Boal ( Galician-Asturian: ''Bual'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

and a town in the

Autonomous Community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of the

Principality of Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

(

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). It borders north with

El Franco El Franco is a municipality in the autonomous community of the Principality of Asturias. It is bordered on the north by the Cantabrian Sea, to the west by Tapia, to the south by Castropol and Boal, and to the east by Cuaña. El Franco is part of ...

and Coaña, south with

Illano Illano (Eonavian: ''Eilao'') is a municipality in the Principality of Asturias Autonomous communities of Spain, Spanish autonomous community. It is bordered on the north by Boal, on the south by San Martín de Oscos, on the east by Boal, Villayó ...

, west with

Castropol Castropol is a municipality in Asturias, Spain. It is also the name of a Parroquia (Spain), parish within the municipality and a town within the parish. The municipality of Castropol has a population of 3696 (Instituto Nacional de Estadística d ...

and east with

Villayón Villayón () is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It borders Navia, Asturias, Navia to the north, Cuaña, Boal and Illano to the west, Valdés, Asturias, Valdés, Tinéu and Allande to the east and A ...

. The main way of access to the municipality is the regional road AS-12, which connects Navia with

Grandas de Salime Grandas de Salime is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is famous for its hydroelectric dam across the Navia River, forming the Embalse de Salime (''reservoir of Salime''). It is also famous for ...

. The whole municipality has a population of 1,632 inhabitants, whereas there are about 496 inhabitants in the capital town.

Etymology

Etymologically, it is usually considered that "Boal" comes either from the

Indo-european languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

, ''*bod-'' (

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...

), or from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, ''bove'' or ''*bovale'' (ox). Although some authors believe that "Boal" could be understood as the expression of an old anthroponym or person name, Bovali (iler) or Baudiliu (adducing the form Baudali), it is common to consider its original meaning either as ''"terreno frecuentado y apropiado para el pasto del ganado vacuno"'' ("land frequented and appropriate for the grazing of cattle") or as ''"corral de bueyes o dehesa boyal"'' ("

corral A pen is a fenced/walled open-air enclosure for holding land animals in captivity, typically for livestock but may also be used for holding other domesticated animals such as pets that are unwanted inside buildings. The term describes types ...

for oxen or ox

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

"). In fact,

Corominas Corominas is a Spanish surname that may refer to * Ernest Corominas (1913–1992), Spanish-French mathematician * Ferran Corominas (born 1983), Spanish football forward * Juan Manuel González Corominas (born 1968), Spanish off-road motorbike driver ...

mentions in Aragonese ''boalage, boalar, "dehesa boyal"'' ("ox pasture") as derivatives of ''boal'', which would be at the same time a variant of ''boyal, "perteneciente al buey o al ganado vacuno"'' ("belonging to ox or to cattle") .

History

Ancient times

There still remain traces proving the existence of settlements in this municipality in a time prior to the arrival of Romans. Although it is supposed that there were already populated enclaves in the area during the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

, there are no remains of this time, so such a supposition could not be demonstrated. Nevertheless, remains of the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

have reached up to the present day. For example, several burial mounds were found in the mountain range of Penouta in what is one of the vastest burial mound fields in the whole Asturias, with 72 catalogued tombs. Likewise,

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s near Llaviada (nowadays disappeared) are supposed to date from this time, together with the oscillating granitic mass known as

Penedo Aballón Penedo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Alagoas in Brazil. The population is 63,846 (2020 est.) in an area of . Penedo lies south-west of the state capital of Maceió. In October 2023, Penedo joined the UNESCO Creati ...

(located near Penouta, and knocked down in 2004, probably by a few vandals). From the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(approximately 1500-1100 b.C) are believed to date the anthropomorphic paintings (both masculine and feminine) found in the Cova del Demo ("Cave of Devil" in English), located near the hamlet of Froseira, in the civil parish of Doiras. All the preceding facts, together with the signals of mining work devoted to the extraction of metals and, especially the Celtic fortifications of Pendia,

Los Mazos Los Mazos is a town situated in Tuxpan Municipality, Jalisco, Mexico. The population was 132 according to the 2020 census. Los Mazos sits at a height of 1,780 meters. Located on the skirts of a couple of volcanoes, an inactive one called El Nev ...

and La Escrita also prove the aforementioned pre-Roman settlements. The subsequent

