D'agremiats a menestrals : els artesans barcelonins de 1814 a 1860

Abstract

The historiography about industrialization has considered artisans as one of the first victims of the moderrnization process which took place at the beginning of the Later Modern Age. However, recent studies have reduced the range and the effects of the Industrial Revolution and, consequently have threatened many of the prevalent assumptions. The present study, focus on the Barcelona craftsmen during the time of the guilds prohibition and the first industrial take off, wants to emphasize the artisans ability in their adaptation to the new social and economic framework. Starting on the analysis of urban environment, from a labor cultures perspective, this work states the relationship of craftsmen with the workers culture, with the reality or unrreality of professional mobility and ends up with the description of those strategies that allowed the survival of these producers grounded onto their small workshop as well as in their peculiar way of producing.