![Localització del Carxe a la Regió de Múrcia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Localitzaci%C3%B3_del_Carxe_a_la_Regi%C3%B3_de_M%C3%BArcia.svg)
Carche ( es, El Carche, va, El Carxe) is a mountainous, sparsely populated area in the
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, lying between the municipalities of
Jumilla
Jumilla () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Spain. It is located in the north east of the Region of Murcia, close to the towns of Cieza and Yecla. According to the 2018 census, the town population was 25,547.
Geography
The municipa ...
and
Yecla
Yecla () is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the extreme north of the autonomous community of Murcia, located 96 km from the capital of the region, Murcia.
Toponymy
The origin of the term Yecla comes from the Arabic Yakka, which wa ...
. The mountains reach an elevation of 1,371 metres at the ''Pico de la Madama'' and part of the region has the status of regional park. Three villages border the park: Raspay, La Alberquilla and Carche, with a total of 182 inhabitants (2005).
Other meanings
The name also refers to an extended zone within the Murcian municipalities
Yecla
Yecla () is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the extreme north of the autonomous community of Murcia, located 96 km from the capital of the region, Murcia.
Toponymy
The origin of the term Yecla comes from the Arabic Yakka, which wa ...
,
Jumilla
Jumilla () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Spain. It is located in the north east of the Region of Murcia, close to the towns of Cieza and Yecla. According to the 2018 census, the town population was 25,547.
Geography
The municipa ...
and
Abanilla
Abanilla is a Spanish municipality located in the Comarca Oriental (composed by Fortuna and Abanilla) in the Autonomous Community of Murcia. It lies close to the border of the province of Alicante in the Autonomous Community of Valencia.
Geog ...
with towns in which part of the population speaks
Valencian
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...
.
[Limorti, Ester; Artur Quintana (1998): ''El Carxe. Recull de literatura popular valenciana de Múrcia'', Instituto de Cultura "Juan Gil-Albert" / Diputación Provincial de Alicante, Alicante. ] It covers an area of about 300 square kilometres and has 533 registered citizens (2005).
It is also the name of a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
, the largest town in the region in terms of surface area, but the smallest in population.
Valencian language in Murcia
Following sociolinguistic research carried out by
Pere Barnils and
Antoni Griera, who published their results in ''Dialectes Catalans'' (1919), ''El valencià'' (1921), and in ''Butlletí de Dialectología Catalana VII'', El Carche was recognized for the first time as an area where
Valencian
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...
was spoken. Later,
Manuel Sanchis i Guarner
Manuel Sanchís Guarner (Valencia, 1911–1981) was a Spanish philologist, historian and writer.
He was an author of a vast work ranging from studies of linguistics, literature, history, ethnography to popular culture, basically centered on the ...
analysed in detail the distinctive traits of the dialect spoken there. Even though Valencian is not officially recognised in Murcia, the
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua ("Valencian Academy of the Language"), also known by the acronym AVL, is an institution created on September 16, 1998, by the Valencian Parliament, which belongs to the set of official institutions that com ...
organises classes in Valencian in Yecla upon request of the respective
municipality
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 go ...
.
History
After the
expulsion of the Moriscos
The Expulsion of the Moriscos ( es, Expulsión de los moriscos) was decreed by King Philip III of Spain on April 9, 1609. The Moriscos were descendants of Spain's Muslim population who had been forced to convert to Christianity. Since the Spani ...
in the 17th century, large parts of Yecla, Jumilla as well as
Abanilla
Abanilla is a Spanish municipality located in the Comarca Oriental (composed by Fortuna and Abanilla) in the Autonomous Community of Murcia. It lies close to the border of the province of Alicante in the Autonomous Community of Valencia.
Geog ...
have remained depopulated. These areas were used as pasture land from 1878 to 1887 and later for agriculture (mostly
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
s).
Since then these areas have been the focus of
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 ...
of Valencian-speaking agricultural workers from the neighbouring Vinalopó valley in the
Alicante province
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alica ...
, especially from the area around the town of
Pinoso
Pinoso (), officially El Pinós/Pinoso (in Valencian and Spanish) is a traditional town which sits located in the mountainous countryside of the Alicante/Murcia border (at some 56 km from Alacant). This traditional town is renowned for the pr ...
, carrying their language with them. The greater bulk of Valencian speakers made it into the area in relatively recent times, by the 19th and 20th centuries, which explains why this piece of land was never a part of the historic
Kingdom of Valencia
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
, and therefore it lies out of the boundaries of the modern day
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
.
Those people settled in the plains forming the source for the
Abanilla
Abanilla is a Spanish municipality located in the Comarca Oriental (composed by Fortuna and Abanilla) in the Autonomous Community of Murcia. It lies close to the border of the province of Alicante in the Autonomous Community of Valencia.
Geog ...
and
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
, in some cases—Carrascalejo, los Pinillos—also further north almost up to Yecla, and always within reach of the mountains of Carche, after which the
comarca
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
is called. They founded about twenty small towns and places which never managed to reach administrative independency from either the municipalities of Yecla and Jumilla (the hamlets of
La Arbequilla
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
,
La Raja
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
,
La Torre del Rico
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
,
Cañada del Trigo and
La Zarza or from Abanilla (the hamlets of
El Collado de los Gabrieles,
Cañada de la Leña and
Umbría de la Zarza).
Demography
Due to substantial
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 ...
, mainly caused by an agricultural crisis, the population of the region of El Carche, which was about 3,000 in 1950, currently numbers 500. Some of the hamlets, especially those with scattered settlements, are now completely abandoned. Most of the inhabitants, although still registered as residents in El Carche, live in the Murcian villages of Yecla and Jumilla or in the Valencian town of Pinoso and only commute into the area to carry out their jobs related to agriculture.
Population distribution:
* In the municipality Jumilla:
**
Torre del Rico ''Torre'' (plurals ''torri'' and ''torres'') means ''tower'' in seven Romance languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Italian, Occitan and Corsican) and may refer to:
Biology
* Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrome
* ' ...
, 59 inhabitants.
** El Carche, 35 inhabitants.
**
Cañada del Trigo, 158 inhabitants,
*
Raspay
Raspay ( ca, El Raspai) is a village in the municipality of Yecla, eastern Spain. Its population consisted of 100 inhabitants in the year 2017.
Geography
Raspay is from the capital of its municipality (the town of Yecla). The village is located i ...
, 129 inhabitants, Yecla.
*
Cañada de la Leña, 152 inhabitants, Abanilla.
Notes
References
{{Navboxes
, title = Articles related to El Carche / El Carxe
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{{coord, 38, 25, 38, N, 1, 09, 53, W, region:ES_source:kolossus-nlwiki, display=title
{{Authority control
Valencian
Geography of the Region of Murcia