Testamentos - History Lab

The evolution of old age in Fermoselle (1750-1825)

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

The stage of old age in the rural world had a series of basic needs that needed to be covered and prepared for as long as they enjoyed a certain level of health. These people of 60 or more years of age used to design strategies by means of cessions and donations to close relatives to ensure their own survival during this hard stage of life.
The evolution of the group during the second half of the 18th century is striking, as its quantitative growth did not slow down until the first quarter of the 19th century. Throughout the seventeenth century, the growth in the data can be considered to be due to the fact that these individuals had already overcome the demographic crisis of the previous century, marking a new generation that was better fed and had more adequate health care facilities for their needs, which led to a striking population expansion of this group of elderly people.
In the 19th century, the growth trend of the previous century continued, but was cut short in 1804 due to the mortality crises that devastated Fermoselle between 1804 and 1812, especially affecting the weakest people, including the elderly.

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Relatives to whom inheritance improvements are given. Albacete, 1760s.

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

The sample shown refers to the testamentary mandates that determined the inheritance of individuals. Despite the supposedly egalitarian inheritance, characteristic of the Castilian area, six out of every ten deeds contained an imbalance that broke with equality by improving certain family members. Of these, 31% were destined for sons and daughters, and of these, there is a greater predominance of males than females. With 17%, it was the servants who obtained an improvement, a significant fact as it reveals bonds of solidarity beyond the mercantile contract between master and servant. At the other end of the scale, only 4% of those who bequeathed more to their siblings were clerics, subject to celibacy, who bequeathed their possessions to siblings and nephews; and parents, with 9%. In the latter case, it was usually the children who died prematurely, without offspring, who improved their parents’ estates. It should be noted that improvements in inheritances were not produced as a means of ostensibly improving a child or relative, but as a type of compensation based on affection, work carried out or esteem. In short, despite the existence of improvements, they do not have a value that decisively breaks the egalitarian inheritance.

The post Relatives to whom inheritance improvements are given. Albacete, 1760s. first appeared on History Lab.

Goods bought in rural auction houses in León according to the socio-professional category of the buyers (1700-1850)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:25 +0000

Thanks to the sale of the Leonese almonedas of the 18th century and first half of the 19th century, the socio-professional category of the buyers can be analysed and the typology of the goods acquired by each of these groups during the proceedings of these public second-hand markets can also be ascertained.
The consumption of these pre-industrial societies remains a question that is gradually coming to light, especially through the documentation contained in the postmortem inventories, as well as the way in which these neighbours came into possession of the goods contained in them. These elements are even more characteristic of the rural world, with documentation that has fewer records but which also shows the interest in basic consumer products, far removed from those related to luxury, which could be found more in the cities.
All in all, rural peasant families went to the auctions in search of livestock for 63.6% of the total value of purchases, followed by farm implements with 8.4%, that is to say, means and tools that were essential for their agricultural economies. In the case of parish priests, 52.3% of the purchases were for personal clothing and almost 23% for household furniture. The trend of acquiring personal clothing is also followed by priests and the rest of the neighbours whose profession is not specified, looking more specifically for clothes belonging to deceased clergy.

The post Goods bought in rural auction houses in León according to the socio-professional category of the buyers (1700-1850) first appeared on History Lab.

Testamentary practices of Salamancan servants (1601-1650)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:13 +0000

Attitudes to death are a reflection of the mentality of the time. Between 1601 and 1650, the 106 wills compiled by the author for the socio-professional group of servants in Salamanca give us a clear picture: the majority of servants were women (75% as opposed to 25% men). Despite the predominance of women, only 2.5% were able to sign, while in the male group this rises to 23%. Women were more likely to make offerings (47.5%), to leave their master as executor (57.7%) and their soul as heir (57.5%). The deep religiosity that permeated Ancien Régime society was also evident among male servants. Indeed, up to 38.5% offered their inheritance to their soul to ensure their welfare beyond the earthly life through masses and offices for the souls. It was also common for them to ask to be accompanied at their funeral by a clergyman or by a religious institution, such as the confraternities.

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Burial place of the Salamancan servants (1601-1650)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:13 +0000

The servants of Salamanca between 1601 and 1650 were predisposed to be buried in the church, followed by places not yet determined, convents or hospitals. This attitude to death is conditioned both by the mentality of the time and by the socio-economic characteristics of the group to which they belonged. Why in the Church? The motivations identified by the author reflect, firstly, the family conscience, as their ancestors were buried there, and secondly, the lower economic cost, as it was cheaper than the other options. Those buried in convents either had a relationship of dependence on them, being servants of these institutions, or had devotions to certain religious orders, which is why there was a higher percentage of men than women who chose this option: 26.9% compared to 22.5%. However, many of the testators (23.75% of women and 34.6% of men) did not specify the place of burial, leaving the choice to their executors, where relatives and masters were the most common choices.

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The amount of inheritances destined for religious purposes. Sahagún and the city of León in the 18th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000

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.

The post The amount of inheritances destined for religious purposes. Sahagún and the city of León in the 18th century first appeared on History Lab.

Contributions to marriage in the Sierra de Alcaraz according to wills (18th century)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:27 +0000

Wills, like wills and letters of dowry, were another way of contributing movable and immovable property to the marriage. Being a much more widespread practice than dowry deeds, their information is of great importance. From the set of wills studied for the Sierra de Alcaraz (province of Albacete) in the 18th century, we found that in around 35-45% of the cases the contracting parties had contributed something to the marriage. Of the total cases, 41.3% had brought no more than 500 reales, a small figure compared to the average: 3,566 reales. In terms of gender, women contributed more frequently than men, but their value was lower than that of men (averages of 2,687.5 versus 5,170.9 reais). The differentiation between men and women was also determined by what they contributed; while men tended to give tools linked to agricultural work (tools, chickens, small livestock or grain), women’s goods corresponded to the domestic sphere (clothes, frying pans, beds…). Affective relationships within the family were evident when the kinsmen helped their maidens with goods. In the same way, friends could contribute to the dowry of the woman, although these cases were more widespread the higher the social and economic status of the bride’s family.

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Typology of the heirs in the Sierra de Alcaraz in the 18th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:27 +0000

The transmission of property is fundamental to explain the material perpetuation of families. In most cases, children were designated as heirs, although in their absence, the property was passed on to other members of the family. Of the cases studied for the Sierra de Alcaraz, in the province of Albacete, in the 18th century almost 85% of the inheritances were destined to children, followed by spouses (9%), siblings (6.9%), grandchildren (4.6%) and nephews and nieces (3.3%). The data provided by the Sierra de Alcaraz follow the practices of the egalitarian model of the Castilian inheritance system; a descending level of transmission and with relative equivalences between men and women (53.76% and 46.24% respectively). In terms of matrimonial status, in the transmission of assets, an attempt was made to put unmarried children on an equal footing with gifted children if they had married, so that the eldest son did not benefit more than the others as a general rule. On the contrary, younger children could be given advantages because they had not yet left the family nucleus and were able to help with the work or assist the testators when they were ill. If the children were young, the spouses were appointed curators and usufructuaries or, in their absence, the closest relatives.

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