Extremadura - History Lab

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.

Epidemics of plague in Spain: 16th and 17th centuries

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:12 +0000

The plague epidemic had an early manifestation in Spain. There is evidence of outbreaks of plague along the Mediterranean strip of the peninsula as early as the 6th-8th centuries. During the 14th century, the Black Death appeared in Europe, an epidemic which, interspersed with others such as influenza and typhus, reappeared in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1596 the plague reached the peninsula via Santander, a port area. It spread virulently through the territories of Extremadura and the two Castiles, especially the area around Madrid. The Cantabrian coast and Andalusia were also affected, as well as the area between Alicante and Valencia. It was in the latter city that another plague epidemic broke out years later, in 1647. From Valencia it spread to the northern part of the Crown of Aragon: Catalonia and the Aragonese territories themselves were affected. Andalusia was also hit again, with the city of Seville suffering significant human losses, where it is estimated that 45% of the population died. It was in Seville that another epidemic appeared in 1676. With no time to recover, cities such as Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Cadiz and Jaen were the protagonists of the horror. They were joined by Cartagena, in the Kingdom of Murcia. These were the last large-scale epidemics to occur in the peninsular territories of the Hispanic Monarchy. Once the epidemic, demographic and food crises of the 17th century were overcome, the 18th century ushered in a period of generalised growth.

The post Epidemics of plague in Spain: 16th and 17th centuries first appeared on History Lab.

Distribution of the Moriscos according to the draft distribution of 1571

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

From 1570 onwards, more than 11,000 Moriscos, forcibly expelled from their place of origin by the Spanish Crown, were received in Extremadura. The largest group arrived in Extremadura at the end of 1570 (some 6,800 from Granada), with the second wave arriving almost a year later.
In the present case, the distribution of the places of seigniory in Extremadura was carried out in December 1751, with 1,764 Moriscos arriving in the current territories of Extremadura. A third of the Moriscos remained in the capital, with the majority located at the head of each demarcation, while smaller groups were distributed among various villages.
The situation in which these new residents lived varied greatly depending on their destination, as many rural areas of Extremadura at the time were experiencing marked economic hardship, making it even more difficult for these groups from Granada to settle satisfactorily.

The post Distribution of the Moriscos according to the draft distribution of 1571 first appeared on History Lab.

Professions of the husbands and fathers of the brides of Lower Extremadura (17th century)

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

The wife brought to the marriage, either by herself or other persons on her behalf, a series of assets from the paternal surplus, which constituted the anticipation of a legitimate inheritance received at the time of the constitution of a new family. It was the husband who received the assets and, on the other hand, became the administrator of them with the obligation to return them to the heirs or the wife herself in the event of divorce or death of the husband. These goods delivered could appear with the estimate of the prices -estimated price- or without it, indicating only the description of the goods. As for the male professions, labourers are owners of land and livestock in large quantities, while cangueros are small taxpayers with little land and a few animals. Day labourers did not own agricultural real estate and worked for wages. The artisans, on the other hand, have all the distributions made during the 17th century as small taxpayers satisfying local needs. On the other hand, the graduates are those people in the service sector who needed certain studies in order to exercise their profession. 72% of marriages took place between families with the same qualifications, and this was more pronounced among farmers (84%). Along with wealth, there were two hierarchies of power: the possession of council posts and cleanliness of blood. Honour, power and wealth go hand in hand, as all the mayors and councillors who appear in the letters of dowry fall into the category of peasants, as do those who declare their nobility.

The post Professions of the husbands and fathers of the brides of Lower Extremadura (17th century) first appeared on History Lab.

Average prices of estimated dowries in Lower Extremadura (constant reales de vellón (base 1000 = average 1601-1625))

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

The wife brought to the marriage, either by herself or others on her behalf, a series of assets from the paternal surplus, which constituted the anticipation of a legitimate share received at the time of the creation of a new family. The husband, on the other hand, became the administrator of assets with the obligation to return them to the heirs or the wife herself in the event of divorce. These assets delivered could appear with the estimated price – estimated dowry – or without it, indicating only the description of the assets. As for the estimated dowries, the fluctuations in prices during the century must be taken into account. Therefore, the largest dowries correspond to the deeds involving farmers and graduates; at an intermediate level, although at a considerable distance, are the dowries of cangueros, and the lowest are those of labourers, artisans and service personnel. The goods that appear in them are valued by people who deserve the confidence of the families who subscribe them, as well as citing circumstances for this task, such as the profession (carpenters to evaluate furniture, labourers for the land…). In this sense, the prices granted were not far from the real values, as it must be taken into account that the estimated dowry had the effect of selling the goods to the husband. The overall value, therefore, depended on current circumstances such as the position of the bride among her brothers, the situation of the family at the time of the dowry or the economic level of the groom’s family.

The post Average prices of estimated dowries in Lower Extremadura (constant reales de vellón (base 1000 = average 1601-1625)) first appeared on History Lab.

Distribution of the population of Extremadura according to the data of the Vecindario of 1591 (in percentages) and distribution of the population according to the data of the Census of Floridablanca (in percentages)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

Between 1591 and 1752 there is no reliable population count available for Extremadura as a whole, so the figures presented must be considered as mere approximate estimates, as this is the only possible way to be minimally reliable. The sample consulted is based on 37 localities (18 in Badajoz and 19 in Cáceres) which accounted for 13.87% of the surface area and 17.47% of the population of Extremadura in 1787. The demographic evolution of Extremadura in the Modern Age can be divided into three main stages. The first comprises 1500-1574 when there was an upward trend; the second from 1575-1651 which, on the other hand, was an intense depressive movement, followed by the period from 1652-1835 with a new population increase. Within the last phase, it is necessary to explain two sub-phases: one of recovery in 1652-1759 until the maximum birth rate of the 16th century was regained, and the real boom, from 1760 to 1835. Prior to these stages, macrodemographic sources such as baptismal records suggest that the number of Extremadurians recorded a notable increase in the first three quarters of the 16th century. From the mid-16th century onwards, the population of Extremadura began a very long period of positive growth which lasted until the end of the Ancien Régime. However, neither wars nor catastrophic mortality seem to be the main reasons for the almost two centuries it took the region to recover the maximum number of baptised people. Without forgetting the migratory movement – of which few results are known – the available evidence points to a demographic collapse that is intertwined with the behaviour of fertility.

