Godoy - History Lab

The industry

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

In the 18th century, the enlightened project of the Bourbon Monarchy opened the doors of the guilds to women, eliminating the restrictions that had excluded them until then without incorporating new forms of production. From then on, the first public schools for girls from the lower classes were promoted, giving them an essential role in the tasks “proper to their sex” (those related to textiles). The textile workshops were spaces of sociability and mutual support for women who worked 12-14 hour days in less healthy hygienic conditions than the work suggests. Neither age nor health were clear limits to their involvement in the task of spinning linen, cotton, silk or wool, work that took place in factories in rural areas and, especially, in the domestic sphere. Some women became masters in trades linked to the textile industry, such as cordwainers or weavers, although this may be an exception.

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Secondary sector in the council of Avilés, 1797

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

The well-known Godoy Census was a general population count promoted by Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, First Secretary of State and Office of Charles IV. Published in 1801, it provides valuable data that give an insight into the situation of Spain at the end of the Enlightenment. It is not merely demographic in nature, but also economic, being conceived as an improved version of the previous Floridablanca Census. This tool allows a detailed reconstruction of the activities of the manufacturing sector in Avilés at the end of the Ancien Régime. The town provided employment for trades that either did not appear, or did so in a precarious way, in other parts of the region. An important branch of activity was textiles, especially work linked to the linen industry which, despite Campomanes’ wishes, could not lead industrialisation as it was subject to various limitations and foreign competition. With 117 weavers, the domestic manufacture of linen in Aviles was in the hands of women – it should be remembered that one of the great assets of this census is to highlight women’s work. Another textile speciality was tailoring, represented by 40 men and four women. It also included other trades such as footwear, which, together with tailoring, maintained the employment levels of 1753. However, the real specialisation was in copper working or boilermaking. Together with pottery, these set the tone for Avila’s manufactures at the end of the Ancien Régime. Among the coppersmiths, of which there were ten masters, the census included 45 boilermakers and 60 apprentices. The second most active branch was pottery, as most of the potters, located in Miranda, combined this occupation with agricultural work.

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Service sector in the council of Avilés, 1797

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

The well-known Godoy Census was conceived as a tool for the general population count promoted by Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, First Secretary of State and Office of Charles IV. When it was published in 1801, it provided valuable data that gave an insight into the situation in Spain at the end of the 18th century. Its main characteristic is based on economic and not demographic knowledge, as it was drawn up as an improved renewal of the Floridablanca Census. This tool allows a detailed reconstruction of the activities of the manufacturing sector in Avilés at the end of the Ancien Régime. In this sense, the service sector highlighted the key role of trade, as Avilés had a mercantile tradition since the Middle Ages. As it was located in a central position in Asturias, which made it a demander of products, a commercial class was consolidated in the region that covered the supply circuits. One of the groups with a certain weight in the council was the military, as Avilés was the capital of the maritime province of the same name (from Gijón to Castropol). Military administration professions such as troops and sailors – active or retired – and others depended on the Navy Commissioner, Rafel Gómez Roubaud, a personal friend of Godoy. Attention to educational institutions is also relevant, when Asturias was at the bottom of the list in terms of school enrolment: 93.5% were boys and 6.5% girls. Likewise, the census reflects the personnel dependent on the Church, including sacristans, those people who lived with the religious (donados and educandas) next to the buildings destined for worship. Finally, it includes domestic service, the bulk of which was carried out by domestic servants, as it was a fundamentally female job.

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In the Shadow of the Revolution. Memory of Spain

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:59 +0000

Episode 18 of the documentary series “Memories of Spain”. The descriptor that appears on the rtve a la carte website contains the following summary:The Monarchy of Charles IV: Life at Court. The palace intrigues. Godoy, the King’s favourite. The impact of the French Revolution. War with France and changes of alliance. Napoleon’s puppets. The Trafalgar disaster. The American colonies. It is advised by Ricardo García Cárcel and lasts 43:47 minutes

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Godoy’s three women

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:54 +0000

Article by María Pilar Queralt del Hierro published in the magazine Historia y Vida Nº 575 in which she summarises the life of Manuel de Godoy “the most powerful man in the Spain of Charles IV, through the influence of three women: his protector, Queen María Luisa; his wife, the Countess of Chinchón; and his mistress, Pepita Tudó.

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Causes of the Spanish War of Independence

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

3.13-minute video in which the causes that led to the War of Independence are presented schematically and visually. Based on the question “How did the French invasion begin?”, it narrates the relations between Spain and France during the reign of Carlos IV, the mutiny of Aranjuez, the Treaty of Fontainebleau, the abdications of Bayonne, the enthronement of Joseph Bonaparte and the beginnings of the conflict.

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The Spanish War of Independence

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

6.57 minute video on the Spanish War of Independence, created as a didactic resource for the BNEscolar portal of the National Library of Spain

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Ferdinand VII, a bad reign of a lousy king

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:35 +0000

Radio documentary on Ferdinand VII and his reign. Described in his time as “The Desired One” by a people who saw him as a victim of Godoy, first, and Napoleon, later, he is considered one of the worst kings in the history of Spain. Born in 1784, he was the son of Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma. A conspirator against his father, Napoleon took advantage of the weakness and division of the royal family to force the abdication of the crown and hand it over to his brother Joseph. Exiled in France during the War of Independence, he returned to Spain in 1814. As absolute monarch he annulled the Constitution of Cadiz and persecuted the liberals. After Riego’s uprising, he had no choice but to swear the Constitution in 1820 during the so-called Liberal Triennium. Three years later the absolute monarchy was imposed once again, ushering in the Ominous Decade until his death in 1833. In the absence of a son, he repealed the Salic Law so that his daughter, the Infanta Isabella, could accede to the throne. With the Pragmatic Sanction, the Carlists, supporters of the Infante Carlos María Isidro, saw their hopes of succession collapse, provoking a civil war that would continue throughout the 19th century. Modesta Cruz’s documentary features contributions by Emilio La Parra and Juan Francisco Fuentes, as well as Miguel Artola Gallego, a former Prince of Asturias Award winner.

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