Albacete - History Lab

Plan of the house of María Arenas Romero. Lezuza, 1751

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:18 +0000

By studying the house and its distribution by rooms, it is easier to understand the way in which most of the life of the neighbours of the late seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century was spent. It is important to emphasise that the social position and wealth of the owners directly conditioned the location, typology and belongings in their houses. As the author (Hernández, 2016) rightly states: “the house in the Ancien Régime is not a static, closed and immovable entity, but is in permanent construction and interconnected with the world around it”.
The image is a plan of a house in Lezuza (Albacete) of around 107m2 on the ground floor, but most of it is used to house the stables, the hayloft and the courtyard, with just a quarter of the total space reserved for the home and the living quarters in a single body. The separation between the bedrooms and the kitchen consists of an opening, covered only on some occasions with a screen or a door to divide the rooms. The upper floor is left with a space of approximately 27 m2 for the chamber, which used to occupy the upper part of the houses, especially the living area as it is presented here.

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Evolution of the number of local elite and merchant families in the Castilian hinterland (1761-1838)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:41 +0000

At the end of the Ancien Régime, the town of Albacete experienced an important demographic growth which led it to exercise a great power of attraction over the migratory and economic networks in the whole of eastern La Mancha. From a meagre 2,500 inhabitants in 1700, it gradually recovered its number of inhabitants, reaching over 5,000 in 1750. The years between 1750-1850 were those which represented an important quantitative change, not without enormous ups and downs, but which quadrupled the population. For the first years of the 1760s, the demographic estimate for the town, villages and hamlets of Albacete was 5,776 inhabitants, with 4,588 in the town centre alone. This figure increased 26 years later in the Floridablanca census to 8,261 inhabitants in the villages and hamlets as a whole and 6,679 people in the town. At the end of the 18th century, through the Godoy census, the town as a whole with its hamlets reached the figure of 9,552 and in 1861 it reached 16,000 inhabitants. The demographic increase in the population of Albacete was reflected in the same way in all social groups. In the case of the merchants, the growth was quite significant from the middle of the 18th century until the first third of the 19th century. With the social and economic expansion of the town after the 1740s and 1750s, and with particular force from 1780 onwards, the social and economic diversification of Albacete’s merchant community became evident, coinciding with a period of withdrawal on the part of the families of the local oligarchy. Many of the merchant families acquired greater power in the first third of the 19th century, who came from small shopkeepers and retailers, as well as master craftsmen who had become wealthy at the end of the 18th century.

The post Evolution of the number of local elite and merchant families in the Castilian hinterland (1761-1838) first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of baptism during the War of the Spanish Succession, Albacete and Cuenca (1699-1712)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) caused numerous alterations in the demographic structures due to the crises that went hand in hand with it. An example of this is reflected in the number of baptisms. During the most critical period of the war in Albacete (1706-1707) we see how baptisms (and therefore births) fell considerably due to the battles that took place in the province (such as the Battle of Almansa in 1707). Recruitment, resulting in the absence of men who were at the front or mobilised, led to an absence of pregnancies. The same can be observed for that year in Cuenca, Chinchilla and San Clemente, with an average decrease of 20%. On many occasions, skirmishes caused the loss of harvests; on other occasions, food resources were destined to the maintenance of the troops to the detriment of the market in the towns, with consumption being reduced and family possibilities of reproduction and subsistence diminished. Between 1708 and 1711 there was also a general decline, this time caused by the national crisis of war. The areas of Albacete and Chinchilla were more sensitive than those of Cuenca as they were more affected; the Spanish countryside needed a few years to recover and to be able to provide sufficient food for families.

The post Evolution of baptism during the War of the Spanish Succession, Albacete and Cuenca (1699-1712) first appeared on History Lab.

Average value of marriage dowries by artisan guilds. Albacete, 1646-1760.

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

The matrimonial dowry was an amount of movable or immovable property that the woman had to contribute to the marriage. It was a way of transmitting property between families, giving rise to a marriage market that sought consolidation or social advancement. This reproduction strategy was used by lineages and tended towards endogamy between the different social groups. The value of dowries was a reflection of the family’s economic situation: the higher the dowry, the wealthier the family that provided it. Consequently, the study of dowries can determine the material conditions of households according to their economic activity. An example of this is the city of Albacete. Between 1646 and 1760, within the group of artisans, the dowry could vary significantly according to the branch of production carried out. Thus, while the average value of the dowry for espadrille makers was 1,211 reales, that of boilermakers rose to 9,185 reales. Blacksmiths, hairdressers, weavers, riggers and carpenters were in the middle bracket, with figures ranging between 4,000 and 5,000 reais. The coveted trade of coppersmith is a reflection of the fact that the social prestige, material work and economic status of this group meant a good opportunity for a profitable marriage.

The post Average value of marriage dowries by artisan guilds. Albacete, 1646-1760. first appeared on History Lab.

Age of children in the household in Albacete (1787)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

The number of children in the household varies with their age. Unsurprisingly, those under 18 dominate the data with a total of 2,431: 8 out of 10. Between the ages of 18 and 35 the figure drops sharply to 630 (2 out of 10). Finally, those over 35 account for 1% of the total (37 children). The data confirm the age-split structures that are configured with the life cycle of individuals. The greater the economic and legal dependency, the higher the rate of residence in the family home; on the contrary, when a marital bond is created, people leave home to form a new residential nucleus. Within these dynamics, variables can be differentiated according to the sex of the child. Thus, while men leave home more frequently, female guardianship was framed first under paternal parental authority and then with the husband. Consequently, the higher rate of celibacy among women meant that they were slower to leave the family home. If this happens at an advanced age, we find the contrast in the younger age of women, whose marriage age is lower than that of men (in proportion, they married less, but they married earlier), favouring the departure of women from the home.

