200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal
The word ''foral'' ({{IPA-pt, fuˈɾaɫ, eu, plural: ''forais'') is a noun derived from the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
word ''foro'', ultimately from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''forum'', equivalent to
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
''
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 ; all ...
'',
Galician ''
foro'',
Catalan ''
fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of 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 insulating blanket t ...
'' and
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 ...
''
foru''.
The ''Carta de Foral'', or simply ''Foral'', was a royal document in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and its former
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, 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 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
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...
. The ''Foral'' made a ''concelho'' free from
feudal 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 (''pelourinho'') is directly linked to a ''Foral''. It was raised after the ''Foral'' was granted and placed in the main square of the town.
Legal history of Portugal
Legal terminology
