ocio - History Lab https://historylab.es Fri, 20 May 2022 14:58:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://historylab.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-icono-historylab-32x32.jpg ocio - History Lab https://historylab.es 32 32 Masked dance https://historylab.es/masked-dance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=masked-dance Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/baile-en-mascara/ Representation of a masked ball held, probably, at the Teatro del Príncipe in Madrid, painted by Luis Paret and Alcázar around 1767.

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]]> The image represents the celebration of a masked ball, probably the masked ball held in 1767 at the Teatro del Príncipe in Madrid. In the boxes, a large audience is watching the spectacle of the crowd dancing in the stalls. The feeling of nocturnal festivity and the energy of the mass of people can also be perceived, as these celebrations were awaited with great joy by the population. We know that from the 15th century onwards a variety of entertainment activities, such as court ballet and theatrical performances, were held at royal and stately courts, to which were added new events such as balls and parties known as “saraos”, where knights and ladies danced. However, for the popular classes during the Ancien Régime, the carnival became the most desired festivity, which went hand in hand with other activities held in public squares such as games, competitions, theatres and dances, among others. What was most novel was the curious relationship that was established between the dances and the carnival, giving rise to the masked balls. These celebrations were banned on successive occasions by monarchs such as Philip V, in order to curb disorder and the violence inherent to carnival. In 1767, his son, Charles III, granted permission to hold masked balls, provided that they were held in enclosed premises and complied with a series of strict behavioural measures. As Clara Bejarano Pellicer (2009) explains, the masked ball was nothing more than a proposal for celebrating carnival, alien to Spanish and popular customs, which had a strong courtly influence. For the development of these, in the aforementioned year of 1767 the Instrucción para la concurrencia de bailes de mascara en el carnaval was published in Madrid, where the celebration of these festivities was regulated, with an evident aim of reforming the most irrational customs typical of carnival and popular culture, in order to propose a more refined, literate culture. It should be noted that while the carnival was a festival in which all social classes took an active part, with the plebs playing a leading role, the masked ball implied a privatisation of the festival, as not everyone could attend, as they had to pay an entrance fee, which limited access only to the middle and upper strata of society, thus avoiding the presence of the lower classes. These spaces became spaces for enjoyment, but also for socialising and exhibition.

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]]> Craftsmen. Individuals and rents in Ecija in the mid-18th century https://historylab.es/craftsmen-individuals-and-rents-in-ecija-in-the-mid-18th-century/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=craftsmen-individuals-and-rents-in-ecija-in-the-mid-18th-century Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/artesanado-individuos-y-rentas-en-ecija-a-mediados-del-siglo-xviii/ Craft production in the town of Ecija in the 18th century

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]]> The growth of Ecija led it to become a town of second rank within the southern urban network, serving as a connecting element between the large cities and the rural areas. Despite the importance of the agricultural sector, where craftsmen were involved in the processing of cotton introduced at the beginning of the 18th century in the market gardens, the craftsmen made up an important group divided into nine sectors. In order to determine the overall data, the table shows the total income of each sector, taking into account the annual salaries at a rate of 120 days per year, the yield of the artisans’ shops (if any) and the machinery (mills, ovens, fulling mills, presses…). The largest contingent is that of workers in the textile sector, which represents 32.05%, followed by extractive works with 19.64% and tanneries with 12.13%. These three sub-sectors account for two thirds of the workers, although their labour importance does not exactly correspond to their contribution to the sector’s income. Despite the high level reached by the textile industry in the 17th century, during the 18th century it experienced a certain decline. During the 17th century, due to competition from foreign cloth, the textile manufactures in cities such as Seville and Cordoba moved to rural areas, free of guild restrictions, which meant that contracting conditions were freer. From the first decades of the 18th century, urban industries were reactivated thanks to the regenerated Indian trade.

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