the present day, is the economic predominant activity of every epoch. The majority of the first inhabitants of the villa were devoted to agriculture, though grouping in the same place accelerated the appearance of some professional and industrial activities. By the end of the 14th century, ships were constructed in the river. A high percentage of the population was devoted to fishing and navigation. The river was then very rich and many species could be fished, among them salmon, trout, shellfish and eels. Many were reconciling the coastal fishing with agriculture. By then, the manufacturing of cement had also become a relevant activity, for which they were taking advantage of the matters of tertiary areas of the surroundings. From the port they were departing goods towards the Netherlands as well as manufactured products were imported. Some historians even claim that the passenger liner that was joining the villa with the hermitage of Santiago – habitual accommodation of the pilgrims who were going towards Santiago de Compostela, were also among the most prominent sources of Zumaia's revenue in the 16th century. The following centuries, 17th century and the 18th century, were not brilliant periods at all. The land continued being the principal economic activity of the neighbors, in spite of the fact that Zumaia continued having many deficits in agriculture, especially in the production of wheat, corn and beans; until that in 1766 all the houses were recognized to verify if any neighbor possessed more grain than the necessary for their maintenance. There were also citizens dedicated to both maritime and terrestrial transport of goods, mainly iron, and the fishing activity was maintained and even increased, since in 1610 was created the Cofradía de Mareantes de San Telmo, meaning the Confraternity of the Seagoing of San Telmo. It was in this period when there was emphasized the emigration begun at the end of the 16th century (in 1616 Zumaia embraced 935 inhabitants) and it did not stop until two centuries later with the economic reappearance. The situation began to improve very quickly in the 17th century, among other reasons because the desiccation of the marshes enabled the cultivation of the former reed-beds and, consequently, the increase of the agricultural production, especially if corn. But there were some other factors that lead this reappearance, since in the 19th century the factories of cement turned into the engine of the economy of the