Economic History Guilds, Trade, Taxes

The earliest alchemical texts have an Egyptian provenance and date to the Roman period. Surprisingly little attention is given to the socio-cultural contexts of the craftsmen who produced them. This paper argues that alchemy originated in the Egyptian priesthood among temple metallurgists who were responsible for making cultic objects. Access to metallurgical recipes was restricted, but with the rise of trade guilds in the Roman period, craft secrets began to circulate more freely. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that these economic shifts are the best explanation for the emergence of alchemical texts in Roman Egypt.

The most important scenes of the medieval trade were markets and staples, where Hungarian and foreign merchants as well turned up regularly. Examining these institutions together can provide us a more complete picture about the trade system encompassing the whole of the Hungarian Kingdom in the Middle Ages.
The first chapter of the book contains the history of the medieval markets, starting with examining the natural and economic-geographical factors of the emergence of markets. Following this, certain types of fairs (daily, weekly and annual markets) are categorized, linking together their names appearing in different Latin and German sources. From the market types, forum liberum had be dealt with special attention, as – according to the relevant literature –there are different, sometimes even contradictory opinions about its interpretation. Analyzing the days of the fairs and markets, the relations of the weekly and annual fairs in a settlement, the competition among the markets situated close to each other, and the methods applied for judging the disputes, the system of the markets of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom can be explored. The “mile right” (of German origin, Bannmeilenrecht) – which meant that a settlement had an exclusive right of a certain privilege within a certain distance – connected to not only the history of markets is discussed in a subchapter with examples of its practical implementation. Enumeration of the revenues deriving from the fairs (first of all, market tolls) illustrates clearly why taking out market permission from the ruler was significantly useful for a settlement. The crowd gathering for the fairs provided opportunity for developing habits and customs not connected to trade; first of all the practice of proclaiming matters of public interest is presented, detailing separately the cases when the three-market proclamation extended not only one, but two or three counties, as well as cases when it meant only two, or more than three fairs. Finally, other functions of the market place (e.g. executions, town halls) are also investigated.
The greater part of the book is constituted by the second chapter, which examines the trade staples and staple rights – which was called “árumegállító jog” by the previous relevant hungarian literature – in the Hungarian Kingdom. Arbitrating the dispute between the denomination of “lerakatjog” and “árumegállító jog” can be facilitated with examining the Latin and German phrases appeared in the sources. At the same time, the trade repository or depot (e.g. salt or wine) is to be distinguished from the staple right. The book lists all the towns that acquired staple right in the Middle Ages, and the ones that could have this right although there are no written documents about it in the period under review. The privilege of the staple right could be broadened or narrowed, which several times was effected by the feud among different towns. After these, the rights accompanying the staple rights are shown, which were held by the settlements having staple rights but were not part of that privilege, as other settlements, too, could have them, e.g. mandatory roads, transfer right etc.
The appendix of the book contains a database that lists the market places of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom, defining the days of the weekly fairs and the time of the annual fair of the settlements, and also the time of the first occurrence of the fairs. The database enumerating 800 market places is supplemented with an annexed map.

""Malgré un paysage rural marqué par l'aridité du climat, des conditions de vie âpres et difficiles et un peuplement dispersé qui ignore le rassemblement en village, l'Islande médiévale a su produire une institution originale, les hreppar. Cette organisation que nous traduirons en français par "communauté d'habitants" offre un modèle unique d'assistance aux pauvres et de solidarité rurale dans l'ensemble du monde nordique. L'institution obéit à des codes très précis, comme l'atteste la section consacrée aux indigents, dans le recueil de loi rédigé en langue vernaculaire (vieil-islandais) et connu sous le nom de Grágás. On y apprend par exemple que les membres se réunissent deux fois par an pour célébrer une libation et un festin rituel et offrir des "dons de nourriture" (matgjafir) aux indigents.

