Historia social - History Lab

The parish as a central space of social life

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

Once the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula for Catholicism was over, new churches and parishes were founded, some where there was already a mosque, others in the central areas of the new population centres that arose. This process of parochialisation had the greatest impact on the configuration of the new Christian society. In the Modern Age, rural communities had the parish as their geographical and social centre, a space that reflected, on the one hand, the political and religious order and, on the other hand, the central point from which to orientate themselves: being in the world. The drawings shown are examples that the author of the resource proposes as forms of representation of the local community, that is, of the very conception of space in the form of churches. Gójar and Calicasas (Granada) were depicted in the Ensenada Cadastre (1753-1754) in the same way that Tomás López, as early as 1786-1789, received a sketch for his Relaciones Geográficas: a church surrounded by houses which, like satellites, mark the form of the structure of the space of the municipality or place. All this reflects the prevailing profound mentality of modernity, which imprinted its everyday values on society.

The post The parish as a central space of social life first appeared on History Lab.

Percentage of households with servants in Galicia (1752)

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

The evolution of family economies during the Modern Age was closely linked to the existence of servants. Local elites relied on this type of labour force, either for domestic help or for agricultural or livestock work. The most disadvantaged and dispossessed in the social stratification of the Ancien Régime tended to be the servants; thus, there were relations of master-servant dependency based on labour power and trust. The resource shows the territorial distribution of households with servants in Galicia in the mid-18th century. The author identifies the two areas with a notable presence of servants: inland Galicia, where 22.5% of households had at least one servant, and northern Galicia, with 17%. In inland Galicia, urban centres had more households with servants: near Monforte de Lesmos, the parishes of Santa María Sabadelle, Santa María de Baamorto and Santa María de Tuiriz had 29%, 30% and 31% respectively. The labour needs of the pazos hidalgos, of the clergy lands and of the rectories explain the differences in the demand in the labour market for servants, although there were equally important factors, such as ecological, economic and land ownership.

The post Percentage of households with servants in Galicia (1752) first appeared on History Lab.

Jebo or villager from the vicinity of Bilbao

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:41 +0000

The following engraved print omits any reference to the draughtsman. The original engraving belongs to the fifth booklet, published between 1779 and 1783. Separate print from: Cruz Cano and Juan de la Olmedilla (1734-1790), depicts the image of a villager or also known as “jebo”, which according to Emiliano de Arriaga’s Lexicon of Bilbao means “villager”, i.e. a stocky young man, with rough manners and forms, but with a noble and honourable background. There is an abundance of soft colours, with red standing out among the more muted tones. The shaded lines also stand out, showing the figure’s pose. The background of the image shows no elements, and the sparse vegetation gives the landscape a certain static character, making the main figure stand out even more.

The post Jebo or villager from the vicinity of Bilbao first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of the proportion of those sponsored by an ecclesiastic in the diocese of Lugo. 16th-19th centuries

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

Patronage was used as a strategy to create and strengthen the social networks of families. After the Council of Trent, two models of godparenthood were allowed by the Church: individual, or in pairs, the latter consisting of a man and a woman. The Council itself intended to discourage godparents from being clerics; however, there was no rejection of ecclesiastics in the diocese of Lugo; on the contrary, their election increased during the following centuries. The period with the highest percentage was in the transition from the 17th to the 18th century, when ecclesiastics were the godparents of 12% of the total number of the baptised. Subsequently, the levels of spiritual affiliation decreased to 1% at the end of the 19th century. The author argues that, during the peak years of godparenting, parish clergy were seen as equals in the community where two factors converged: they could benefit from mutual agricultural help and religious training. The decline is explained by demographic and sociological factors: first, as the population increased during the 18th century, families had more options to build neighbourly relationships of fidelity, to the detriment of the clergy. Second, the number of ecclesiastics also increased, causing them to be viewed negatively as the number of burdens increased and they were perceived as agents who no longer belonged to their social group.

The post Evolution of the proportion of those sponsored by an ecclesiastic in the diocese of Lugo. 16th-19th centuries 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.

