Fábricas - History Lab

Exhibition of playing cards from the Royal Factory of Macharaviaya

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:09 +0000

The Real Fábrica de Naipes was a factory that operated at the end of the 18th century in Macharaviaya (Málaga, Spain), between 1776 and 1815. It was José de Gálvez who, once appointed Minister of the Indies by Charles III and after his return from America in 1772, planned to set up a playing card factory in his native town. Its production was to be destined for the exclusive use of the American colonies. It was thought that the Royal Treasury would benefit greatly from the creation of the factory and Gálvez was very excited about the repercussions that this enterprise would have on his town. However, he did not take into account the lack of raw materials in the area, the lack of infrastructure or the few residents who lived in the village, most of whom were day labourers in the fields and, therefore, without any training to develop this economic activity. At that time, Macharaviaya was also one of the villages in Axarquia with the worst communications with the capital of the province, with scarce labour and little experience in manufacturing work. Without considering these disadvantages, and convinced of the economic benefits for his town, on 12 August 1776 a Royal Decree approved the establishment of the playing card factory. Felix Solecio, a native of Genoa, was appointed director of the factory. The State signed a ten-year contract with him, in which he undertook to use his own capital to pay for the cost of machinery, labour and the premises where the factory was to be established, in exchange for the Crown taking charge of all production. The Royal Decree stated the need to open paper mills in places where there was abundant wood, and this fact contributed decisively to the birth of the town of Arroyo de la Miel. About 60 families came to the village, the majority of whom were Italians, including draftsmen and craftsmen. However, some time later, poor distribution, lack of knowledge of the market and high prices, among other reasons, meant that the factory had to close. The Royal Order of 1815 abolished the tobacco stamp and liberalised the trade in playing cards. This fact and the loss of the American colonies led to the closure of the factory and its sale at public auction for 60,000 reales. The old building of the Real Fábrica de Naipes still stands today, and is occupied by private dwellings.

The post Exhibition of playing cards from the Royal Factory of Macharaviaya first appeared on History Lab.

Amount and distribution of the mandas to the Church of the prebendados of the cathedral of Murcia (1743-1820)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:13 +0000

The concerns of the transmission of the patrimony for the members of the cathedral chapter of Murcia were their own families. Between 1743 and 1820, 52% of the main beneficiaries of the testamentary mandates of the chapter testify to this. However, the moralist treatises and the doctrine of the Church tried to ensure that the distribution favoured the ecclesiastical institution itself and the poor. How was the distribution and amount of the mandates for these items? As a minority with respect to the total inheritance, the main beneficiary was the cathedral factory with 37,700 reales. The hospital of San Juan de Dios also benefited with 13,220 reales and the Casa de la Misericordia with 9,870 reales. All these institutions had in common the assistance to the poor. Below 9,000 reales, we find ecclesiastical entities: convents, parishes or confraternities, the latter with the lowest contribution: 528.

The post Amount and distribution of the mandas to the Church of the prebendados of the cathedral of Murcia (1743-1820) first appeared on History Lab.

The Industrial Revolution

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:48 +0000

3.32 minute video explaining the causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution The educational video, edited by Happy Learning, is aimed at primary school children.

The post The Industrial Revolution first appeared on History Lab.

Las cigarraleras. Madrid, City of Women

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:41 +0000

The video, which is chronologically long, is part of “Madrid, Ciudad de las Mujeres”, a cultural and tourist application where the traces of women in the city of Madrid are recovered http://madridciudaddelasmujeres.es/. As indicated in the presentation on the website, to which we refer for this description, the Real Fábrica de Tabacos de Madrid was originally built as the Real Fábrica de Naipes y Aguardientes until 1809, when Joseph Bonaparte decided to transform it into a tobacco factory. Initially, snuff was produced for the grinding of which male labour was employed, but with the popularisation of the so-called burning tobacco, women began to enter these factories, as they proved to be more skilful and quicker at rolling cigars, they were cheaper labour, and they were supposed to be more docile and submissive. Women gradually replaced the men, making up almost the entire workforce. The tobacco factory became the first feminised industry in Spain and the one with the largest workforce in Madrid. Initially, production was manual, which allowed the cigarette-makers a flexibility in their work that made it easier to combine their working day with all their household chores and care work. Thus, the workshops were at the same time a nursery, a breastfeeding room and a dining room. But the arrival of mechanisation in 1887 transformed everything that had gone before. With a pleasant and informative tone, this 3.35 minute video, like other content on the website, fulfils the objective of learning collective and personal stories, anecdotes and emblematic places in Madrid through the women.

The post Las cigarraleras. Madrid, City of Women first appeared on History Lab.