sealed the creation of a brotherhood seeking to counter the territorial push southwards of the powerful concejo of Ávila. Formerly a town, sometimes property of queens, such as Maria of Portugal, Talavera was transferred by Henry II of Castile on 25 June 1369 to Gómez Manrique (the transfer was confirmed in the 1371 Cortes of Toro), the Archbishop of Toledo, as payment for the latter's support in the Castilian Civil War, and, since then, the town became attached to the Archbishops of Toledo. The change from the concejo abierto towards a regimiento system of municipal government in Talavera should have happened by the second half of the 14th century. Unlike other locations the chief municipal public offices (regidurías) in Talavera were not subject to transfer from father to son, so the nobiliary elite relied in an alternative strategy to ensure its supremacy, based on a system that allowed them to control the candidates to the regidoría. King Sancho IV gave the royal privilege to hold two royal markets each year. Early Modern history By the late third of the 16th century the city reached a population of 10,000. Upon the death of King Charles II in November 1700, two powerful nations fought for the Spanish Crown. Talavera supported Philip V's French faction, which was the winner. In the mid-18th century, by 1748, as part of the economic policies enforced by the Spanish Bourbons, the Royal Factory of Silk, Silver and Gold Fabric, was opened in the city, during the reign of Ferdinand VI. The number of hidalgos reduced during the 18th century. The clergy retained an important socioeconomic importance. Towards the end of the century, a number of religious French emigrees would arrive to Talavera after the triumph of the Revolution. During the second half of the century, the bulk of the working population comprised the non-specialised workers and textile workers, ceramics workers (with a diminishing importance compared to previous centuries) and those dedicated to services, followed by the food industry, leather and the shoemaking sector. 19th and 20th centuries The Peninsular War had great consequences for Talavera. On 27 and 28 July 1809 the Battle of Talavera took place between the Anglo-Spanish army and the French. The Duke of Wellington's army expelled the French from the city. The manufacturing complex of the Royal Silk Factory closed towards 1851. Talavera was granted the title of city (ciudad) in 1876. Following