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

presence, after the conquest carried out by the legions under command of General Publio Carisio (the X Gemina and the V Alaudae), left imprints such as several coins and

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

fragments, as well as probably the origin of the names of some small villages such as Vega de Ouria, likely due to the presence of some river

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

working in that time. In those days, it is believed that the area corresponding to the civil parish of

Castrillón Castrillón is a municipality in Asturias, located on the central coast of Spain. It has an area of 56.70 km2 and had a population of 22,361 inhabitants (in 2005). The most important population centres are the capital Piedrasblancas, Sali ...

was populated by the astur tribe of Pesicos, whereas the area located western from the

Navia River The Navia is a river in northern Spain flowing South to North from Galicia into the Autonomous Community of Asturias. It discharges into the Bay of Biscay through an estuary called ''Ría de Navia''. See also * List of rivers of Spain This ...

would have been inhabited by the gallaeci tribe of Albions. After about four centuries of Roman domination, the barbarians entered the Iberian Peninsula, and

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

settled down in the western area of Asturias, reaching their maximum expansion about the year 450. It is known that later arrived

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, that occupied the whole territory about 584. However, there are very little archaeological remains of all those populations.

Middle Ages

Little is known about the history of Boal at the beginning of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, during the asturian monarchy. The fights between the bishops of

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

and

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

for the territories located between the rivers Navia and Eo came to an end by means of an agreement promoted by the king

Alfonso VII Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century ( Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. ...

. Thus, all those territories and Boal included among them were submitted to the bishop of Oviedo by donation in the year 1154, under the generic denomination of territory of

. In 1368, the bishop D. Gutierre, appointed Alvar Pérez Osorio as "governor" of the Tierra de Ribadeo y Grandas, which comprised the current municipalities of Boal, Castropol, Coaña, El Franco, Grandas de Salime, Illano,

Pesoz Pesoz ( Eonavian: Pezós) is a municipality and the only parish in that municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is one of the least populated municipalities in Asturias. It is bordered on the north by I ...

San Martín de Oscos San Martín de Oscos ( Eonavian: Samartín d'Ozcos) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias. It is bordered on the north by Illano, on the south by Grandas de Salime, on the east by Pesoz and on the west by ...

Santa Eulalia de Oscos Santa Eulalia de Oscos ( Eonavian: Santalla d'Ozcos) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Villanueva de Oscos, on the south and west by Lugo province of Galicia, a ...

, Tapia, Taramundi and

Vegadeo Vegadeo ( Eonavian: A Veiga) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered in the north and east by Castropol, in the south by Villanueva de Oscos, Taramundi, and San Tirso de Abres, and in ...

, having up to 41 parishes. This was a time of many violent uprisings because of the high taxes Pérez Osorio obliged the inhabitants of the area to pay. Subsequently, bishops created several villages and municipalities, so at the beginning of the 16th century, the Tierra de Ribadeo was divided into five municipalities: Castropol, Piantón, Barres, El Franco and Grandas, with Boal belonging to the municipality of El Franco.

Modern Ages

This system of municipalities was in force until the arrival of King Felipe II, who obtained permission from

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

to divide and sell any town, place and jurisdiction, which allowed him to obtain financing for wars and to pay the great debt he had. There were attempts of buying jurisdictions by some individuals (with the intention to advance in the social scale), but the most usual was the buying by the people. This favored that in those years Boal disassociated from the Church. In 1579, Alonso López de Navia y Bolaño, an inhabitant of the town of Navia, gave power to Pedro Bermúdez to arrange with Alonso de Camino, who initially registered the parishes of Serandinas, Boal, Doiras, Pesoz, Coaña, Trelles,

Villacondide Villacondide is one of seven parishes (administrative divisions) in the Cuaña municipality, within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Sout ...

