Ferdinand V Ferdinand V is the name of:
* Ferdinand II of Aragon, Ferdinand V of Castile, ''the Catholic'' king of Castile, Aragon and Naples
*Ferdinand I of Austria
en, Ferdinand Charles Leopold Joseph Francis Marcelin
, image = Kaiser Ferdinand I.j ...
on 18 June 1513 is the first known law granting land in
the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
to Europeans. The decree dictated that conquered lands could be granted to Spanish soldier in two units: caballerías and peonias. The decree extended to the New World a system Castile had already been using for areas it conquered in Europe. While a "peonia" was the amount of land granted a retiring foot soldier, a was the amount granted to a retiring cavalryman. The unit was over four times larger than a peonia.
Land grants measuring one or more were issued to the members of the
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
of a Spanish war
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
upon resulting victorious over a territory during a war conquest expedition, with the condition that once the soldier had decided to make his residence at such location, they committed themselves to the defense of the town where they were to reside.
Demise
As open land became less available for granting by the
Spanish Crown
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
, and as portions of caballerías were segregated by their owners in sales transactions into smaller land units too small to be measured in caballerías and, thus, measured in the more convenient
cuerda
The term "cuerda" (Spanish for ''rope'') refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"''Manufacturas en Michoacán.''
