Patrimonio - History Lab https://historylab.es Fri, 20 May 2022 15:16:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://historylab.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-icono-historylab-32x32.jpg Patrimonio - History Lab https://historylab.es 32 32 Genealogy of a family of bureaucrats: the Asenjo de Alcaraz family (1688-1814) https://historylab.es/genealogy-of-a-family-of-bureaucrats-the-asenjo-de-alcaraz-family-1688-1814/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=genealogy-of-a-family-of-bureaucrats-the-asenjo-de-alcaraz-family-1688-1814 Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:36 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/genealogia-de-una-familia-de-burocratas-la-familia-asenjo-de-alcaraz-1688-1814/ Family tree of a family with bureaucratic and administrative offices in Alcaraz (Albacete)

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]]> 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.

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]]> Distribution of the wealth of merchant families in Burgos, 1752-1850 (in reales and percentages of the value of the stock of inventoried goods) https://historylab.es/distribution-of-the-wealth-of-merchant-families-in-burgos-1752-1850-in-reales-and-percentages-of-the-value-of-the-stock-of-inventoried-goods/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=distribution-of-the-wealth-of-merchant-families-in-burgos-1752-1850-in-reales-and-percentages-of-the-value-of-the-stock-of-inventoried-goods Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:07 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/distribucion-de-la-riqueza-patrimonial-de-las-familias-de-comerciantes-de-burgos-1752-1850-en-reales-y-porcentajes-sobre-el-valor-del-stock-de-bienes-inventariados/ Distribution of wealth in Burgos business families

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]]> The city of Burgos during the 18th century, after the long decline suffered since the 1570s, recovered a large part of its demographic numbers, experiencing a 42% increase in population between 1752-1787. The economic recovery experienced in the last third of the 17th century shows a scarce presence of merchants that resurfaced in the following century, derived from the advance of agricultural production based on the increase in cultivated land and commercial development with the new export of wool. Analysing the internal structure of the patrimonial wealth, movable goods comprised 79.9% of the total patrimony, directly related to mercantile activity. After the importance of movable goods, explained by the exercise of the activity, in second place comes the possession and exploitation of livestock with 10.7%, dedicated to personal service, preferably mules for travelling. The third position is occupied by dwellings and complementary dependencies that exemplify the interest of the bourgeoisie in a type of investment considered fundamental for establishing and developing their businesses (houses and markets). As in the national average, the acquisition of farmland was of interest, with 4.4% indicating the family’s inclination towards investments considered attractive not only for their degree of security – as far as investment is concerned – but also for their strong social sense as a mirror of business success.

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]]> Typology of the goods brought to the marriage. Jerez de la Frontera, 18th century https://historylab.es/typology-of-the-goods-brought-to-the-marriage-jerez-de-la-frontera-18th-century/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=typology-of-the-goods-brought-to-the-marriage-jerez-de-la-frontera-18th-century Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:46 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/tipologia-de-los-bienes-llevados-al-matrimonio-jerez-de-la-frontera-siglo-xviii/ Composition and typology of the endowed goods in an Andalusian agricultural locality, marking its economic component and sexual differentiation

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]]> 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.

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]]> Transfer of patrimonial assets by social groups in the province of León (18th century) https://historylab.es/transfer-of-patrimonial-assets-by-social-groups-in-the-province-of-leon-18th-century/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=transfer-of-patrimonial-assets-by-social-groups-in-the-province-of-leon-18th-century Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/transmision-de-bienes-patrimoniales-por-grupos-sociales-de-la-provincia-de-leon-siglo-xviii/ Distribution of inheritances to see the distribution of inheritances according to social groups, analysing the impact of the legitimate, third of improvement and fifth of free disposal in both rural and urban areas

