Habsburg and Bourbon Spain

Mérida

Today: Spain

Years
1492–1833
Role
Former Roman capital, a commandery of the Order of Santiago

Despite its past as capital of Roman Lusitania, in these centuries it was a town of minor gentry and lesser nobility, with some 4000 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century. In 1493 the Catholic Monarchs took over the administration of the military orders, and in 1566 the commandery house became the Conventual Santiaguista; in 1711 it was capital of the intendancy of Extremadura, which moved to Badajoz in 1719. In the Peninsular War the bombardments destroyed between 25 % and 30 % of the houses and blew up two arches of the Roman bridge.

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