Merinos are known across the world for their beautiful soft and luxurious wool. Most people think that the Merino sheep comes from Australia, and they would be absolutely wrong! There are a lot of Merino sheep in Australia, and all over the world for that matter, but they originated in Spain. Some of these non-Spanish Merino are called Merino and some are called other names because they were bred with sheep from that other country hundreds of years ago and then bred with Merino again to increase the Merino genetics again. I want to focus this post mainly on the original Spanish Merino breed and I will create a separate post about the Merino breed elsewhere in the world.
Historically, Spain has been a trading point between Europe and Africa for centuries as the only thing that separates these two places is an 8 mile wide stretch of water known as the Strait of Gibraltar. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Spanish royalty imported rams from the Beni-Merines (members of a Berber tribe centred in the area of present-day Morocco) to cross with their best ewes. These ewes would most likely have been Churro's, the predominant native sheep breed in Spain from pre-Roman times that were kept and bred mainly for meat and milk. The Churro's have coarse, coloured wool of little value except where some bloodlines descended from sheep that had been crossed with a fine wool breed from southern Italy in Roman times. Genetic studies have shown that Italian, North African and English breeds are part of the Merino's DNA.
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| Photo © Ganado Merino La Llave |
During the 13th and 14th centuries most the wool produced and exported from Spain was coarse and used to make cheap cloth. The Spanish ewes, when bred to the African rams, produced offspring with fine-wool and these are generally known as "early Merino type" sheep. They were eventually named Merinos after the African tribe although the word "merino" was not used before the 15th century and only came into general use during the 17th century. Preserved medieval woollen fabrics show that before the 16th century, only the best quality English wools had a fineness of staple comparable to modern Merino wool.
Spanish wool was greatly improved further during the 15th century through breeding with rams from fine-wool English breeds and careful selection and the famous fine white crimpy wool was established that commanded higher prices. Spain built up a monopoly in fine wool exports in the final decades of the 15th century and in the 16th century this generated a substantial source of income for Castile. In part, this was because most English wool was woven or made into textile goods within England by the 16th century, rather than being exported and so, in order to protect this new source of income, it became illegal to export the sheep from Spain, with the penalty of death to anyone found breaking the law.
In Spain the Merino was the pampered favourite of kings and everything was done to meet its needs. Perennial pasturage was provided in different parts of the country and 'walks' established for the great migrations that were organised and controlled by the Mesta who also arranged for suitable grazing, water and rest stops along these routes, and for shearing when the flocks started their return north. Twice a year, in April and September, the sheep were moved four hundred miles from summer pastures in the highlands of the north to their winter quarters on the southern plains of Estremadura and Andalusia. They travelled in detachments of ten thousand, guarded by fifty shepherds and as many dogs, with a mayoral or chief shepherd in front. They possessed a right of pasturage over much of the kingdom. As many as twenty miles were traversed each day and the farmers and the landowners through whose lands they passed suffered considerably and complained bitterly about the damage done to their property, but this right had existed from time immemorial and could not be stopped. The cañadas (traditional rights-of-way for sheep that perhaps date back to prehistoric times) are legally protected "forever" from being built on or blocked.
During the late 15th, 16th and early 17th century, two-thirds of the sheep migrating annually were held in flocks or less than 100 sheep and very few flocks exceeded 1,000 sheep. By the 18th century, there were fewer small owners, and several owners held flocks of more than 20,000 sheep, but owners of small to moderately-sized flocks remained, and the Mesta (a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and dissolved in 1836) was never simply a combination of large owners.
Then in the late 1700s, at the end of the 18th century, some Spanish monarchs began giving breeding stock to their relatives in other European courts, ultimately leading to the Merinos' expansion across Europe and around the globe. These generous gifts would prove fatal for the Spanish fine-wool export business. Centuries later, the situation for Spanish merino had changed dramatically, and life for Spain's merino sheep and shepherds was no longer what it once was. The native Spanish merinos have been losing out to an International wool market derived from their exported ancestors.
With the revolutionising entry of cotton and synthetic fibres into the fashion industry since the 1960s, with their properties and qualities, wool has been slowly becoming a by-product, and sometimes even a scrap product that some Spanish farmers have just given away or burned. A shift in focus from breeding sheep for their wool to breeding sheep for their meat and milk production has seen a decline in the quality of wool, which in turn has seen a further reduction in its production volume of almost 30% during the past 20 years.
At the start of the 21st century the rise of China's wool industry posed a threat to Spain because it is difficult to compete with products made/processed in China when the workers wages are so low compared to those in Spain and the rest of the world. In addition, the price of Spanish Merino wool fell from 70 cents per kilo to 42 cents per kilo and the Euro was strong against the US Dollar, which meant that it cost more to international purchasers even though the Spanish farmers still received the same amount. In recent years, wool production in Spain has dropped by around 30%, costs have increased but the market price has dropped.
To counteract this decline of both wool value and demand for Spanish Merino a number of individuals and small companies began campaigning and championing the benefits of Spanish Merino over imported fibres and finding ways to use the wool and to engage contemporary consumers with the country's historic wool culture. As well as small businesses hoping to revive some of the sense of history and tradition bound up with Spanish merino wool, the philosophy of slowness and of retrieving value for wool from indigenous Spanish merino sheep is also appearing at an industry level. Made in Slow seeks to restore a sense of cultural heritage to fashion.
Transhumance activity represents one of the last great migrations of herbivores across Europe and is in danger of extinction. This loss would not only affect pastoralism: also at serious risk are more than 800 years of history preserved in the transhumance paths in the form of tradition, culture, gastronomy, folklore and even a common language. Based on an innovative and sustainable approach using the fine wool from these sheep will contribute actively and directly to improving the living conditions of pastoralists, thus helping to preserve this activity.
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| Photo © Ganado Merino La Llave Freshly shorn Spanish Merino, a little bit of loose skin but minimal |
Genuine Spanish Merino wool can be found in Castile, Leon, Extremadura, Andalusia and Catalonia, among other regions. The Spanish Merino breed has been preserved thanks to the National Association of Merino Livestock Breeders (ACME) created by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1975 and the initiative of a group of farming families. More than 100 herds currently belong to the ACME. This association has a record book where they certify and guarantee the purity of the Merino sheep. The average fleece weighs 4-5kg and the fibre lengths are 6-12 cm (2¼ to 4¾ inches) with fibre diameters of 18-24 microns and the wool is off-white. Spanish Merino sheep do not need to be mulesed.
So, that is the origin of the Merino sheep and what is happening in Spain at this time with regard to promoting one of their original sheep breeds and encouraging people to buy Spanish Merino wool.
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I couldn't actually find any genuine Spanish Merino fleece or fibre for sale anywhere so what I have had to do it to buy some commercially prepared Merino fibre that is 25 microns (you can buy it as fine as 14 microns up to 25 microns) and is a "representation" of the traditional Spanish Merino breed, which is at the top end of the range of fineness for the Merino breed as a whole these days. Even though it is at the top end of the micron range, it is still nice and soft.
I started spinning on 1st August and was ready to ply by 3rd August, taking me about 10 and a half hours in total. I had to spin the singles as finely as I could as this breed will bounce up after spinning and washing.
This spun up to 14wpi, I was aiming for 16wpi, but its OK that it's spun slightly thicker. This one is 101g/394m. I knitted it up over two days, even though it is one of the smaller ones, but we are still suffering with the heat and humidity which makes it harder to work with your hands. This one used just 10g/39m.
