ciclos vitales - History Lab

Women Heads of Households in Spain. 18th century

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

Female spinsterhood during the eighteenth century was an exception to the moral norms of the time, where marriage signified the central axis of the individual’s life cycle. Nevertheless, a series of negative connotations were attributed to unmarried women because of their economic independence, managing their patrimony in solitude and developing a life without the authority of a male figure. With respect to households as a whole, 20.38% of the heads of household in the sample represented were women. Broken down, the majority of female heads of household were widows, accounting for 16.66%, while single women accounted for 3% of the total number of heads of household; married women accounted for 0.7%. In terms of female representation, single female heads of household accounted for 14.7%, while widows accounted for 81.74%.

The post Women Heads of Households in Spain. 18th century first appeared on History Lab.

Female-headed households. Spain. 18th century

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

In central-southern Castile, the nuclear family predominated and exceeded 80% of the family nuclei. With the departure of this traditional model in the absence of the parents, unstructured households were generated in which single siblings and relatives lived together; on the other hand, complex or extended households in which family members cohabited in the same nucleus together with uncles, nephews, nieces or servants. Loneliness linked to the family nucleus and residence was related to middle-aged women being single, but the existence of young women who lived alone due to the loss of one of their parents was also observed. In Jaén, one in three single women lived alone (32.10%). When they did not live their lives alone, one in four headed unstructured households in which they took care of their younger siblings and/or nieces and nephews. In single-parent households, the extended family model predominated, which occurred when a close relative was integrated into the family nucleus through solidarity networks (35.37%). In turn, 6.77% of those of middle or old age remained living together with their parents in a nuclear model.

The post Female-headed households. Spain. 18th century first appeared on History Lab.

Family groupings in Spain during the Ancient Regime: occupations

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

In the Ancien Régime, welfare policies were carried out through hospitals, asylum centres and ecclesiastical bodies, among others, which meant that the individual was often unprotected. Therefore, in times of family crisis, mainly in rural areas, the maintenance of family networks of mutual help among women became a fundamental element for survival, especially in the absence of optimal economic conditions; their well-being was conditioned by interpersonal and intergenerational relationships. Servitude in the household included servants who worked in the house itself, but also servants who worked in the fields. The presence of farm labourers, grooms and farmhands in the pastures of the south of the Iberian Peninsula was common throughout the year. Although the main demand for domestic service was in cities and large towns, or agro-cities, servitude was one of the most common features of the rural labour system. Servants were found in the homes of farm and wealthy women. In addition to this, servants were present in the households of those for whom no occupation was indicated, but who had enough rustic wealth to suggest that they were wealthy.

The post Family groupings in Spain during the Ancient Regime: occupations first appeared on History Lab.