, etc., expecting to buy them, for shortly after transferring the parishes of Boal, Serandinas and Doiras to Rui Garcia de Cangas in order to reduce expenses. The fears of the people of villages to depend on the lords, considering the abuses they committed against their inhabitants, led them to "buy themselves" and to incorporate into the Crown. Thus, the parishes of Boal, Serandinas and Doiras were redeemed in 1580, starting to have the jurisdictional status of ''"realengo"'' (directly depending on the King). The definitive independence of Boal as a municipality took place in 1584, when representatives of the inhabitants of its parishes met, drawing up the first local regulations and agreeing on the way to choose the offices of town councilors, mayor, constables, attorneys, etc. Thus, parishes became towns with civil and criminal jurisdiction, and representatives would meet once a year to choose the aforementioned offices. At this time, the capital of the municipality changed and it was held in several of its villages ( Prelo, Armal, Castrillón, and the town of Boal), but it definitely returned to Boal in 1791. During the 17th and 18th centuries, in which the clearly predominant activities in Boal were agriculture and cattle farming, beautiful family seats and palaces were built in the municipality, but at present most of them are almost completely disappeared, although with some exceptions such as the Palace of Miranda, in the village of Prelo. There is no doubt that the 18th century was the most prosperous for the municipality because, in addition to the fundamental farming activities, the craftwork industries became noticeably important too, and by the middle of this century there were 4

fulling mill Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate (lanolin) oils, dirt, ...

s, 8

mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...

s to stretch

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

, one

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

, and 42 mills for grain.

19th century

It is also known that during the

Spanish War of Independence The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

the French troops occupied Boal in the belief that the town hosted a weapons factory. A group of inhabitants of Boal took part in the " Alarma del cerezal" (a group of people who met to avoid an invasion or to defend from the enemy), but they could not avoid

Maurice Mathieu David-Maurice-Joseph Mathieu de Saint-Maurice de La Redorte or Maurice Mathieu (; 20 February 1768 – 1 March 1833) was a French general during the Napoleonic Wars. Biography Mathieu was born into a French noble family and entered the French ...

’s soldiers to invade the town on March 19, 1809, establishing a camp in Llaviada, and causing numerous deaths, plundering and damages. A few years later, in 1814 and 1820, Serandinas unsuccessfully tried to become a municipality independent of Boal. Furthermore, in July 1823 noticeable damages were caused by a group of about 24 robbers commanded by Miguel Álvarez Samartino de la Trapa, who stole money from the taxes income and tore documents of the municipal secretary’s office. It is believed that two inhabitants of Armal could have taken part in these happenings, but they could not be captured as people in their village would have covered them up. During the

Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars (, ) were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1 ...

the municipality was invaded again: in 1836, a guerrilla group commanded by San Breixo entered in Boal, but he was captured in the following year and subsequently executed by firing squad in the cemetery of Piantón by a militia formed in Boal. Shortly after, in 1837, it was inaugurated the parish church devoted to

Santiago Apóstol Santiago Apóstol is a town and Municipalities of Oaxaca, municipality in Oaxaca, southwestern Mexico. It is part of the Ocotlán District south of the Valles Centrales de Oaxaca, Valles Centrales Region. References

Municipalities of Oa ...

, and in 1842, the town hall and the jail. The

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic of 1854 and 1855, took place in this municipality, although it was not excessively virulent. That was not the case with the

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemic of 1870, much more serious and deadly. Also in the 19th century, Boal saw the birth of one of its most distinguished figures,

Bernardo Acevedo y Huelves Bernardo is a given name, possibly derived from the Germanic Bernhard. It may refer to: People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Francis Xavier * Bernardo Accolti (1465–1536), Italian ...

, whose name was later given to the municipal library. Among his works it is worth highlighting ''"Boal y su concejo"'' ("Boal and its municipality"), a very clarifying picture of the way of life and the customs in the municipality at the end of the 19th century, which also shows the importance the industry of iron forge (at present disappeared) had by that time. In connection with this, it is worth mentioning the uprising that took place in 1895, in which the forgers of the municipality destroyed all the machines for making tacks that Víctor Sánchez, a local businessman, was installing in the village of Armal with the aim to start a strong tacking industry able to face the great external competition, especially that English one, which finally made unfeasible the traditional means of working iron in the municipality.

