It was reconquered by the
Order of Santiago in 1241 from the
Moors, then Guadalcanal belonged to the
Kingdom of León as well as other parts of
Extremadura. In ecclesiastical terms, it belonged to the Santa María de Tendudia vicary. Guadalcanal was fortified by means of a now-ruined wall which was demolished because the village took part in the
Guerra de las Comunidades de Castilla. In the mid-16th century, the area had some silver mines financed by the
Fugger family. The village suffered a crisis in the 19th century, which caused the four nunneries in the village to close. As other rural communities in Spain, it faced a massive exodus of its inhabitants to the cities in the 20th century. ==See also==