The post Age of children in the household in Albacete (1787) first appeared on History Lab.

Vital series of the town of Albacete in the 18th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

The demographic structure of the town of Albacete consisted of a high-pressure model where both births and deaths were high. The figures on baptisms show a period of slow growth from 1700 to 1740; from that date onwards, they increased until the 1760s, years in which there were numerous epidemic and food crises. In 1775 the situation stabilised, showing stable growth. Likewise, deaths increased at the turn of the century due to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) and the fin-de-siecle crises, on the eve of the French invasion. Finally, due to the social culture of the Ancien Régime, marriage was a constant without temporal disturbances: a legitimate means to survive in the social fabric by bringing families together to concentrate patrimony.

The post Vital series of the town of Albacete in the 18th century first appeared on History Lab.

Relatives to whom inheritance improvements are given. Albacete, 1760s.

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

The sample shown refers to the testamentary mandates that determined the inheritance of individuals. Despite the supposedly egalitarian inheritance, characteristic of the Castilian area, six out of every ten deeds contained an imbalance that broke with equality by improving certain family members. Of these, 31% were destined for sons and daughters, and of these, there is a greater predominance of males than females. With 17%, it was the servants who obtained an improvement, a significant fact as it reveals bonds of solidarity beyond the mercantile contract between master and servant. At the other end of the scale, only 4% of those who bequeathed more to their siblings were clerics, subject to celibacy, who bequeathed their possessions to siblings and nephews; and parents, with 9%. In the latter case, it was usually the children who died prematurely, without offspring, who improved their parents’ estates. It should be noted that improvements in inheritances were not produced as a means of ostensibly improving a child or relative, but as a type of compensation based on affection, work carried out or esteem. In short, despite the existence of improvements, they do not have a value that decisively breaks the egalitarian inheritance.

The post Relatives to whom inheritance improvements are given. Albacete, 1760s. first appeared on History Lab.

Life cycle and peasantry in the Sierra de Alcaraz (1753)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

One of the most characteristic groups due to their mobility and social reproduction during the Modern Age were the labour and livestock labourers. The large number of this profession, together with that of labourer and farm labourer, marked the labour activities for young people up to 35 years of age in the Sierra de Alcaraz, a study area in central-southern Spain. Why did it increase so much up to that age? These activities were a good way to enter the world of work. Of the three dominant professional groups, from the age of 35 onwards, it was the young men who abandoned their work the most to seek another livelihood, normally sponsored by the clientele networks they had acquired in their old trade, while the day labourers and farm labourers remained relatively stable until the age of 45. This structure is influenced by the life cycles of the protagonists; the departure from the family nucleus, where many of the young men’s own tasks were carried out, led them to seek another form of independent life.

The post Life cycle and peasantry in the Sierra de Alcaraz (1753) first appeared on History Lab.

Distribution of land ownership in the Sierra de Alcaraz (1753). Cultivated land.

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

In mountain areas such as the Sierra de Alcaraz, land ownership was conditioned by the orography of the territory. In 1753, 28.3% of the land in this mountain range was under cultivation. Of this figure, almost 50% of the cultivation belonged to only 2% of the owners. Likewise, almost half of the total landowners owned only 2% of the arable land. The marked imbalance of ownership translated into different economic benefits: the concentration of land in a few hands meant that 17% of landowners owned more than 1,000 reals of gross produce, a figure that rose to more than 40,000 for the few individuals who owned the most; again, conversely, more than 70% of landowners owned less than 500 reals of produce. The rest of the uncultivated land, 71.7%, could belong to the Council, which was also controlled by the local elites. Livestock farming, like agriculture, showed the same tendency towards concentration in the hands of a few individuals. The survival and future of the less well-off depended on the leasing of land, either for cultivation or as pasture for livestock. These data are but one concrete example of the inequalities that existed in the Ancien Régime and which were perpetuated throughout southern Spain.

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The post Distribution of land ownership in the Sierra de Alcaraz (1753). Cultivated land. first appeared on History Lab.

Household structure in Jorquera and Casas Ibáñez (Albacete) by sex and marital status (1753)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000

The family structure of the household provides us with a great deal of information to configure the society of the Ancien Régime. The Cadastre of the Marqués de la Ensenada, one of the main sources of study for the 18th century, offers us a complete vision of the Castilian household. Particularly, in this case, María del Mar Simón’s research on two rural areas on the banks of the river Júcar in La Manchuela Albacetense, Jorquera and Casas Ibáñez, reflects a generalised trend in an environment well defined by its rural dynamics and economy based on irrigated crops, hemp and flax for the production of textiles in the case of Jorquera, and dry crops, such as saffron and cereal, in the case of Casas Ibáñez. In both towns, the number of married households far exceeded the rest of the compositions (77.37% in Jorquera and 69.29% in Casas Ibáñez), highlighting the importance of widows as heads of household (12.10% and 13.19%), while male widowers tended to have second marriages. The male sector stands out, comparatively speaking, in the area of bachelorhood. One of the main reasons for this is the age of marriage, which is later for men than for women. Churchmen, subject to celibacy, also swelled the ranks of single heads of households, although this position is not considered by the author to be statistically significant. In sum, the male-headed household constituted 72.28% of single women compared to 27.72% of single women.

The post Household structure in Jorquera and Casas Ibáñez (Albacete) by sex and marital status (1753) first appeared on History Lab.