Conference: Boats of passage in the rivers of the Kingdom of León: The boats of the Porma river

Past event

The establishment of boats as a means of crossing rivers has been a constant feature in the interior of the peninsula over time, as a way of overcoming the lack of bridges.

Recently, José Ignacio Martín Benito has published a study and catalogue of the boats that were in use in what are now the provinces of León, Zamora and Salamanca. From an ethnographic perspective, he has documented the functions of these boats, the ports, the types of owners and boatmen, the passage services offered and the conflicts surrounding them.

The Saturday, 26 December, at 5 p.m.. we will meet with the author in a conference open to the public to delve into another of the realities of our area of action.

His work looks at the world of passenger boats and everything that surrounds them: the service provided, the infrastructures required, the economic activity carried out, the conflicts generated, their owners, tenants and boatmen. This world began to decline especially at the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, when the construction of bridges was promoted.
The work consists of two parts. Study and Catalogue. The first deals with general questions and the second presents each boat crossing by valleys and localities individually.

In the province of León, a total of 58 boat crossings have been documented: 28 on the Esla, 2 on the Bernesga, 6 on the Porma, 11 on the Órbigo and another 11 on the Sil and its tributaries. In the province of Zamora 80 crossings have been located (20 on the Duero, 23 on the Esla, 20 on the Tera, 9 on the Órbigo, 6 on the Tormes and 2 on the Aliste). In the province of Salamanca, 46 boat crossings have been found (22 in the Tormes, 12 in the Águeda, 9 in the Duero and 3 in the Yeltes-Huebra).

The book is illustrated with abundant documentary material (photographs and maps). The research has been carried out in various national, provincial and municipal archives, complemented by fieldwork and interviews with both the last boatmen and the people who still knew and used this means of transport.