20th century

The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th were years of important migratory flows, especially to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. From these years date several large houses, property of emigrants who had made fortune in the Americas, such as for example Villa Anita. In addition, the money furnished by many emigrants contributed decisively to the construction of various schools in several villages of the municipality and the elementary school of the capital town, known as "Las Graduadas", in 1934, which was promoted by the ''"Sociedad de Instrucción Naturales del Concejo de Boal"'' ("Association for the Education Natives of the Municipality of Boal") in

La Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

). Also in these years several public washing houses were built in the municipality. Some other infrastructures of capital relevance for Boal were built at the beginning of the 20th century. That was the case of the road connecting Navia and Grandas de Salime, with the construction of the stretch from Navia to Boal. Furthermore, in 1934 it was built the dam of Doiras, and in the year 1951 it was started the large-scale exploitation of the

tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

mines near Penouta, although they closed in 1961. The decadence of tungsten mining, which had employed up to 254 workers, and the end of the construction of the big reservoirs along the Navia River, together with the gradual abandonment of cattle farming (still at present the main economic activity of the municipality) led to new migratory flows, especially from the 1950s on, but in this case they were directed preferentially to other regions of

(the industrialized center of Asturias,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, etc.) or to Europe (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, etc.), giving rise to a progressive depopulation that still continues at present.

Geography

Physical geography

Being located in the middle basin of the

, the municipality of Boal is crossed by that river from south/south-east to north-east, where its course acts as a natural border with the neighboring municipality of

. On its way through this municipality, the Navia River is dammed first in Doiras, and later, downstream, by that of Arbón, already located in Villayón. Two noticeable tributaries pouring their water on the Navia River in the municipality of Boal are the Urubio River (in the reservoir of Doiras) and the Pendia River (in the reservoir of Arbón). The main elevation of the terrain is located already bordering with the municipalities of

and

: it is the range of La Bobia, of 1,201 m above sea level. It is also worth mentioning La Cristaleira (1,036 m) in the southern area of the municipality, Pena Queimada (921 m) in the north-western area, Penouta (899 m) in the northern zone (from there it is possible to see a wide panoramic view of the coast from the municipality of Navia to the environs of

Foz Foz () is a town and municipality in the A Mariña Central comarca in the Galician province of Lugo. It has been historically linked to the Ancient Province of Mondoñedo and also linked to the arrival of Briton immigrants during the Dark Ages ...

, in the province of

) and Penácaros (732 m) in the central area. The capital town of the municipality is located relatively far away from the main valley of the Navia River, in the headwaters of the Pendia River and surrounded by the three aforementioned mountains, at about 450 m above sea level.

Civil parishes

The municipality of Boal is divided in 7

es: *

Boal Boal (Galician-Asturian: ''Bual'') is a municipality, a civil parish and a town in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias (Spain). It borders north with El Franco and Coaña, south with Illano, west with Castropol and east with ...

(in Eonavian: ''Bual''): 966 inhabitants. *

(in Eonavian: ''Castriyón''): 182 inhabitants. * Doiras: 153 inhabitants. * Lebredo (in Eonavian: ''Llebredo''): 13 inhabitants. * La Ronda (in Eonavian: ''A Ronda''): 63 inhabitants. * Rozadas: 176 inhabitants. * Serandinas (in Eonavian: ''Serandías''): 223 inhabitants. (Source: INE)

Main populated places

*Boal: 526 inhabitants. * Armal: 154 inhabitants. * Doiras: 98 inhabitants. * Miñagón: 94 inhabitants. * Rozadas: 79 inhabitants. * Serandinas: 69 inhabitants. * Prelo: 61 inhabitants. *

: 49 inhabitants. * Sampol: 41 inhabitants. *

: 39 inhabitants. (Source: INE)

The parish of Boal

The parish of Boal is in size with a population of 1,137 ( INE 2007). The town of Boal is the head of this civil parish and also the capital of the homonymous municipality. It is located in the south-eastern mountainside of the Penouta range near the headwaters of the Pendia River, at about 450 m above sea level. It has a population of 588 inhabitants, being they distributed among the three main districts which the town consists of: *Boal de Arriba (Upper Boal): this is the historical nucleus of the village, with narrow streets (Alonso Rodríguez Street and Buenos Aires Avenue) where the older houses are located, together with the fairground that hosts the cattle market, and the cemetery. *Zona central (Central area): includes the ''Plaza de la Iglesia'' (Church Square), where the parish church devoted to

Municipalities of Oa ...

is located, the ''Plaza del Ayuntamiento'' (Town Hall Square) and the Asturias Avenue, where the ''Casa de Cultura'' (House of Culture) that hosts the municipal library, and most of the shops and bars, restaurants and hotels are located. This area includes also the Everardo Villamil Street and the Republic of Cuba Avenue. *Boal de Abajo (Lower Boal): it has grown along the AS-12 road (Melquiades Álvarez Street and Isidoro Fontana Street) and the Rosalía de la Cruz Street, hosting some interesting examples of the architecture of those emigrants who had made fortune in the Americas, among which we can stress the Casa de Damiana (1919) and, already on the road out of the village in direction to Grandas de Salime, Villa Anita (1926), decorated with glazed tiles in all its façades. Moreover, the elementary school (Escuelas Graduadas, nowadays called Centro Público de Educación Básica Carlos Bousoño) and the high school, together with the municipal sports center and pool are located in this area.

