''Quinto Real'' (French: ''Pays Quint'', Basque: ''Kintoa'') is a Spanish territory with exclusive rights of use by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on the border between the two countries, in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

mountains, in northeastern

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. Places

Toponymy

For the archivist Paul Raymond, the name of Pays Quint comes from gleaning rights, called in the region ''droits du quint'', given by Charles III of Navarre to the barons of Espelette; 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 legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, 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 and Spanish shepherds from

Erro Erro may refer to: * Erro, Navarre, a municipality in the autonomous community of Navarre, Spain * Erro (river), a river in north-west Italy * Erro (crater), a lunar crater named after the astronomer * "Meu Erro", a song on Os Paralamas do Sucesso ...

, 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 (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were ...

. 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 A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

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 is eight houses in which live around thirty persons. 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

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

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 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 * Education for Development Foundation, a Thai charity * Électricité de France, a French energy company ** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary ** EDF Luminus, ...

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 owner have to pay €71 by head (2011 costs) to the Erro valley.

References

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

Toponymy

History

Economy

Legal status

See also

References