There is no evidence of settlements in Hueva (Ova in the Middle Ages) prior to the Visigoth and Muslim eras. Thus, everything indicates that Hueva arose as a result of the Christian repopulation carried out subsequent to the Reconquest. King Alfonso VII of Castile (1105-1157), continuing the work begun by his grandfather King Alfonso VI, consolidated the Christians’ dominion over the right bank of the Tagus River, retaking, at the beginning of the 12th century, much of what is now the southeast of the province of Guadalajara. Once this territory was recovered the king ordered that it be repopulated by Aragonese mozárabes (Christians living in Spain during the centuries when the Moors controlled much of the Peninsula) and Hueva came to form part of the alfoz (an Arabic term referring to a group of villages forming a single political jurisdiction) of the Castle of Zorita. After the king handed over the castle to the powerful Castro family, for its defense and protection, said clan, rather than executing the charge given by the king, rose up against him to become the lords of the castle.

Only years later, in 1169, King Alfonso VIII, supported by the Laras and the municipal militias of Alcalá, Guadalajara, Atienza, Toledo, Soria and Avila, together with the assistance of Calatravan Knights, managed to reconquer Zorita de los Canes for the Spanish Crown. A year later the Castle of Zorita, together with its alfoz, of which Hueva formed part, was handed over to the Order of Calatrava, which rebuilt and reinforced the old Muslim fortress, converting it into a very important bastion in the defense and consolidation of Christian dominion over the lands wrested from the Muslim taifas (independent Muslim principalities) in the southern Iberian Peninsula.

In this way the history of Hueva (Ova) was closely tied to the Order of Calatrava until well into the 16th century, at which time King Carlos I acquired from the pope the bulls needed to seize the religious order’s property. At this point Hueva began its history as an independent royal villa, without ever joining any other señorío (manor) until their complete abolition by the Cortes de Cádiz (Spanish national assembly) in the 19th century.

As aforestated, ever since its separation from the Order of Calatrava Hueva was a village governed, depending on the era by one or two corregidores (chief magistrates). As in any villa, justice was administrated and dispensed here, as evidenced by the existence of a scroll of parchment symbol in the town square. The villa also boasted a warehouse to store surplus grain, a bread oven, a flourmill, an olive oil mill, and a communal cellar dedicated to the production and storage of wine.

Though the town has been, inevitably, affected by the massive rural depopulation resulting from 20th-century industrialization, it has been, thankfully, spared from the blight of deficient urban planning which has spoiled so of many of our country’s small towns. Thus, Hueva remains, in essence, the same town which decided to determine its own destiny back in the 16th century.