Oficios - 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.

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The powers of a corregidor: the case of Ramírez de Villaescusa, 1492-1501

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:56 +0000

As royal officials, the corregidores were responsible for justice, mediation and government. They were one of the most important figures in the defence of the interests of the monarchy in the large towns. The case presented by the author is the attributions of the corregidor of Valladolid, Alonso Ramírez de Villaescusa, between 1492 and 1501. A compilation of 60 systematised documents gives evidence of his actions: the majority were executions in acts of concord or justice (28% of cases), followed by acting as mediator (25%), management of the office (18%), taxation (13%), or information and enquiries (7%). He was answerable to the Crown, and it was he who looked after the interests of the Crown in the city of Valladolid, although he also used privileged information and legal means to his advantage: he denounced Enrique de Dueñas, who was condemned for usury as a possible Jewish convert; however, the lawsuit did not prosper in favour of the corregidor and Enrique was acquitted. However, the corregidor’s aim was not to strip the accused of his property and defenestrate him socially, but to obtain part of the penalties imposed and to improve his own wealth.

The post The powers of a corregidor: the case of Ramírez de Villaescusa, 1492-1501 first appeared on History Lab.

Genealogy of the Fernández de Moratín family in Madrid (17th-19th century)

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

This genealogy reconstructs the Fernández de Moratín family from their arrival in Madrid from the Lugar de Moratín (Asturias) until the Napoleonic invasion. The silversmith’s work was strongly linked to the surname from the time of their establishment at the Madrid court, and they even became part of the guardhouse of Queen Isabella of Farnese. Subsequently, and in the heat of the socio-political transformations that characterised Spain between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the family strategies were oriented towards the relationship with intellectual and administrative sectors of the capital, with prominent figures such as the writer Leandro Fernández de Moratín and the politician Gumersindo Fernández de Moratín, cousin of the former, among others.

The post Genealogy of the Fernández de Moratín family in Madrid (17th-19th century) first appeared on History Lab.

Fragment of the genealogy of the Gálvez de Antequera family (18th century)

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

In this fragment of the genealogy of the Gálvez family, based in Antequera since the end of the 17th century, we can observe the intergenerational transmission of the craftsman’s trade ascribed to the surname, in this case, circumscribed to goldsmith work. It should be pointed out that, despite the stereotyping of craftsmanship, we do not always find a transmission as accentuated as that visible in the case of the Gálvez family, so that, although some families did operate under these reproductive criteria, we cannot generalise without first contextualising the economic and social environment in which it took place.

The post Fragment of the genealogy of the Gálvez de Antequera family (18th century) first appeared on History Lab.

Genealogy of a family of bureaucrats: the Asenjo de Alcaraz family (1688-1814)

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

Enrichment and social advancement were the leitmotiv of many families. Although social mobility was very controlled in the Ancien Régime, it did exist. An example of this is the Asenjo family of Alcaraz (Albacete). The genealogy of this family shows us how marriage strategies, social networks and kinship helped to achieve patrimony. Beginning with the union of Isabel Galdón, a native of Alcaraz, with Pedro Asenjo, a native of Las Navas del Marqués (Ávila) in 1688, the family created parallel branches that intertwined throughout the 18th century. Pedro Asenjo was notary public of Alcaraz in 1703; his first son Juan was also a notary public, while the second, Pedro, was a clergyman of minors. It was Juan who married into the well-positioned Vargas Machuca family, and by 1753 he had accumulated a large amount of wealth that made him one of the leading cattle ranchers and farmers in the region. Based on their good social and economic status, the Asenjo family’s marriage policies were oriented in three directions: to get closer to public offices and positions; to reinforce those already established within the family; and to place some of their children in the clergy. This last route had a twofold objective: to ensure that the children would pursue a career within a privileged estate and that, with celibacy, the assets of the same would return to the family nucleus, thus concentrating the patrimony once again and avoiding its atomisation.

The post Genealogy of a family of bureaucrats: the Asenjo de Alcaraz family (1688-1814) first appeared on History Lab.

Dressing in the French style according to the occupations of young people in Madrid, 1751-1800

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

During the second half of the 18th century, young people in Madrid showed a change in trends with respect to the professional groups who wore French garments. If at the beginning of the century it was the military, nobles and officers of the Royal Household who most used Gallic clothing, the “fashion” gradually spread to the bourgeois classes linked to education, technical competence, security, doctors and apothecaries. Twenty percent of this group was now above the military, the nobility and the Royal Household (4%, 5% and 6% respectively), as well as clerks, businessmen and those connected with the guilds and crafts. Overall, French-style dress became the fashion throughout the 18th century.

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The post Dressing in the French style according to the occupations of young people in Madrid, 1751-1800 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.

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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.

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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