Villaconejos is a

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 ...

of the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

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 ...

. Historically, Villaconejos's economy has been based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. Examples of the region's common

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

s include olives,

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

s, and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s, including

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

s. The melons of Villaconejos are popular throughout Spain. Villaconejos is home to a Melon Museum.

Etymology

The town's name comes from ''Conejos'' which literally means '

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s' in Spanish.https://www.conejoscounty.org/ The general belief is that the name stemmed from the historical abundance of rabbits in the region, and the hunters attracted to the region by said rabbits.

History

The history of Villaconejos may be traced to the place known as 'El Vedado' ("The Reserve"), and a small

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

known as 'Cerro Barbero' (formerly called 'Cerro Galguera'). These names are closely related to 'hunting,' 'the closed area' and '

hunting dog A hunting dog is a canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and g ...

s.' Hunting took place near Villaconejos until the late 16th Century, when deforestation reduced the rabbit population. The historical abundance of rabbits and the reputation of melons in the area have long been recorded in historical writings. There were so many rabbits in the area that wolves began frequenting the area, occasionally attacking persons in the local village. In 1561, significant

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

occurred within the area known as El Montecillo. There were numerous

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, and

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

trees that made the area dense in vegetation until the wolf problem arose. The local residents took it upon themselves to deforest the area. Before the deforestation, the rabbits tended to forage on the local farms to survive. The rabbits lived in the vicinity of villages and towns, making their homes in the nearby forests. As a result of the large rabbit populations, wolves were able to thrive, and their numbers rose exponentially. It was in response to the wolf problem that the people of the municipality heavily deforested nearby areas. The result was a reduction in the wolf population, but the rabbit population also decreased dramatically. Over time, the hunters who had come to the area, attracted by the local rabbit population, became less enamored of the area, leading to the collapse of the hunting association and reducing economic growth in the community.

References

{{authority control Municipalities in the Community of Madrid