Craftswomen in times of change : artisan family strategies in nineteenth century Barcelona

Abstract

Analysing the world of artisan trades in mid-nineteenth-century Barcelona, this paper will focus on the role carried out by craftswomen in workshops and households. Until the triumph of modern capitalist business, traditional production units were a place where production, reproduction and distribution lived together. In this context, women belonging to artisan families played a relevant role in such activities. The present paper, after a long introduction on the artisan economy, proposes to study the origins of these women as well as their contribution to the family businesses. Unlike in modern manufacturing units, in the Barcelona family workshops women were involved not only in the manufacturing of goods, but also in the running of the enterprise, which included having managerial tasks. This was only possible thanks to the tight relationship between craft and family established since the end of 18th century.