Le présent article reprend le dossier concernant l'origine des hreppar tout en proposant une nouvelle explication tenant compte d'autres structures contemporaines, comme les ghildes norvégiennes ou anglo-saxonnes et les institutions charitables de l'Église. L'introduction de la dîme et sa codification au tournant du XIe siècle semble marquer la véritable naissance du hreppur comme organisation de secours mutuel et d'assistance, offrant un encadrement des individus les plus pauvres et leur permettant de survivre malgré leur précarité.

L'article ne s'occupera que de la première phase de développement des hreppar. Il ne prendra pas en compte les développements ultérieurs des communautés d'habitants, notamment en rapport avec la nouvelle société seigneuriale qui se développe dans l'Islande du XIIIe siècle.""

Chitvel village (Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh) is situated in between two centres of intense political and economic activity during medieval times: the Vijayanagar capital at Hampi and the port cities of the south eastern coast. The village sits between the Sheshachalam Hills and the Velikondas the southern portion of the Kadapa basin. This location, extending from the Chatravathi River to the Cheyyeru River is known historically as " Renadu " (7,000 villages). The Telugu Cholas incorporated Renadu, but were eventually driven out by the Pallavas. The Chola‐descended Matli chiefs maintained administrative control in Renadu and eventually formed a dependency of the Vijayangar Empire. The Matli chiefs sought to profit from the trade connecting Nellore district and Ballari. Trade in the eastern coastal region known as Rayalseema led to intense struggles to control the eastern coast. The resultant construction of Siddhavattam Fort provided the Matli ruler of Chitvel with a strategic vantage point along this trade route. Present‐day roads connecting Kadapa to Nellore pass through Chitvel village and cross the Velikondas. Although this road was constructed by the Public Works division of the Madras Presidency, the presence of a Vijayanagar Gopuram in the village's temple to Varadaraja Swamy may indicate the possibility of an older route connecting Chitvel to the densely‐populated Nellore district, allowing for the smooth passage of trade goods from Siddhavattam Fort to the coastal ports of Krishnapatnam.

The apothecary occupied a liminal position in early modern society between profit and healing. Finding ways to distance their public image from trade was a common problem for apothecaries across Europe. This article uses the case of a Bolognese apothecary, Filippo Pastarino, to address the question of how early modern apothecaries chose to represent themselves to political authorities and to the wider public. ‘Mercy’, alongside ‘craft’, was a pillar of apothecaries’ social identity. By contrast, no matter how central financial transactions (‘money’) were to their activity, apothecaries did not want to be perceived as merchants. Thus, the assistance and advice apothecaries provided to patients and customers resulted as central aspects of their social role. In this context, Bolognese apothecaries aimed to defend their current status, which had been challenged by naturalist Ulysses Aldrovandi, city authorities and local monasteries. However, Pastarino's claims can also be seen as antecedents to the self-legitimizing strategy that seventeenth-century artisans deployed when faced with the need to enhance their new status as natural philosophers. The present study attributes a name, a date of birth and a shop to Filippo Pastarino, revising previous interpretations. More broadly, by focusing on how these artisans defended their position in the city it enriches our understanding of the self-representation of apothecaries.

Dans les sociétés urbaines de l’Occident romain, les groupes inférieurs aux élites ne formaient pas une masse indistincte, silencieuse, uniformément dominée et méprisée. Au contraire, les milieux plébéiens étaient finement hiérarchisés : les gérants d’affaires artisanales et commerciales appartenaient à leurs strates supérieures. Ce livre vise à éclairer le rapport au travail de ces professionnels, par une approche à la fois sociologique et microéconomique, croisant tous les types de sources disponibles. Les premiers développements portent sur les entreprises : sur la manière dont les Romains définissaient ces entités et leur direction, puis sur les relations tissées entre les exploitants et leur personnel. Un deuxième volet est consacré à l’acquisition des savoirs professionnels et à la manière dont les gens de métier se représentaient les différentes facettes de leur travail. Enfin, les modalités des transactions commerciales et l’agencement matériel des unités de production sont envisagés, dans le même souci de rendre compte de la diversité de conditions des artisans et des commerçants romains.

