Transmission of the patrimonial assets of the León bourgeoisie, 18th and 19th centuries

Marriage contributions and the transmission of wealth through inheritance were the two main methods of perpetuating the family in the social group and promoting its promotion if conditions were favourable. This resource deals with the latter aspect: the transmission of the patrimonial assets of bourgeois families in the city of León between the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. The bourgeoisies that the authors deal with are the commercial, administrative and liberal professionals. Together, the distribution of inheritances followed the Castilian system of inheritance; egalitarian. The liberal professional sector reproduced it in this way. However, within the Castilian framework, there was also the possibility of empowering an heir through the tercio de mejora and the quinto de libre disposición. Thus, the administrative bourgeoisie opted for the joint improvement of the third and fifth to one of the scions, leaving the total of the legitimate inheritance at 92.1%. The merchants followed the same trend, but with more attenuated values (95.6% of legitimate shares). In short, the distributions were fairly equitable in quantitative terms, but not in terms of the quality of the inheritance, because although the value tended to be the same, the business and the house went to a single first-born male.

Collection: Statistics

Project: 3. Rural world and urban world in the formation of the European identity., 4. Family, daily life and social inequality in Europe.

Chronology: XVIII, XIX

Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University

Link: https://revistas.usal.es/index.php/Studia_Historica/article/view/9108/9346

Resource type: Statistics

Format: Table

Source: Bartolomé Bartolomé, J. M. y García Fernández, M. (2011). "Patrimonios urbanos, patrimonios burgueses. Herencias tangibles y transmisiones inmateriales en la Castilla interior", en Studia Historica, vol. 33, p. 53.

Language: Spanish

Date: 2011

Owner: Pablo Ballesta Fernández (Modernalia)

Abstract: Table showing the mentality of social reproduction through the distribution of property through inheritance in the city of León. The profiles dealt with are the bourgeoisie in its facets of merchants, administrators and liberal professionals during the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century

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