Villages of the parish of Boal

Demography

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.9) ImageSize = width:600 height:300 PlotArea = left:60 bottom:30 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:8000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:250 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar: 1842 text: 1842 bar: 1860 text: 1860 bar: 1877 text: 1877 bar: 1887 text: 1887 bar: 1900 text: 1900 bar: 1910 text: 1910 bar: 1920 text: 1920 bar: 1930 text: 1930 bar: 1940 text: 1940 bar: 1950 text: 1950 bar: 1960 text: 1960 bar: 1970 text: 1970 bar: 1980 text: 1980 bar: 1990 text: 1990 bar: 2000 text: 2000 bar: 2016 text: 2016 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:center bar: 1842 from:5533 till: 0 bar: 1860 from:6300 till: 0 bar: 1877 from:6827 till: 0 bar: 1887 from:5965 till: 0 bar: 1900 from:5648 till: 0 bar: 1910 from:6145 till: 0 bar: 1920 from:6248 till: 0 bar: 1930 from:7365 till: 0 bar: 1940 from:6677 till: 0 bar: 1950 from:6429 till: 0 bar: 1960 from:6213 till: 0 bar: 1970 from:4504 till: 0 bar: 1980 from:3614 till: 0 bar: 1990 from:2834 till: 0 bar: 2000 from:2395 till: 0 bar: 2016 from:1632 till: 0 PlotData= bar: 1842 at: 5533 fontsize:S text: 5,533 shift:(0,5) bar: 1860 at: 6300 fontsize:S text: 6,300 shift:(0,5) bar: 1877 at: 6827 fontsize:S text: 6,827 shift:(0,5) bar: 1887 at: 5965 fontsize:S text: 5,965 shift:(0,5) bar: 1900 at: 5648 fontsize:S text: 5,648 shift:(0,5) bar: 1910 at: 6145 fontsize:S text: 6,145 shift:(0,5) bar: 1920 at: 6248 fontsize:S text: 6,248 shift:(0,5) bar: 1930 at: 7365 fontsize:S text: 7,365 shift:(0,5) bar: 1940 at: 6677 fontsize:S text: 6,677 shift:(0,5) bar: 1950 at: 6429 fontsize:S text: 6,429 shift:(0,5) bar: 1960 at: 6213 fontsize:S text: 6,213 shift:(0,5) bar: 1970 at: 4504 fontsize:S text: 4,504 shift:(0,5) bar: 1980 at: 3614 fontsize:S text: 3,614 shift:(0,5) bar: 1990 at: 2834 fontsize:S text: 2,834 shift:(0,5) bar: 2000 at: 2395 fontsize:S text: 2,395 shift:(0,5) bar: 2016 at: 1632 fontsize:S text: 1,632 shift:(0,5) Evolution of the population in the municipality of Boal since 1842 (Source: INE)

During the first decades of the 19th century, the municipality of Boal kept a slow increase of population that was noticeably accelerated with the construction of the dam of Doiras in 1930, reaching in that year its historical maximum of 7,365 inhabitants. The relatively high levels of population remained until 1960, not just because of the dam but also because of the

mining near Penouta and because of the existence of traditional agriculture requiring a lot of labor. Thanks to all these factors, the municipality of Boal could be once the most populous one in the middle course of the

. Nevertheless, from 1960 on and due to the closing of mines and to the changes experienced by the traditional agriculture, a very important migratory flow started.

Emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

has marked the municipality in different ways. By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th one, the migratory flow went overseas, to the Americas, especially to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, from where emigrants kept their influence in the municipality. Proof of that is the very important money transferences they made and which allowed the construction of different buildings, as well as their promoting of the education of the remaining youth in Boal. All this flow of money was interrupted by the Cuban Revolution. By the middle of the 20th century emigration started again and strongly, but this time it was directed to different destinations: to the centre of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and also to the main industrial towns and cities of Asturias, especially

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

and

Avilés Avilés (Asturian and ;) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged ...