The system of the compulsory exchange of money made it possible in the age of András II, that the chamber’s profit (lucrum camarae) came into the royal treasury at the same time of the emission of new money. Those who were not willing to receive the new money were obliged to pay the collecta. In years when new coins were not struck, the collecta was gathered by the reason of the chamber’s profit. Since the chambers collected the chamber’s profit every year, it means that this tax became independent of the renewal of money.

Policy lessons are often drawn from the emergence in Europe of ‘inclusive’ institutions, which are held to have displaced ‘extractive’ institutions and fostered economic growth. This article analyzes the concept of inclusiveness using evidence on a historical institution that has been widely viewed as inclusive – the guild. It finds that we must differentiate between three types of inclusiveness: community, corporative, and societal. Community inclusiveness refers to the share of individuals involved in an institution's operations, corporative inclusiveness the share of political representation enjoyed by the institution itself, and societal inclusiveness the extent to which the institution enables full economic and political participation by everyone in society. We must also distinguish between general inclusiveness, which takes into account general-equilibrium effects, and partial inclusiveness, which assumes away such effects. Inclusiveness and extractiveness are not opposites in theory, and guilds show why certain types of inclusive institution are likely to behave in extractive ways. Finally, guilds alert us to trade-offs between inclusive economic institutions, inclusive political institutions, and inclusive growth. History does not imply abandoning the concept of inclusiveness, but rather thinking about it carefully.

Paris experienced huge growth in the 13th century, going from 25 000 residents around 1180 to over 220 000 in 1328. As the capital of the Kingdom of France, the city was home to a wide number of officers who worked for the kingdom's central institutions and the grand patrician manors where the court would sojourn whenever the King spent time in Paris; yet, the majority of the population worked for a living in manufacturing and trade.
The late 13th to early 14th century also marked a period of time during which active standardization and societal regulation occurred, especially in economic activities. The Livre des metiers by Étienne Boileau started a movement towards the systematic recording of the various trades and craft regulations. This trend is clearly documented with the seven Roles de la taille parisiens (lists of taxpayers) of the reign of Philippe le Bel.
Along with other written records of working practices, these sources enable us to identify exactly which crafts were involved in copper working and which activities were carried out in Paris. Additionally, the texts allow us to pin-point these craftsmen in their social setting by utilizing a twofold approach identifying both the details of their personal fortune and their status in the economic environment.       
Keywords: written records, archaeology, workshop, craft, social history, topography

This paper examines some of the factors a country must consider when deciding which method, or combination of methods, to use to implement double tax relief, including foreign tax credit, exemption or the deduction method. It examines economic double taxation and juridicial double taxation with a focus on the most common of the two, juridicial double tax.

Tags:
"Double taxation"
"Double tax relief"

Valoración de la obra de Serrano Larráyoz sobre los oficios de cerería y confitería en Navarra en los últimos 500 años.  Junto a una documentación archivística cuidadosamente seleccionada y transcrita, el autor propone un panorama sintético de la evolución del arte confitero en Navarra. Para ello cuenta con la apoyatura de una bibliografía amplia y adecuada y con el complemento de un glosario técnico de más de cien términos perfectamente acotados y definidos. El panorama trazado aborda cuestiones de la vida laboral así como de la organización profesional de los cereros, confiteros y chocolateros en Navarra y del arte de la cerería y sus productos. Aquellos investigadores dedicados a estudiar a fondo estas cuestiones que se sumerjan en la lectura del libro, se percatarán enseguida del alcance de este trabajo, valorándolo en cada una de sus dimensiones. La valoración final  se realiza desde la perspectiva de los estudios de la cultura alimentaria: se trata de una aportación indispensable para quienes deseen continuar investigando y profundizando en el conocimiento de la historia del dulce en Navarra, en
el País Vasco o en el norte de España y para quienes, con investigaciones en curso en otros observatorios o ámbitos geográficos, traten de establecer perspectivas comparativas y visiones de conjunto y evoluciones de las temáticas abordadas no sólo en el ámbito peninsular sino también en el
europeo e incluso en el americano.

