Crisis - History Lab

Royal Decree of Charles III authorising the creation of a National Bank called the Bank of San Carlos

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:51 +0000

The 18th century, even in a European context, saw the beginning of a period of marked economic protectionism. This period was marked by the need to impose heavy taxes on imports and to free the movement of goods within the country from these economic obstacles. In 1782, the Spanish monarchy created the Banco de San Carlos, the first national bank in Spain, to deal with this situation, although its activity did not alleviate the problems of the Treasury.

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Migration of locusts in Extremadura, La Mancha and Córdoba, 1776-1783

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

Locust infestations were a major concern in the primary sector during the Modern Age. In an agricultural economy, where the possibilities of growth and development were linked to the production of the harvest, the total or partial loss of the crop caused considerable devastation, or even death by starvation. How were these pests formed and how did they move through the different localities and fields? The author hypothesises that these invertebrates underwent frequent changes in their phenotypes, which led them to change their behaviour, far from their usual solitary behaviour, and to become pests in search of food. The resource shows the advance of the locust in the provinces of La Mancha, Extremadura and Cordoba at the end of the 18th century. Coming from La Mancha, the invertebrate followed its apparent usual south-north direction, passing through Almadén, branching off towards Trujillo and Guadalupe in Extremadura to, on the one hand, head towards Plasencia in 1781, while on the other hand turning towards Talavera de la Reina and Toledo. The plagues began to subside from 1783 onwards and ceased in 1785, when the swarms were dissolved due to climatic and human causes.

The post Migration of locusts in Extremadura, La Mancha and Córdoba, 1776-1783 first appeared on History Lab.

The Esquilache Mutiny (1766)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

The Motín de Esquilache was a revolt that took place in Madrid in March 1766, when King Carlos III was king, due to the publication of a municipal regulation governing the clothing of the people of Madrid, and which was dictated by Leopoldo de Gregorio, 1st Marquis of Esquilache, the king’s main minister, who was also blamed for the high cost of bread. The measure generated such unrest that the popular mobilisation came to be considered a threat to the king’s own security. Although this revolt has been interpreted as a subsistence riot, which coincides with similar revolts in other parts of Spain, it is known to have been instigated by different groups of nobility and ecclesiastical power, belonging to different court factions, with conflicting interests, who fought for power. In the Museo del Prado catalogue, what is depicted in the work is described as follows: “Then the bailiffs, accompanied by tailors, put the disobedient into the gates, and there they pointed their hats at them and cut off their cloaks, the violence of which intimidated the faint-hearted, offended the sensible and encouraged the brave to look for noise”.

The post The Esquilache Mutiny (1766) first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of the unrest in the kingdom of Navarre (1512-1808)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:56 +0000

The society of the Ancien Régime was not exempt from conflict. The resource shows the evolution of collective violence in the kingdom of Navarre during the modern period. To do this, the author uses the lawsuits detected in the General Archive of Navarre and the Diocesan Archive of Pamplona to quantify them. The 800 lawsuits were distributed between 1512 and 1808, with the highest incidence occurring between 1576 and 1590. From that time onwards, the number of conflicts decreased and these were peaceful years for the inhabitants of the urban world of Navarre, which was where most unrest broke out. Community stability was broken at the time of the breakdown of the Ancien Régime: from 1771 to 1800, lawsuits, both in the civil and ecclesiastical courts, increased to the levels of the late 17th century, with the difference that incidents were more widespread in those years. According to the records, the majority of the offending protagonists were youths (48%), and the setting, with 52%, was the public street. It was common for the victims to be local authorities (43%) and other young people (20%). Of those convicted in the civil courts, the most common penalty was banishment (49%), while the ecclesiastical court opted for pecuniary penalties, i.e. the payment of a fine (40% of cases).

The post Evolution of the unrest in the kingdom of Navarre (1512-1808) first appeared on History Lab.

Smallpox mortality in New Spain. The parish of San Pablo Apetatitlan, 1797-1798

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:48 +0000

During the Modern Age, smallpox was an epidemic that decimated numerous populations on the European continent. America’s joining the world-system meant that this territory also became involved in global problems. The resource shows the incidence in New Spain of the last smallpox epidemic of the 18th century in that viceroyalty through the parish of San Pablo Apetatitlan, in the governorate of Tlaxcala. In this rural parish, between December 1797 and December 1798, a total of 75 deaths from smallpox were recorded, most of them indigenous people from this rural area. The author places the epidemic cycle in October 1797 in the city of Puebla, arriving in the jurisdiction of Tlaxcala in the first week of December. Its arrival led to a dramatic increase in mortality in the first few days of its appearance; 91.42% of deaths from the disease were recorded in one month. After the strong impact, social isolation and quarantines were the measures adopted by the authorities.