, etc. All these facts have brought a dramatic change in the demographic figure of the municipality, to the point that, as it can be observed from its representation, at present people over 60 years old constitute up to 42,7% of the total population, whereas people below 20 years old represent just as low as 8,4%.

Economy

Although the percentage of workers is clearly a majority in the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

(see table), its weight is quite lower than the regional mean, and it is not crazy to state that still at present, economy in Boal is based to a large extent on cattle farming, which employs almost one third of the working population, and is mainly destined to milk production, being Boal the main producer among the western municipalities in Asturias. In recent years

apiculture Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus ''Apis (bee), Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless be ...

has experienced a noticeable growth, becoming

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

one of the most typical products in the municipality. In spite of this, this activity is usually in a secondary place, constituting an extra-earnings source for many families, but not the main one. Nevertheless, as a proof of the importance of apiculture for the municipality, it is worth mentioning the famous Feria de la Miel (Honey Fair). Moreover, a few years ago it started working the company Boal Apícola, which markets about 20 tons of honey a year.

Politics

The political party that has been ruling during more time in the municipality of Boal since 1979 has been the

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

. The current mayor is the socialist José Antonio Barrientos, who is in his office since 1999, having been re-elected three times.

Gastronomy

In this mainly agricultural and farming municipality we can taste infinity of natural products, among which it is worth mentioning its excellent

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

and the great quality

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

. Thus, Boal’s traditional cooking makes use of all those resources to have among its most typical dishes the

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

with "cimois" (

rapini Rapini (broccoli rabe or raab) () is a green cruciferous vegetables, cruciferous vegetable, with the leaves, buds, and stems all being edible; the buds somewhat resemble broccoli. Rapini is known for its bitter taste, and is particularly associ ...

) or

collard greens Collard is a group of loose-leafed cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'' (the same species as many common vegetables like cabbage and broccoli). Part of the acephala cultivar group (or kale group), collard is also classified as the variety ''B.& ...

. Being this municipality rich in

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

, such as

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

, kid,

lamb and mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

, etc., it is not surprising other dishes such as the meat or

sausages A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with Edible salt, salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or ex ...

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

, the lacón with rapini and " cachelos" (pieces of cooked potato) or the

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

" rapa" (similar to a pie but using corn and

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

) have a prominent place too.

Game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

constitutes another important chapter in Boal’s cooking, being frequent pieces such as roe deer and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

, apart from

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wader, wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Palearctic realm, Eurasia. It has Camouflage#Cryptic coloration in nature, cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with ...

and

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

. Regarding

sweets Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar can ...

and

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

, it is worth mentioning "

cocadas Cocada are a traditional coconut confectionery found in many parts of Latin America and Europe. They are particularly popular in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuado ...

", "

venera The Venera (, 'Venus') program was a series of space probes developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather information about the planet Venus. Thirteen probes successfully entered the Venusian atmosphere, including the two ...

" (a kind of almond-based marzipan) and " cereixolos". Moreover, honey has a huge variety of applications on the local cooking, which is not surprising taking into account that it is a typical product in the municipality having widely recognized quality. And, of course, it is possible in Boal to enjoy the rest of

asturian typical dishes Asturian refers to something related to Asturias, in northern Spain: * Asturians, the people of that region * Asturian language * Asturian cuisine, cuisine of the Asturias region of Spain * Asturian culture of the Epipalaeolithic or Mesolithic Ston ...

Tourism

Its most ancient signs are the cave paintings in the Cova del Demo. They are male, female and zoomorphic paintings. We can also find different architectural examples: palaces, large houses and churches, among which it is worth mentioning the following: *The Miranda Palace in Prelo, built during the 15th and 16th centuries and declared "well of cultural interest" in 1982. At first it consisted in a square tower with three floors that was subsequently extended. It had small openings that were later enlarged. The main body of the palace has two floors in the back side and one floor in the front side, due to the unevenness of the terrain. Above the entrance door it is placed a big coat of arms belonging to the family González de Prelo y Castrillón. Between the tower and the chapel there is an extra body, with corridors supported by stone columns. The chapel dates from 1776, having rectangle floor with two loopholes in both wings, and two

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

-inspired altarpieces painted in black and white. The wooden sculptures from the 17th and 18th centuries were removed because of the bad situation of the ceiling. *The Berdín Palace in Doiras, from the 18th century, which attracts the attention because of its great size and its walls without any kind of decoration. It is constructed with masonry, with blocks of stone. Its floor has a U shape, and in the façade of the central courtyard there is a gallery above monolithic columns.