Between 1750 and 1825, shipbuilders in modern Catalonia form a numerically important and strategically essential collective for the expansion of maritime trade.

Although the "natural" scope of work is mainland and the production system retains a strong medieval imprint, there are spaces where these regulations are adapted to more flexible circumstances and can contemplate similar paths to other groups whose evolution is marked by the rhythm of the proletarianization processes that experience, as is the case of personnel on board.

This work attempts to study how these two work formulas live together, how they impact on the activity and what is the place of embarked shipbuilders in the structure and organization of crews. Similarly, it attempts to assess whether this work represented a complementary activity whose remuneration was necessary for subsistence.

Finally, the evolution of this group is examined in comparison with other crew members, to establish if they share a common path or the specific nature of their office, determined divergent developments.

Este trabalho toma as Barreiras da Província de São Paulo como principal objeto de estudos a fim de analisar o papel desempenhado por estes postos fiscais no desenvolvimento da rede viária paulista entre o ano de 1835, quando as primeiras Barreiras foram instaladas, até 1850, quando a produção cafeeira assume definitivamente a proeminência, não apenas em termos de valores exportados, mas também em volume de exportação, demandando mudanças estruturais na rede viária paulista, como a instalação das ferrovias, visando baratear o custo do escoamento da produção até o porto de Santos.

This paper takes the “Barriers” of the São Paulo Province as the main study object in order to analyze the role played by this fiscal posts in the development of the São Paulo road network between 1835, when the first Barreiras were installed, and 1850, when the coffee production definitively assumes the prominence, not only in terms of exported values, but also in exportation volume, demanding structural changes in the São Paulo transportation network, such as the installation of the railroads, aiming to reduce the costs of the production transportation to the port of Santos.

Call for Papers
Globalized Peripheries
New Approaches to the Atlantic World 1680–1850
Date: July 5th–7th, 2018
Place: European University Viadrina
(Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany)

Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• The exchange and movement of goods and people across
the oceans
• Merchants and merchant networks
• Consumption and material culture
• (Proto-)Industrial production and development
• Theories of political economy
• (Religious) Minorities as agents of trade
• Gender from a global perspective
• Theoretical and methodological approaches to “Atlantic
History” and/or “centers” and “peripheries”
Although the conference has no specific regional focus, we explicitly invite papers focused on the following “peripheries” of the Atlantic World and/or its historiography:
• Central and Eastern Europe
• West and West Central Africa
• South Asia

Proposals of ca. 300 words as well as a short CV (max. 1 page) should be sent to: globalized-peripheries@europa-uni.de
by October 15th, 2017.

We only accept proposals sent electronically to this e-mail address. Feel free to contact us at this address should you have any further questions. Please also indicate if you would like us to consider your proposal for publication.
We look forward to receiving your proposals!
Klaus Weber, Jutta Wimmler, Anka Steffen & Torsten dos Santos Arnold
www.kuwi.europa-uni.de/globalized-peripheries

This articles addresses the issue of conventions from the perspective of the early modern guilds’ regulations on product quality. Starting from the ideas of François Eymard-Duvernay one specific convention is identified, i.e. ‘intrinsic value’. This convention enabled guild-based artisans to locate product quality in their political standing and, hence, was intimately linked to the (urban) political context. While this may be familiar to the ideas on ‘justification’ of Boltanski and Thévenot, the historical analysis reveals fundamental conceptual problems. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, both the convention of intrinsic value and the guilds’ power to define product quality became obsolete because of epistemological transformations. While intrinsic value as a convention was connected to the idea of matter possessing mysterious, religious and creative powers in itself, natural philosophers and artisans naturalized matter from the seventeenth century on. As a result, value tended to become synonymous with either the products’ place in a taxonomy of products or the meaning produced in discourses external to the product. This article therefore suggests that the identification of different ‘conventions’ in history may not be sufficient. Instead, fundamental shifts in the subject-object relationships should be taken into consideration.

