-style) architecture, which can be easily spotted in its magnificent cathedral churches and towers.
Cathedral of Teruel - Constructed in the Mudejar Style
It’s the only architectural style unique to Spain; you won’t find Mudéjar buildings anywhere else in the world as it was a distinctly Spanish phenomenon. The name comes from the Arabic word mudajjan, which means something like “tamed” or “domesticated,” but probably “subjected,” and was originally applied to the Muslims who were allowed to stay in territories conquered by Christian kingdoms. In late-medieval Spain, "convivencia" was the rule of the day (“living-together-ness”), partly out of good-natured tolerance but also for pragmatic reasons: Muslims made up a large portion of the population and were integral to the economy, especially in eastern Spain.
Out of this diverse cultural setting, in which Christians lived side by side with Muslims, the Mudéjar style arose. The Muslims shared the intricacies of Islamic art—which gave the world the wonders of the Great Mosque of Cordoba or the Alhambra palace in Granada - with the Catholic newcomers, who had imported the prevailing Gothic style from continental Europe.
As for the origin of its name, it seems that in the Eastern languages the word “Ter” can be translated to mean “River” and that “Bel”, which may have morphed over the years to “Vel” or “Uel”, which translates to “White” or “Clear”. Therefore, the translation of “Teruel” would be “White or Clear River”.
The earliest written records of the existence of Teruel can be traced to Muslim chronicles written in the 10th century. The Caliphate (or governing body, Kingdom under the Moorish ruler) of Córdoba collapsed in 1031 and Spain was split up into a number of Moorish kingdoms. In 1238 Valencia was recaptured by King Jaime I and the Kingdom of Aragón expanded to include the territory known as Teruel, and in 1347 King Pedro IV, finally declared Teruel as a city.
Sadly, all was not peace and tranquility. In the Middle-Ages, in the 14th century to be exact, Teruel possessed a prominent Jewish community that enjoyed many of the privileges of the Catholic, and for that they paid a yearly tax of some 300 sueldos (originally a gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire, generally corresponding to 4.5 grams). For those privileges, its members were engaged in commerce and industry, especially in wool-weaving. During the persecutions of 1391 many of them were killed, while others accepted Christianity in order to save their lives.
It was into this mixed culture that the Minguillons grew up during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries throughout the various small towns of Teruel.
