Artisan migrations, guilds and late industrialization in Madrid, 1750-1850

Abstract

This paper examines the artisans’ labour markets which were developed in Madrid from 1700 to 1834, relying on a collection of nearly 10,000 guild entries that have been gathered so far. As these instruments register the new masters’ place of birth, they allow us to get a more accurate picture of both their origins and how these changed over time in various urban guilds. The outcome of this study demonstrates that, contrary to the inbreeding nature traditionally attributed to early modern craft guilds, a good number of them were able to reproduce themselves by receiving journeymen who were not born in Madrid. These findings thus agree with the renovating labour history current known as “the return of the guilds”.