San Martín de Oscos (

Eonavian Galician–Asturian or Eonavian ( autonym: ; ast, eonaviegu, gallego-asturianu; gl, eonaviego, galego-asturiano) is a set of Romance dialects or ''falas'' whose linguistic dominion extends into the zone of Asturias between the Eo River and N ...

: Samartín d'Ozcos) is a municipality in the

Autonomous Community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administr ...

of the

Principality of Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive ...

. It is bordered on the north by Illano, on the south by

Grandas de Salime Grandas de Salime is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is famous for its hydroelectric dam across the Navia River, forming the Embalse de Salime (''reservoir of Salime''). It is also famous f ...

, on the east by

Pesoz Pesoz (Eonavian: Pezós) is a municipality and the only parish in that municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is one of the least populated municipalities in Asturias. It is bordered on the north by ...

and on the west by

Santa Eulalia de Oscos Santa Eulalia de Oscos (Eonavian: Santalla d'Ozcos) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Villanueva de Oscos, on the south and west by Lugo province of Galicia, a ...

and

Villanueva de Oscos Villanueva de Oscos (Eonavian: Vilanova d'Ozcos) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Vegadeo and Castropol, on the south by San Martín de Oscos and Santa Eulalia ...

History

The first known human presence in the territory of San Martín goes back to the

neolithic period The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

, as witnessed by tumulus remains found in Os Pedrousos (Teixera). There are also remains of ancient mine workings at Arruñada, Piorno, Covas del Resalao, and in the Sotuelo and Ahío valleys. There are remains of ancient fortified settlements at San Isidro and Pico de la Mina, near to Bousoño, both situated in elevated positions clearly motivated by defensive considerations. The defensive nature is underlined by ditches, walls and stones embedded in the surrounding ground to hinder approach. A gold diadem thought to originate from this culture was found in Valderreixe. The existence of mineral wealth also attracted outsiders. In Tabladas and on the banks of the river Santalla traces of Roman smelting works have been found, including stone crucibles and slag heaps. During the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...

San Martín, together with neighbouring Santa Eulalia and the rest of the

Castropol Castropol is a municipality in Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous comm ...

district, was granted to the church in

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...

by King Alfonso VII in 1154. This dependency on the bishopric continued until 1584 at which time King Felipe II was liquidating church assets. With the authorisation of

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

, the bishopric's lands were being sold to the local inhabitants as independent municipalities, to pay for the successive wars in which Spain had been involved. In that year an application, submitted in 1583, was approved and San Martín achieved the status of 'Villa' or town. In the early 19th century numerous 'mozos' or lads from the Oscos joined the troops of Castropol in the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which resi ...

from French occupation.

Parishes

The municipality contains four parishes:Asturian Society of Economic and Industrial Studies, regional geographic statistics web site, http://www.sadei.es/indexsub.asp?id=Nomenclator/Nomenclator.HTM, accessed 3/19/2013 * Illano (Eilao) - 12 inhabitants (2006) * Labiarón - 70 inhabitants (2006) * Oscos (parish) - 368 inhabitants (2006) * Pesoz (parish) - 16 inhabitants (2006)

References

External links

Guia del Occidente. San Martin de Oscos

Tourist authority for the Oscos-Eo districts
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Martin de Oscos Municipalities in Asturias *