History and Heritage of Salvora

Although primitive people and protagonists of ancient history such as Celts, Romans, and Swabians lived and spread throughout Galicia, there is no data or study of settlements or uses of this island from that time. Some evidence found on the beach at Salvora indicates to the passage of these navigators, but does not demonstrate their settlement on the island. Thus, the known history of Salvora begins at the end of the Early Middle Ages when, as part of the Galician-Asturian crown, King Alfonso II the Chaste donated it to the Church of Santiago. Some speak of a church on the island, but there is no evidence or remains to identify it.

In the Late Middle Ages, Vikings, Muslims, etc. used the island as a base camp for launching attacks, and hence there was no stable population in it. When the fighting ceased and calm prevailed in the area, the people from the coast moved to Salvora to make use of the land. In the middle of the 16th century, the Church gave the island as a fiefdom to Marcos Fandiño Marino. He and his heirs administered the island based on a feudal system until the beginning of the 17th century. This meant that the inhabitants gave part of the harvest and livestock born on the island to the "Master".

There is also no testimony on the island of pirate attacks in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, there are records of the commercial and fishing boom of the time: the installation of a salting plant known as the warehouse (for some authors it was the first in Galicia, since it dates from 1770-1779, while for others it is contemporary to those in the other islands, i.e., from the beginning of the 19th century). Subsequently, the island owners received permission to set up a tuna trapnet in 1789, for which they were granted exclusive use of the island and four leagues around it, which led to strong clashes with sailors in the area. The tuna trapnet operation never became a reality.

These companies brought the people from the coast to populate the island. Families lived together in the village and some houses had several generations living under the one roof. There was no church or school (until the 1960s), but the lighthouse keepers were good teachers. The islanders grew corn, rye and potatoes, and every family had cows, sheep, chickens, and rabbits. Fishing with dornas was not subject to any catch sharing with the master and hence became their source of income. The only tavern, next to the salting factory (where the chapel of St. Catalina now stands) was the meeting place for news from the coast.

In 1820 Isabel de Marino, heiress of the island, married Ruperto Antonio de Otero and thus the Otero dynasty became the new owner of Salvora.

The State expropriated the island from the Otero in 1904 for reasons of national defence. During this period, the settlers became State settlers and did not have to pay any compensation, which enabled them to improve their lives: houses, new courts, better boats, etc.

In 1921, although 59 people lived on the island, only 25 were aware of the tragic shipwreck of the steamship Santa Isabel in the southern area. It happened in the early hours of 2 January 1921 when many settlers were on the mainland for New Year celebrations. Brave were those who stayed behind, mostly women, who sailed their boats to help the shipwrecked and saved the lives of 48 persons, although 213 drowned. The new lighthouse was inaugurated in December of the same year.

In 1958, the former owners (Otero Goyanes family) recovered the island, after which the islanders began to leave the island in search of better living conditions on the mainland. The owners introduced animals such as horses and rabbits that spoiled the crops and did not facilitate staying behind. The last inhabitants left the island in the late 1970s leaving behind just the one custodian and his family.

At that time, the owners rehabilitated the old factory warehouse into a pazo (manor) in 1968 and lived there. They also transformed the nearby tavern into a chapel and furthermore built the famous statue of the mermaid of Salvora in honour of their lineage. The island now became a summer resort and a hunting ground.

It was incorporated into the Galician Atlantic Islands National Park in 2002, and became public property after it was purchased by the state administration in 2007.

Click here for more information about the history and cultural heritage of Salvora.