*The Palace of Armal, with the typical structure of the rural large houses: rectangular floor, built with masonry and slate, and having very little decoration. *Villa Anita: it was built in 1926 by an emigrant to Cuba. It is a villa with a T-shaped floor, with three floors, in which English influences can be observed, together with Japanese ones and others from the Middle Ages. The façade is decorated with white ceramics (glazed tiles from Talavera) on its wings, having the main façade plant patterns. There is a glazed balcony on the first floor. The roof has two wings and it is covered with slate, and over the eaves it has some wooden decoration made of cut borders. The inside is as rich and well-preserved as the outside. *Villa Damiana, built in 1919, is also a wonderful example of the historically-inspired architecture. *Old Elementary School "Escuelas Graduadas" in Boal: this school was built between 1930 and 1934, promoted as other public works in the municipality by the "Sociedad de Instrucción Naturales del Concejo de Boal", founded in

La Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. It is a great building constructed with stone, with large windows and two entrances framed by big porchs, because boys entered by one wing whereas girls entered by the opposite one. All the roofs have big wooden eaves. *The Church of Santiago Apóstol in Boal, built between 1831 and 1837, with a Latin cross-shaped floor and a lateral porch built of granitic blocks of stone. *The public Washing House in Boal, built thanks to the money sent by emigrants to the Americas and inaugurated in 1928. It has been recently restored and transformed into the Center for the Interpretation of the Washing Houses in the municipality of Boal. The building exhibits an important constructive wealth with a functional style, having mouldings and pinnacles, and it is a good example of the charitable anxiety for their native villages and for the poorest people of the returning emigrants. * Casa de la Apicultura is an

museum.

Festivities

The municipality of Boal hosts a great number of festivities and fairs. Among the most important ones we can stress the following: *On May 15: the feast in honor of San Isidro which is held close to its hermitage in the mountain near the Penouta range. *On June 13 and 14: the feast in honor of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

in Armal. *On July 24, 25 and 26: the feast in honor of

Municipalities of Oa ...

, in Boal. On July 21 and 22, the feast in honor of the Virgen de la Magdalena in Doiras. *On August 25: the feast in honor of San Luis in the homonym village. *In October/November: the

Feria de la Miel In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a feria is a day of the week other than Sunday. In more recent official liturgical texts in English, the term ''weekday'' is used instead of ''feria''. If the feast day of a saint falls on such a day, the ...

(Honey Fair) at the last weekend of October or the first one of November. It is also worth mentioning the fortnightly market that takes place in Boal, hosted on every alternate Mondays. In addition, there are also several cattle markets during the year. Two of them are hosted in the fairground of Boal on the second Saturday of October and on the last one of April, and other two are hosted in the La Bobia range: on May 29, that of

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

and on June 26 that of San Pelayo.

People from Boal

Celestino Álvarez Celestino Álvarez González, writer and journalist born in the municipality of Boal, in the Principality of Asturias (Spain), was one of the most famous and most important figures in Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island co ...

, writer and journalist immigrated to

. *

Carlos Bousoño Carlos Bousoño Prieto (9 May 1923 – 24 October 2015) was a Spanish poet and literary critic. His work is frequently associated with the post-Spanish Civil War literary group. Bousoño was a recipient of both the National Prize for Spanish L ...

, poet and literary critic.

References

External links

Federación Asturiana de Concejos (Asturian Association of Municipalities)

Boal in asturiasturismo.com

Personal website about Boal, with infinity of pictures of the municipality

Monograph about Boal in the journal La Nueva España

Fundación Parque Histórico del Navia (Foundation Historical Park of the Navia)

Search engine of asturian place names in the journal La Nueva España
* This article incorporates material from http://www.facc.info/ Federación Asturiana de Concejos, under the

GFDL The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights ...

license. {{authority control Municipalities in Asturias *