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]]> In the 18th century, different social groups developed different inheritance behaviours. Although Castilian inheritance legislation tended towards equal distribution, there were improvements that could unbalance the amount of inheritance. In El Bierzo, in the families of the Dones or hidalguía, 85.4% of the assets were distributed equally in legitimate, being the improvements of Tercio and Quinto, separately, 0.4% and 0.2% respectively. It was common for both improvements to be combined into one, in what is known as “mejora del tercio y quinto” where, in this case, the percentage rose to 14%. This means that the nobility tended to favour a single member of the family. On the other hand, the bourgeoisie showed heterogeneous behaviour. In El Bierzo, the improvement of the Quinto surpassed that of the Tercio and the Conjuntas, but not the administrative bourgeoisie of the city of León, where the Quinto and the Conjuntas were comparable. The peasantry, together with the commercial bourgeoisie and, above all, the liberal professions, in the city of León, had the highest rate of legitimacy with 93.4%, 95.6% and 100%. The mentality and the patrimonial development of the families was, therefore, very much conditioned by the inheritance: the higher the percentage of legitimate, the greater the egalitarian distribution, while the higher the convergence of the Tercio and the Quinto, the greater the empowerment of one heir over the others.

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]]> The amount of inheritances destined for religious purposes. Sahagún and the city of León in the 18th century https://historylab.es/the-amount-of-inheritances-destined-for-religious-purposes-sahagun-and-the-city-of-leon-in-the-18th-century/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-amount-of-inheritances-destined-for-religious-purposes-sahagun-and-the-city-of-leon-in-the-18th-century Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/cantidad-de-las-herencias-destinadas-a-la-religiosidad-sahagun-y-la-ciudad-de-leon-en-el-siglo-xviii/ Amount destined to the salvation of the soul in wills as a reflection of religiosity in the urban world of the city of León and in the rural world of Sahagún

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]]> Resource oriented to the analysis of the expenses that were made, within the wills, for the burial, funeral and the salvation of the soul of the deceased. These items came out of the fifth of free disposal. The author investigates these deductions by means of the percentage that these expenses represented with respect to the inheritance received by their children. At first, it is noticed that the higher the legitimate, the lower the funeral expenses would be in relation to it. The group of merchants and financiers in the city of León showed the average legitimate per child to be 134,295 reales, with the average funeral expenses being 5,530 (1%). This figure was 1.8% for the administrative and liberal professions bourgeoisie. Finally, the peasantry, with the amount of legitimate patrimony they had at their disposal, the deduction for religiosity was 10%. Thus, the most precarious family economies saw how these expenses affected to a greater extent their capacity for social reproduction and the forging of new family nuclei.

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]]> Hereditary model of the Lower Minho in the 18th century: Caldelas (Tuy) https://historylab.es/hereditary-model-of-the-lower-minho-in-the-18th-century-caldelas-tuy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hereditary-model-of-the-lower-minho-in-the-18th-century-caldelas-tuy Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/modelo-hereditario-del-bajo-mino-en-el-siglo-xviii-caldelas-tuy/ Statistical table analysing the transmission of wealth through inheritance, highlighting the egalitarianism of testamentary mandates. Caldelas, Galicia, in the 18th century

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]]> The different hereditary models help to understand the different demographic models. In this case, the resource analyses the North Atlantic model through the parish of San Martín in Caldelas (Galicia). In the 18th century, in the low-Miñoto model, we do not find a first-born son empowered through inheritance, but a distribution of improvements that affects women more than men. The author highlights a distribution close to hereditary egalitarianism only modelled by small paternal compensations given in exchange for services rendered and to be rendered (38% of the cases) or foundation masses (33%). Consequently, family, social and demographic dynamics (such as migratory movements) favoured radical egalitarianism in the transmission of property.

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]]> Inheritance of free goods to the sons of the León nobility (Aldermen of the city of León) https://historylab.es/inheritance-of-free-goods-to-the-sons-of-the-leon-nobility-aldermen-of-the-city-of-leon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=inheritance-of-free-goods-to-the-sons-of-the-leon-nobility-aldermen-of-the-city-of-leon Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:33 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/herencia-de-bienes-libres-a-los-hijos-de-la-nobleza-leonesa-regidores-de-la-ciudad-de-leon/ Table reflecting the property transfer preferences of the Leonese nobility

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]]> The transmission of property through inheritance was one of the most effective family policies for laying the foundations of social reproduction. The Castilian inheritance system provided the testator with the flexibility to distribute his property equally or to accumulate in one individual a large part of the estate to be inherited. However, the form of inheritance was closely related to the amount of assets at the testator’s disposal. In the case of the noble rulers of the city of León, the sons received 82.4% of the total amounts transmitted by the legitimate; the remaining 17.6% was destined to improvements. Within the improvements, the Quinto de mejora and the Tercio de libre disposición went to a single heir. Although with modest amounts, the Leonese nobility tended to prioritise the unequal transmission of the property, favouring a first-born to avoid its atomisation. The present resource is a sample of the social practices and the differentiated mentality, with a material basis, which was rooted in the different social profiles.

