Castile (historical Region) - Geography

Geography

Today many people consider that the territory traditionally regarded as Castile corresponds to the Spanish autonomous communities of Cantabria, Castile and León, Castile–La Mancha, Madrid and La Rioja. Other territories in the former Crown of Castile are left out for different reasons. In fact, the territory of the Castilian Crown actually comprised all other autonomous communities within Spain with the exception of Aragon, Balearic Islands, Valencia and Catalonia, which all belonged to the late Crown of Aragon, and Navarre, heir of the older Kingdom of the same name. Castile was divided between Old Castile in the north, which was called so because it was where the Kingdom of Castile was formed, and New Castile, which was called the Kingdom of Toledo in the Middle Ages. The Leonese region, while being in the Crown of Castile from 1230 was considered a region in its own right from medieval times on par with the two Castiles and appeared on maps alongside Old Castile until the two joined into one region, Castilla-y-Leon in the 1980s. However, in 1833, Spain was organised into administrative regions with specific official borders.

The following provinces were considered part of Castile for 150 years (1833–1983):

• Old Castile:
  • Santander (autonomous community of Cantabria since the 1980s)
  • Burgos
  • Logroño (autonomous community of La Rioja since the 1980s)
  • Palencia
  • Valladolid
  • Soria
  • Segovia
  • Ávila
• New Castile:
  • Madrid (autonomous community of Madrid since the 1980s)
  • Guadalajara
  • Cuenca
  • Toledo
  • Ciudad Real