dinero - History Lab

The money changer and his wife

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

In the new bourgeois societies, women were a fundamental support for their husbands in the task of collecting and accumulating money. They took part in the accounting of their husbands’ businesses and, in many cases, were in demand as accountants by merchant houses, accustomed as they were to the control of account books. Bourgeois women, without forgetting their role as mothers and wives, developed an economic-administrative activity acting on behalf of their husbands, but also when they were widowed or took over the inheritance of a prematurely deceased father. They handled rents and lent money in a historical phase in which money was an instrument for the accumulation of wealth.

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Market

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

The women were actively involved in the work as saleswomen, as well as in agricultural and livestock tasks and in the transformation of the products generated by the economy. As well as working as poultry, fish or vegetable sellers, they also occupied positions as innkeepers or bakers. The age of the women implied the development of a different activity. The laws, on the other hand, placed limits on the exercise of certain jobs according to age or marital status. This image allows us to approach history from a female perspective, as it makes women visible in areas other than the domestic sphere, carrying out professional activities.

The post Market first appeared on History Lab.

Vellón issues and nominal stock of vellón in circulation in Spain (in millions of maravedíes), 1596-1680

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:52 +0000

The Catholic Monarchs drew up a reform of the monetary system of the Crown of Castile in 1497, basing the system on three metals: gold, silver and vellón (an alteration of silver and copper). The unit of account was the maravedí, which in practice did not correspond to any specific metal coin. The gold coin established by the Catholic Monarchs was called the ducado or excelente, which was equivalent to 375 maravedíes with a degree of purity of 98.958%. The silver coin was called real, equivalent to 34 maravedíes with a degree of purity of 93.055%, while the vellón had a degree of purity of 2.43%. Modifications followed in the following reigns, with Charles V beginning new alterations which continued to be reproduced by the Hispanic monarchs: Philip II decreed in 1596 the minting of pure copper without silver alloy in order to take advantage of a new system which would allow greater profits; Philip III in 1602 decreed the elimination of the 0.3% of silver in the minting of fleece coins until it was stopped in 1608. Due to the inflation caused by the vellon, in the 1620s various pragmatic rates were enacted that limited prices and salaries. However, after 1636, following the cessation of hostilities with France, prices began to rise again until 1638, when it was decreed that the fleece coinage minted after 1602 would be melted down at a rate of 375 million maravedíes per year. Since 1602 only pure copper coinage had been minted until the decree of 29 October 1660 ordered the minting of a new coinage with a 7% silver content, of which 816 maravedíes were to be minted. Between 1657-1662 there was a moderate rise in prices and an increase in the price of silver to around 80% at the beginning of 1662, which lasted until 1669.

The post Vellón issues and nominal stock of vellón in circulation in Spain (in millions of maravedíes), 1596-1680 first appeared on History Lab.