The post Smallpox mortality in New Spain. The parish of San Pablo Apetatitlan, 1797-1798 first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of the volume of foundlings and legitimacy in Antequera, Malaga, between 1667 and 1700

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

The parish registers of Antequera, shown in the graph provided by the author, show how the number of foundlings in Antequera at the end of the 17th century only decreased. However, this decrease was directly related to the epidemic crisis of 1679 which altered the demography and life cycles, lowering the nuptiality and, consequently, the birth rate. The research reveals that in the year with the highest number of baptisms, 1676, legitimate children accounted for 89%, while illegitimate children constituted 11%. On the other hand, in the year in which the fewest baptisms took place, 1684, foundlings accounted for 14%, an increase of 3%. Thus, the rate of abandonment was inversely proportional to the number of births. Finally, the fin-de-siècle crisis did not lead to an increase in the abandonment rate as families needed more useful hands to boost their economy.

The post Evolution of the volume of foundlings and legitimacy in Antequera, Malaga, between 1667 and 1700 first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of the volume of foundlings and legitimacy in Antequera, Malaga, between 1701 and 1750

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

The resource shows us the number of abandoned children, foundlings, that took place in Antequera (Malaga) in the first half of the 18th century. The data reveal that the annual average number of foundlings was 60, a figure that remained relatively stable throughout this chronological period. However, the number of abandoned children is inversely related to the number of baptisms: on the one hand, the maximum number of baptisms is found in 1745, when 1,058 children were sacramentalised; in this year, foundlings accounted for 8%. On the other hand, in the year in which the fewest baptisms were recorded, 1738, foundlings accounted for 11%. These dynamics follow the same trends as at the end of the 17th century, unlike the second half of the 18th century when the periods of fewer abandonments coincided with the lowest number of baptisms.

The post Evolution of the volume of foundlings and legitimacy in Antequera, Malaga, between 1701 and 1750 first appeared on History Lab.

Deaths in the city of Granada between 1647 and 1648

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:36 +0000

Epidemics were a constant throughout the Modern Age, decimating the number of inhabitants. The graph shows the evolution of mortality in the city of Granada in two years: 1647 and 1648. In the context of the typhus that struck the city, mortality was stable during the first year, but from June onwards it increased considerably until September, when it remained almost constant until November and December. At the beginning of 1648, the first months are more benign; however, from June onwards, it increases again until its peak in September where, unlike the previous year, it drops considerably until December. Analysis of the data reveals the seasonality of deaths in Granada: the summer months. By age group, adults suffer the most from this phenomenon, followed by children and, finally, young people. Apart from the extraordinary epidemiological effects, the mortality rate is in line with that of the old demographic regime.

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The post Deaths in the city of Granada between 1647 and 1648 first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of prices per bushel of wheat (1700-1714)

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

The Modern Age was marked by numerous food, economic, climatic, epidemiological and even war crises. In the latter case, the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) left its mark on the price of a bushel of wheat. Between these years, we can see how in Murcia, Cuenca and Jaén the price per bushel of wheat fell at the beginning of the war and increased progressively as the battles reached the territories analysed. Murcia and Cuenca are the main exponents of the graph, with sharp rises between 1708 and 1710, while the north of Castile and Jaén increased to a lesser extent. The price of wheat directly affected bread, a basic product in the Spanish diet. In Cuenca, the corregidor declared an end to the bread shortage in 1714 due to the abundant harvest of that year. During this period, the general increase in prices, together with the military levy and mortality, the demographic structure was affected; fewer baptisms and the accentuation of social imbalances.

The post Evolution of prices per bushel of wheat (1700-1714) first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of the population of Siles between 1480 and 1646

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:07 +0000

When analysing the population and society of Siles, which belonged to the Encomienda de Segura (formerly the Kingdom of Murcia and now Jaén), from the end of the 15th century to the mid-17th century, it is a good idea to use unpublished documentary sources in addition to the always useful Relaciones Topográficas de Felipe II, as the author of this article does. Adding those already mentioned above to the books of visits of the Order of Santiago, the Census of Dairy Farmers, the neighbourhood for the service of the Cortes and the list of neighbours of 1649, gives as a sample this table which can be used at the Baccalaureate and University levels, also introducing several of the primary sources available in this territory.
The resulting computation shows that the well-known demographic crisis at the end of the 15th century is quickly overcome, causing a regular growth until the plague epidemic in the middle of the 16th century, which causes an almost constant fall in the population until 1646, culminating in five decades of attraction towards the kingdom of Granada, the strength of the Council of Segura and the pressure on these lands to have more exploitable and less exploited areas in their vicinity.

The post Evolution of the population of Siles between 1480 and 1646 first appeared on History Lab.