Couto Misto

Couto Misto
Couto Mixto (Galician)
Couto Misto (Portuguese)
Coto Mixto (Spanish)
10th century – 1868[citation needed]
Flag of Couto Misto
Motto: "Tres Unum Sunt"  (Latin)
"Three are One"
Map of the Couto Misto
Map of the Couto Misto
StatusMicrostate
CapitalSantiago de Rubiás
41°54′31″N 7°49′59″W / 41.9086858°N 7.8331329°W / 41.9086858; -7.8331329
Common languagesPortuguese, Spanish, Galician
Religion
Roman Catholic
GovernmentPopular assembly
Judge 
• ca 1860
Delfim Modesto Brandão1
History 
• Foundation
10th century 
September 29, 1864[1]
• Formal annexation
June 23,  1868[citation needed]
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Galicia
Kingdom of Spain
Kingdom of Portugal
Today part of
1Delfim Modesto Brandão (born in Tourém in 1835), was the second to last head of state, taking office in January 1863, according to his memoirs, and followed by one last "Juiz" whose mandate ceased with the partition and annexation of the territory.[2]

Couto Misto (Portuguese: Couto Misto [ˈkotu ˈmiʃtu]; Galician: Couto Mixto; Spanish: Coto Mixto) was an independent microstate on the border between Spain and Portugal. It comprised the villages of Santiago de Rubiás, Rubiás (now in the Spanish municipality of Calvos de Randín), and Meaus (now in the Spanish municipality of Baltar), all in the Salas Valley, Ourense, Galicia. The territory of the Couto Misto also included a small uninhabited strip now part of the Portuguese municipality of Montalegre.

As a result of complex medieval manorial relations, this land eluded both Portuguese and Spanish control for centuries, actually operating as a sovereign state in its own right until the 1864 Treaty of Lisbon that partitioned the territory between Spain (which annexed most of the land including the three villages) and Portugal (which remained with a smaller uninhabited strip of land). As a de facto independent country, the inhabitants of the Couto Misto had many privileges, including exemption from military service and taxes, and could grant asylum to outsiders and deny access to any foreign military contingent.

  1. ^ "Treaty on boundaries between Spain and Portugal from the mouth of the Minho river to the junction of the Rio Caya with the Guadiana". United Nations. September 29, 1864. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Modesto Brandon, Delfin (1907). Interesante Historieta del Coto Mixto. Coruña: Tierra Gallega. p. 21.