Female widowhood in the Kingdom of Granada in 1787 according to the Floridablanca Census. Data in %

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

This map shows the percentages of female widowhood in the kingdom of Granada at the end of the 18th century using as a basis the information from the Floridablanca Census (1787). This census is considered to be one of the most complete of the Enlightenment, as the information it collects is structured on the basis of knowledge of the population by means of the following questions: according to type of accommodation and sex; classification by marital status, age and sex; classification by occupation; number of charitable and health centres; and religious communities. As can be seen from the map, the differences between the different regions stand out, where the figure barely exceeds 8% in towns belonging to Almeria, while values close to 15% are reached in areas of Malaga. Thus, the data shown indicate the greater weight of widowed women in the Malaga region. Undoubtedly, there are several factors that influence this issue, among them the greater or lesser access to remarriage, as well as the incidence of high male immigration caused mainly by the enrolment at sea.

c028fb37c479e2f71384c3a50e1da0e01-1 Download

The post Female widowhood in the Kingdom of Granada in 1787 according to the Floridablanca Census. Data in % first appeared on History Lab.

Life cycle and peasantry in the Sierra de Alcaraz (1753)

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

One of the most characteristic groups due to their mobility and social reproduction during the Modern Age were the labour and livestock labourers. The large number of this profession, together with that of labourer and farm labourer, marked the labour activities for young people up to 35 years of age in the Sierra de Alcaraz, a study area in central-southern Spain. Why did it increase so much up to that age? These activities were a good way to enter the world of work. Of the three dominant professional groups, from the age of 35 onwards, it was the young men who abandoned their work the most to seek another livelihood, normally sponsored by the clientele networks they had acquired in their old trade, while the day labourers and farm labourers remained relatively stable until the age of 45. This structure is influenced by the life cycles of the protagonists; the departure from the family nucleus, where many of the young men’s own tasks were carried out, led them to seek another form of independent life.

The post Life cycle and peasantry in the Sierra de Alcaraz (1753) first appeared on History Lab.

Adaptation strategies of the nobility: the Fernández de Córdoba family (15th-19th centuries)

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

The aristocratic elites sought to perpetuate themselves in power from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period. The lineage of the Fernández de Córdoba, with almost 50 families, is an example of the strategies they articulated in order to maintain or increase their status. The resource shows the main positions in the high administration held by this lineage over 5 centuries. From the 15th to the 18th century, they predominated in the Councils (in a range of 72.2% at the beginning of modernity and 42.2% in the following century). In the 18th century, as the author points out, in absolute terms, the weight of this lineage in the administration declined as a result of the arrival of the Bourbons to the Spanish throne. The Bourbons displaced the traditional elites and placed the like-minded in an exercise of political control. The Fernández de Córdoba family arrived in the 19th century weakened but, with the new winds of change, they were able to adapt to the period of transition between the Old Regime and the New Liberal State; 51.4% of the lineage’s political posts were concentrated in the positions of senators and deputies. Not only were they oriented towards high administration, this lineage also proliferated in the local elite and in the clergy; forms of social reproduction based on marriages with strong families and on avoiding the atomisation of property during its hereditary transmission.

The post Adaptation strategies of the nobility: the Fernández de Córdoba family (15th-19th centuries) first appeared on History Lab.

Typology of the goods brought to the marriage. Jerez de la Frontera, 18th century

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

The dowry, a form in which the contracting parties contributed movable and immovable property to the marriage in order to have a patrimonial base, was one of the strategies used by families to make their members attractive and thus be able to position them in the best social esteem. The resource shows the typology of the dowry property, according to the sex that provided it, in Jerez de la Frontera during the 18th century. The diversity and composition of the dowry reflects the main roles of each sex: men most frequently provided housing (36%), money (28%), shops (12%), livestock (44%), land (40%), agricultural products (20%) and work equipment (36%); while women offered clothing (47%), jewellery (24%) and land (24%). The man-woman, work-home dichotomy in the patrimonial contribution served as a social cushion for the family. While the contribution of land and cultivation provided the new household with economic consolidation, with work opportunities for future offspring and the acquisition of its own resources, the clothes, money and furniture brought by the woman created the physical home itself. As the author points out, the study of dowry also reflects the socio-professional composition of the municipality. In this case, the large amount of land, although brought to the marriage in small tracts of maximum 2 hectares, shows the clear agricultural orientation of the locality.

The post Typology of the goods brought to the marriage. Jerez de la Frontera, 18th century first appeared on History Lab.

Spain in the Modern Age

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:11 +0000

Didactic application for students in the Third Cycle of Primary Education, which includes the 5th and 6th grades, with students aged between 10 and 12 years old. The didactic units that are addressed during these courses deal with exciting topics such as the discovery of America, the round-the-world trip, the Catholic Monarchs, the reigns of Charles V and Philip II, an introduction to the Renaissance and some introductory lines to the different scientific advances. The application includes learning exercises on the Modern History of Spain. There are several self-completion activities, activities to check the correct answer, crossword puzzles or to answer short questions.

The post Spain in the Modern Age first appeared on History Lab.