Foral

200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The ''Carta de Foral'', or simply ''Foral'', was a royal document in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and its former

empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

, whose purpose was to establish a ''

concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal ...

'' (Council) and regulate its administration, borders and privileges. A newly founded town would also need the king's approval through a ''Foral'', in order to be considered one. In this case, the town's administration and privileges would be defined in that document. ''Forais'' were granted between the 12th and the 16th centuries. The ''Foral'' was the basis for

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

foundation, thus the most important event of a city or town's history. It was critical to a successful land settling and an increase in crop yields, by giving more freedom and dignity, via a concession, to farmers, in an age when people were subject to near slave work, as servants of landlords. The ''Foral'' made a ''concelho'' free from

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

control, transferring power down to a neighbours council (''concelho''), with its own municipal autonomy. As a result, the population would become directly and exclusively under the dominion and jurisdiction of the crown, excluding the Lord from the power hierarchy. The ''Foral'' granted public lands to the collective use of the community, regulated taxes, tolls and fines and established protection rights and military duties within royal service. A

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

(''pelourinho'') is directly linked to a ''Foral''. It was raised after the ''Foral'' was granted and placed in the main square of the town. The noun ''foral'' ({{IPA, pt-PT, fuˈɾal, lang, plural: ''forais'') is derived from the Portuguese word ''foro'', ultimately from

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 ...

'' forum'', and is cognate with Spanish ''

fuero (), (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ...

'', Galician '' foro'', Catalan ''

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

'' and

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'' foru''. Legal history of Portugal Legal terminology