Secondary sector in the council of Avilés, 1797

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:46 +0000

The well-known Godoy Census was a general population count promoted by Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, First Secretary of State and Office of Charles IV. Published in 1801, it provides valuable data that give an insight into the situation of Spain at the end of the Enlightenment. It is not merely demographic in nature, but also economic, being conceived as an improved version of the previous Floridablanca Census. This tool allows a detailed reconstruction of the activities of the manufacturing sector in Avilés at the end of the Ancien Régime. The town provided employment for trades that either did not appear, or did so in a precarious way, in other parts of the region. An important branch of activity was textiles, especially work linked to the linen industry which, despite Campomanes’ wishes, could not lead industrialisation as it was subject to various limitations and foreign competition. With 117 weavers, the domestic manufacture of linen in Aviles was in the hands of women – it should be remembered that one of the great assets of this census is to highlight women’s work. Another textile speciality was tailoring, represented by 40 men and four women. It also included other trades such as footwear, which, together with tailoring, maintained the employment levels of 1753. However, the real specialisation was in copper working or boilermaking. Together with pottery, these set the tone for Avila’s manufactures at the end of the Ancien Régime. Among the coppersmiths, of which there were ten masters, the census included 45 boilermakers and 60 apprentices. The second most active branch was pottery, as most of the potters, located in Miranda, combined this occupation with agricultural work.

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Service sector in the council of Avilés, 1797

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:46 +0000

The well-known Godoy Census was conceived as a tool for the general population count promoted by Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, First Secretary of State and Office of Charles IV. When it was published in 1801, it provided valuable data that gave an insight into the situation in Spain at the end of the 18th century. Its main characteristic is based on economic and not demographic knowledge, as it was drawn up as an improved renewal of the Floridablanca Census. This tool allows a detailed reconstruction of the activities of the manufacturing sector in Avilés at the end of the Ancien Régime. In this sense, the service sector highlighted the key role of trade, as Avilés had a mercantile tradition since the Middle Ages. As it was located in a central position in Asturias, which made it a demander of products, a commercial class was consolidated in the region that covered the supply circuits. One of the groups with a certain weight in the council was the military, as Avilés was the capital of the maritime province of the same name (from Gijón to Castropol). Military administration professions such as troops and sailors – active or retired – and others depended on the Navy Commissioner, Rafel Gómez Roubaud, a personal friend of Godoy. Attention to educational institutions is also relevant, when Asturias was at the bottom of the list in terms of school enrolment: 93.5% were boys and 6.5% girls. Likewise, the census reflects the personnel dependent on the Church, including sacristans, those people who lived with the religious (donados and educandas) next to the buildings destined for worship. Finally, it includes domestic service, the bulk of which was carried out by domestic servants, as it was a fundamentally female job.

The post Service sector in the council of Avilés, 1797 first appeared on History Lab.

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Secondary sector in the council of Avilés, 1797

Service sector in the council of Avilés, 1797