Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The World’s Oldest Democratic Body

Episode Date: December 14, 2020

If you happen to be in Valencia, Spain, on a Thursday, at noon, in front of the cathedral, you might be able to witness the oldest surviving democratic tradition on Earth. For over 1000 years the Valencia Water Tribunal has been adjudicating water disputes among the farmers of the region. Learn more about the Valencia Water Tribunal, the oldest continuous democratic body in the world, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you happen to be in Valencia, Spain, on a Thursday, at noon, in front of the cathedral, you might be able to witness the oldest surviving democratic tradition on earth. For over 1,000 years, the Valencia Water Tribunal has been adjudicating water disputes among the farmers in the region. Learn more about the Valencia Water Tribunal, the oldest, continuous democratic body in the world, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by the Tourist Office of Spain. I've spoken a great deal about the history of Spain and the great historical sites you can see in the country. and that's true. But Spain also has some very cutting-edge modern things as well.

If you're in Valencia to see the Water Tribunal or the Holy Grail, you'll probably also want to go see the City of Arts and Sciences. This is an incredibly futuristic collection of buildings set in the heart of Valencia, which was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela. The City of Arts and Sciences is where studios go to film when they want a backdrop for something set in the future. Recent series such as Brave New World and West World were filmed there. There's a planetarium, an aquarium, an opera house, and more. And I've actually seen and attended an opera in the opera house, and it was an amazing experience. You can start researching your dream trip to Spain today by visiting Spain. Info,

where you can get everything you need to plan your Spanish adventure. Even though the traditions of democracy go back over 2,000 years, there are surprisingly few democratic bodies that last very long. History always seems to have some king, emperor, or dictator which comes along which ruins a democracy. or if not that, a foreign invader will do the job as well. There are several democratic bodies in the world today, which do, however, have a very long history. The Icelandic parliament, known as the Althengi, dates back to the year 930. While it has a very distant founding, it hasn't been in continuous operation the entire time.

Norway and Denmark have alternatively ruled the country for centuries, and from 1800 to 1844, the Althengi was disbanded completely. Likewise, the parliament on the Isle of Man, known as the Tinvald, can date back over a thousand years. They claim to be the oldest continuous parliament in the world. The Republic of San Moreno claims to have been a republic since the year 301, but it has had intermittent occupations and suspensions of democracy over the centuries. However, there's one democratic body that has been in continuous operation longer than any other.

It isn't a parliament, which is probably why it survived so long. It is the Tribunal de Las Aguas de la Valencia, or the Valencian water tribunal. The Water Tribunal, as the name suggests, adjudicates water disputes among the farmers and canals around Valencia. And that is all they do. There are stories of the Water Council dating back as far as Roman times, but there's little evidence to actually support this. Most historians put a starting point for the tribunal at the year 960, during the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. It was probably during the Cordoba Caliphate under Caliph Abdadir Rahman III that the current iteration of the Water Council was established. The need for it arose because Valencia is a rather erred region.

The Rio Turia is the primary water source for the nearby farms, and the farms in the region are fed by eight primary irrigation canals that come off the river. The Tribunal ensures that every farm gets its fair share of water, and any disagreements about water can be handled peaceably. Those eight irrigation canals are the basis for representation on the tribunal. The people who elect the representatives are, quote, farmers, direct growers of their territories, and with well-known fame of honest men, unquote. Meaning, if you live in the area but you're not a farmer, you have no vote.

And if you own farmland but aren't actually engaged in farming, you also have no vote. You have to have some skin in the game. The eight representatives then choose a person to serve as the president of the tribunal. And there is also a bailiff assigned who does not sit on the tribunal per se, but runs the proceedings. The court is what's known as a customary court. its proceedings are all based on tradition and there is no written set of guidelines or laws. All issues before the tribunal deal with water. They might usually involve someone taking more water than allowed, taking water out of turn,

damaging a canal, improper upkeep of their section of it, or things like that. When a case is brought before the tribunal, it's done in person, and all proceedings are done verbally. The language of the tribunal is Valencian and not Castilian Spanish. The representative from the canal where the dispute takes place will recuse themselves, for that particular case so they can be impartial. All deliberations and verdicts are rendered on the spot. The decision of the water tribunal is final and cannot be appealed. The only records kept are a simple log of who appeared before the tribunal, the date, and the judgment.

The tribunal also has a second administrative function. After the judicial proceedings are complete, they will go to a nearby building and perform their administrative tasks. Here, they are joined by a ninth person who represents an irrigation canal, not on the water tribunal. One of the reasons why the tribunal has lasted so long is that it limits itself only to water issues. Despite all of the changes in government over the last 1,000 years, the water tribunal has been left alone. It didn't threaten the power of any caliph, king, or emperor who ruled over the land at the time, and if anything, it was one less thing that they had to worry about. The water tribunal has earned a place in the Spanish Constitution and was also named by UNESCO as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage.

You can actually watch the proceedings of the Water Tribunal if you happen to be in Valencia. Sessions are held outdoor and in public. It takes place at noon every Thursday at the Plaza de la Vergen, which is right outside the Valencia Cathedral's Gothic door. While you're there, you should probably go check out the Holy Grail, which I talked about in a previous episode, which is literally only a few meters away inside the cathedral from where the Water Tribunal meets. Make sure to be there on time, because the proceedings don't last very long. Most days there will not be any disputes, and the entire affair will be finished in about five minutes. But I can guarantee that they will be the most democratic five minutes of your life.

The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is James McAula. The associate producer is Thor Thompson. Today's five-star review comes from Apple Podcasts in Canada. Listener A writes, pre-show podcast promo. This is the one podcast that I don't skip the promo for other things at the very beginning of the show. Even these books, podcasts, etc. are interesting. Thank you for creating your podcast. Well, thank you very much, A, and even to B, C, and D.

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