The territory of this municipality was submitted to the age-old feudal estate and ordinary jurisdiction of the Count of Lemos in the 18th century.

This deserves separate comment for its bordering situation between Spain and Portugal and its peculiar organization. Rubiás, Santiago and Meaus, that today form part of Baltar and Calvos de Randín, belonged to a mixed reserve.

This fact made the inhabitants enjoy privileges such as tax exemption and the choice of belonging to a kingdom or another. According to their choice, they depended on the judges of Montealegre or Xinzo de Limia in the judicial field but all of them depended of the Bishopric of Ourense in the religious one. A Mayor elected for a three-year period and confirmed by the chief magistrate of Braganza was responsible for the economical and governmental aspects.

This privileged situation facilitated all sort of economical activities (the fair trade of both countries and smuggling, which constituted the main income of neighbours), which led to inbreeding in the mixed reserve until 1864 that new bordering limits were mapped out.