although it fostered the development of some urban centres such as those of Alcázar de San Juan, Manzanares and Albacete. The five provinces lost relative demographic weight relative to the national total over the course of the century. The territory of the current-day region was singularly affected by the desamortizaciones, particularly those of Mendizábal and Madoz. From 1836 to 1924 of land were auctioned (1,100,000 hectares of municipal properties and the rest church's property). They were purchased by the political and economic elites of the country. Regionhood Under the auspices of the 1978 Constitution, a decree-law was issued on 15 November 1978, establishing the conditions of the "pre-autonomous regime" of the "Castilian-Manchegan region". A joint assembly of legislators and provincial deputies of the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo was established in Manzanares in 1981 to draft the early sketch of the regional statute. On 17 June 1982, the Congress of Deputies approved the final text of the regional statute (an organic law), which was later published on 16 August 1982, giving birth to the autonomous community of "Castilla-La Mancha". The constituent process of the autonomous community was sealed with the election of the first regional legislature in May 1983 and the ensuing investiture of José Bono as regional president. By December 1983 still less than half of citizens actually knew the autonomous community they belonged to. Since its opening in 1979 the Tagus-Segura Water Transfer has caused a severe social-economic impact on the region, with the water resources available in the Tagus headwaters decreasing by about a 47.5% after 1980. Regional divisions ... Castilla–La Mancha is divided into 5 provinces named after their capital cities. The following category includes: Albacete Ciudad Real Cuenca Guadalajara Toledo According to the official data of the INE, Castilla–La Mancha consists of 919 municipalities, which amount to 11.3 percent of all the municipalities in Spain. 496 of these have less than 500 inhabitants, 231 have between 501 and 2,000 inhabitants, 157 between 2,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, and only 35 have more than 10,000 inhabitants. The municipalities in the north are small and numerous, while in the south they are larger and fewer. This reflects different histories of how these sub-regions were repopulated during the Reconquista. Official symbols The Organic Law 9/1982 (August 10, 1982), which is the Statute of Autonomy of Castilla–La Mancha established the flag of Castilla–La Mancha and the law