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Throughout history, mainly between the 19th and 20th centuries, numerous cultural assets were dispersed from different parts of Castilla y León. This journey of artworks took place at different times and due to different circumstances. Apart from the movements of the court, the nobility or the ecclesiastical regents, which explain the displacement of certain pieces, the main milestones that led to the dispersion of the cultural heritage were caused by the French occupation and the War of Independence (1808-1814), a period in which important plundering took place.
Other important factors were the effects of the ecclesiastical confiscation (mainly the measures of the ministers: J. Á. Mendizábal, 1836 and P. Madoz, 1855) on the monasteries and the cultural treasures they housed. Artistic despoilment was common, but not only due to despoilment, but mainly due to the sale of works of art.
The arrival of antique dealers, like treasure hunters, in order to supply private collections and museums in other European countries and the USA reached its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coinciding with the Gilded Age of American collecting. The cultural heritage of Castilla y León became the focus of interest to satisfy such demands and continued to do so well into the 20th century.
