Buñol

Buñol lies west of Valencia beneath a castle that became the seat of the Mercader family. The lordship was raised to a county under Philip III, but the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609 struck the district severely. Many inhabitants were forced to leave, and the resulting loss of population affected fields and settlements throughout the Hoya de Buñol. A new settlement charter issued in 1611 sought to bring people back under the authority of the count.