The post Distribution of the population of Extremadura according to the data of the Vecindario of 1591 (in percentages) and distribution of the population according to the data of the Census of Floridablanca (in percentages) first appeared on History Lab.

Life expectancy at birth (second half of the 18th century in mainland Spain)

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

Life expectancy is a synthetic indicator that measures the average lifespan of a generation. During the 18th century, life expectancy was around 28 years, although other authors have suggested the possibility of 27 or 25 years. Infectious diseases were mainly responsible for the short lifespan, and were a scourge of Spanish villages, towns and cities. In addition, 1796 saw a fundamental event in the fight against infectious diseases: Jenner’s discovery of antivariol vaccination, which was quickly and favourably known. However, the above figures do not reflect Spanish levels. There are strong disparities between the territories, always within the parameters of the Ancien Régime. Similarly, there is a wide area of moderate mortality, consisting of a large part of coastal Spain, with a life expectancy of between 29 and 32 years.

The post Life expectancy at birth (second half of the 18th century in mainland Spain) first appeared on History Lab.

Infant mortality in Spain (per thousand children born). 18th century in mainland Spain

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

Life expectancy is an indicator of the average lifespan of a generation. During the seventeenth century, this was around 28 years, although different authors suggested the possibility of 27 or 25 years. Infectious diseases were responsible for the short lifespan, as they were a scourge for Spanish villages, towns and cities. In addition to this, 1796 saw a fundamental event in the fight against infectious diseases: Jenner’s discovery of antivariol vaccination, which was quickly and favourably known. Infant mortality rates are between 200 and 230 per thousand, with intermediate mortality in regions such as the Balearic Islands, Navarre and Aragon and life expectancy below the Spanish average. The analysis of mortality from the end of the 16th century until the beginning of the demographic transition reveals the existence of trends that favoured the periphery over the interior of the peninsula, becoming more noticeable in the 1860s.

The post Infant mortality in Spain (per thousand children born). 18th century in mainland Spain first appeared on History Lab.

Nuptiality in mainland Spain estimated from the 1787 census

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

The Christian model of marriage and the development of the family constituted a strong common link in European societies. This model was configured as a strongly hierarchical model where the family was the primary institution where the process of culturalisation and socialisation of the child took place. Its importance was reinforced by the fact that it was, from an economic point of view, a unit of consumption. In addition to its sacred and indissoluble character, marriage was assigned stability and rigidity, where the belief system limited women’s actions to the domestic sphere, as they had to take responsibility for the upbringing of their offspring and the care and maintenance of the unit. However, in the northern peninsular area, extensive and polynuclear family aggregates predominated, with an abundance of solitary domestic groups and no family structure. The trunk family in the north and northwest of the Iberian Peninsula was accompanied by patrilocal or matrilocal post-marital residence patterns. The greater presence of the simple family is confirmed in large areas of the peninsular interior, normally associated with hereditary formulas where egalitarian distribution prevailed. In addition to this, Mediterranean Spain is the most difficult to analyse synthetically, although it is a long way from the complex structures found in other areas of Mediterranean Europe. Thus, the Iberian Peninsula, in addition to the complex family and the patrilocal rule, seems to be associated with late marriage -with the exception of Catalonia-. By making it difficult for sons who wished to marry to stay at home, the trunk family invited a certain percentage of men to leave the farm, which is evident in the higher emigration rates in the North and North-West, which increased in the following century. In much of inland Spain and in the south, women married earlier and this was often associated with a strong nuclear predominance. This led to the existence of a system of high demographic pressure with very high levels of fertility and mortality.

The post Nuptiality in mainland Spain estimated from the 1787 census first appeared on History Lab.

Family structure according to house occupancy in Extremadura during 1662-1663

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

During modernity, there was a clear predominance of nuclear families, which were headed by married couples with children and comprised more than a third of the population. Apart from Laslett’s considerations, it is possible to study the functionality of the members who make up families from the time when young people enter into marriage until their dissolution with the death of one of the spouses, including the birth, upbringing or emancipation of children. In this sense, we can see how parents took in their newly married children and vice versa, where widows and widowers needed assistance. In Cabezuela, co-residence between neighbours triples the values obtained following a fiscal count, approaching levels of complexity unbefitting of the geographical context of Extremadura. Given the problem that the sources do not specify the age of the head of the family and their spouses, it is assumed that this is the moment at which the married couple takes in their newly married daughter or son. In this sense, it is observed that the parents and parents-in-law welcome the married couple more than the other way round. Of the 18 houses shared by this type of family in Cabezuela, 13 (72.2%) are owned by the parents and in-laws of the newly married couple. The remaining houses belonging to sons or sons-in-law are always owned by the widowed mothers and mothers-in-law, which is therefore a question of age. Polynuclear families, on the other hand, are the result of two nuclear families with or without children living together and related to each other. Faced with a crisis, the families deployed a series of formulas for fostering, living together and supporting the livelihood of their members, which becomes complex as they fulfil the function of protection.

The post Family structure according to house occupancy in Extremadura during 1662-1663 first appeared on History Lab.