''Quinto Real'' (French: ''Pays Quint'',

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

: ''Kintoa'') is a Spanish territory with exclusive rights of use by

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 ...

on the border between the two countries, in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountains, in northeastern

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

Toponymy

For the archivist Paul Raymond, the name of Pays Quint comes from

gleaning Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops in the field after harvest. During harvest, there is food that is left or missed often because it does not meet store standards for uniformity. Sometimes, fields are left because they were not ec ...

rights, called in the region ''droits du quint'', given by

Charles III of Navarre Charles III (, ; 22 July 1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux in France from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged Évreux for the Duchy of Nemours. As a young man, Charles was ...

to the barons of

Espelette Espelette (; ; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It lies in the traditional Basque province of Labourd. Sights The town is attractive, with traditional Labourd houses and a castle. The protected ...

; the holder of these rights had the right to claim one fifth of any cargo passing through these roads.

History

This place was originally held in indivision by several villages, and no one could establish himself permanently. Since the migration of cadets, deprived of any right to heirship by

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

, in this desert place, and the division of

into Spanish and French parts, this area was the object of disputes between French shepherds from

Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry (; )BAIGORRI
Auñamendi Encyclopedia, Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia < ...

and Spanish shepherds from Erro, and several measures which aimed to reduce these conflicts failed, such as a royal order on 1614 and the 1659

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees(; ; ) was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were conducted and the treaty was signed on Pheasant Island, situated in the middle of the Bidasoa River on ...

. The end of indivision was decided on 1785 which caused further troubles. On 1856, the borders between France and Spain was settled by the Treaty of Bayonne in order to reduce such conflicts; among these clauses, the Quinto Real was divided in two, with the South becoming wholly Spanish and France retaining exclusive permanent rights of use on the pastures in the Northern area.

Economy

As of 2011, there are eight houses for a total population of about thirty people. The economy is mainly based on the extensive raising of pigs.

Legal status

The area is part of Spain but is administered by France; the inhabitants are French citizens by default but have the right to dual citizenship. Moreover, France pays a rent to Spain for the use of

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 ...

s in this area. As a result of the fact Spain has the ownership of the soil, taxation is affected and divided, with taxation on the soil paid to Spain while other taxes are paid to France. The

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...

maintain order while utilities are furnished by France: La Poste distributes the mail and

EDF EDF may refer to: Organisations * Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association * Électricité de France, a French energy company ** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary ** EDF Luminus, their Belgian subsidiary * Environmental Defense Fund, ...

electricity. The inhabitants are French citizens, being schooled in France and formerly being conscripted into the French military. Each May, cattle going to the Quinto Real are marked with a special symbol and their owners have to pay €71 per head (2011 costs) to the Erro valley.

References

Geography of Navarre Condominia (international law) {{BasqueCountry-stub

Toponymy

History

Economy

Legal status

See also

References