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]]> Amount in reals of free goods transmitted to the children of the León nobility according to gender https://historylab.es/amount-in-reals-of-free-goods-transmitted-to-the-children-of-the-leon-nobility-according-to-gender/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=amount-in-reals-of-free-goods-transmitted-to-the-children-of-the-leon-nobility-according-to-gender Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:33 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/cantidad-en-reales-de-bienes-libres-transmitidos-a-los-hijos-de-la-nobleza-leonesa-segun-el-sexo/ Data analysing the distribution of free assets in inheritances according to sex and testator's preference

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]]> The resource deals with the hereditary strategy of the town councillors of the city of León during the 18th and half of the 19th century. The author shows how a first-born child, male or female, was favoured to the detriment of the other offspring. Thus, we can see that the amounts of free designation received by the lucky ones could be up to three times that of the rest of the siblings. However, in most cases, the amounts of difference were modest: with the legitimate share balanced, the free disposal assets hardly represented a significant contribution.

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]]> Number of lawsuits for guardianships and curatorships in the Chancillerías of Valladolid and Granada. 16th-18th centuries https://historylab.es/number-of-lawsuits-for-guardianships-and-curatorships-in-the-chancillerias-of-valladolid-and-granada-16th-18th-centuries/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=number-of-lawsuits-for-guardianships-and-curatorships-in-the-chancillerias-of-valladolid-and-granada-16th-18th-centuries Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:33 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/cantidad-de-pleitos-por-tutorias-y-curadurias-en-las-chancillerias-de-valladolid-y-granada-siglos-xvi-xviii/ Table discerning the number of lawsuits between the two Castilian Chancillerías according to the century

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]]> The administration of a minor’s assets could be part of the social and family conflict if the guardians or curators did not fulfil their commitments. Between 1501 and 1799, 1,207 lawsuits were recorded in the Crown of Castile in relation to this issue. The casuistic differences between the different jurisdictions meant that, while in the Chancillería de Valladolid the number of lawsuits was concentrated in the 16th century (45.5% of them), decreasing during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chancillería de Granada suffered an inverse evolution, going from 17.9% in the 16th century to 49.3% in the 18th century. However, both Chancillerías had in common that the lawsuits were mostly against curators and not against guardians. In terms of motivations, the author summarises that lawsuits brought by guardians or curators in defence of the interests of the minors in their care amounted to 58%, while those aimed at the diminution or disintegration of the patrimony were close to 50%.

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]]> Typology of litigation by guardianships at the Chancery of Valladolid https://historylab.es/typology-of-litigation-by-guardianships-at-the-chancery-of-valladolid/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=typology-of-litigation-by-guardianships-at-the-chancery-of-valladolid Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:33 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/tipologia-de-litigios-por-tutorias-en-la-chancilleria-de-valladolid/ Table categorising the typology of litigation by guardianship of the Chancery of Valladolid, where more than half are for economic-material reasons

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]]> The causes of litigation involving curators and guardians of minors during the Modern Age were very varied, but concentrated in a few types. The main cause of litigation was related to the restitution of property to minors, i.e. the accountability of the administrator towards the minor. In the Chancillería de Valladolid, out of 179 litigations for guardianships compiled by the author, this cause accounted for 30.2% of the total, followed by lawsuits between guardians and curators for maladministration (11.7%) and by problems related to inheritances and parental accounts (10.6%). Far behind are, for example, resignations of guardianships (3 cases out of 179), or the guardian’s squandering of the minor’s inheritance (2 out of 179). In sum, financial and material conditions accounted for more than half of the guardianship disputes.

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