The article analyses actions taken and normative acts issued that
formed the basis for the functioning of the transport service tax (podwoda tax)
(1546–1578). The impact of Lithuanian solutions on the system introduced in the
Polish Crown (1564–1565) is assessed. The tax base and characteristics of rules
and collection are presented in the article. The resistance of the nobility to the
introduction of this tribute is described. The resistance was much stronger than
that observed for even extraordinary (one-off ) taxes several dozen times higher.
Reasons for the marginalisation of this tribute and the ever smaller amounts
going into the Land Treasury of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania are also shown.
The article stresses that the only permanent annual tax in force in Lithuania
was introduced in 1558. This state of affairs lasted until the reign of Władysław
IV. He donated the quarterly tax (kwarta) to the treasury as income. The potential
annual revenues resulting from the introduced tax ranged between 2,700
and 4,400 zlotys, and were allocated to the transport system based on transport
service provision. The Transport Service Treasury (Podwoda Treasury) was to be
supervised by the treasury guardian (skarbny), together with the treasury writer
(pisarz skarbowy). Both were expected to pay the calculated amounts to messengers,
envoys, and other people travelling for state purposes.

Los cambios en el contexto político internacional, en especial la carrera de Indias y el auge de las ciudades y puertos del Atlántico, que auspiciaría, sitúan a Galicia en una posición compleja. Su posición geográfica en el atlántico norte, y sus más de 1.948 km de costa, la política desarrollada por la monarquía hispánica y los conflictos bélicos con otros estados atlánticos la expusieron a una amenaza continua, durante el Período Moderno. Ello supuso un lastre añadido a los pequeños puertos gallegos, cuyos habitantes debieron enfrentarse a la defensa de sus hogares e intereses, recurriendo a diferentes estrategias y mecanismos

Una de las preocupaciones de las reformas borbónicas fue implementar un control efectivo de los recursos de las Indias, especialmente aquellos generados por la Real Hacienda. Producto de esto, se generó todo un proceso de transformación en la técnica contable que estuvo acompañado de disputas de carácter jurisdiccional entre los encargados de su implementación. La intendencia de Caracas no fue ajena a dicho contexto, razón por la cual en este artículo se indagó sobre las características técnicas de la implementación de las reformas contables y las disputas que estas generaron entre el Intendente de la Real Hacienda y el Tribunal Mayor de Cuentas durante los años de 1790 y 1796. Metodológicamente se decidió analizar los informes de los contadores del Tribunal de Cuentas de Caracas y del Intendente de la Real Hacienda, documentos que permitieron descubrir no solo una disputa técnica entre ambas oficinas, sino también la presencia de tensiones jurisdiccionales relacionadas con la aplicación del régimen de intendencias y el sistema de partida doble a fines del siglo XVIII.
***
One of the concerns of Bourbon reforms was to implement an effective control of resources of Indians, especially those generated by Royal Treasury. As a result of this, a whole process of transformation in accounting technique was generated which also happened with disputes of jurisdictional nature of those in charge of its implementation. The city government of Caracas was not alien to this context, which is why this paper investigates about technical characteristics on implementation of accounting reforms and the disputes they generated between the Mayor of the Royal Treasury and the High Court of Accounts during the years 1790 and 1796. Methodologically, it was decided to analyze the accountants’ reports of Caracas Accounts Court and the Royal Treasury Intendant, documents that reveal not only a technical dispute between both offices, but also jurisdictional tensions with the application of the intendancy system and the double entry system at the end of the 18th century.
***
Uma das preocupações das reformas Bourbon era implementar um controle efetivo dos recursos das Índias, especialmente aqueles gerados pela fazenda real. Em decorrência disso, gerou-se todo um processo de transformação da técnica contábil que foi acompanhado por disputas de natureza

jurisdicional entre os responsáveis por sua implementação. A Intendência de Caracas não ficou alheia a este contexto, razão pela qual este artigo investiga as características técnicas da implementação das reformas contábeis e as disputas que elas geraram entre o Intendente da Fazenda Real e o Tribunal Superior de Contas durante os anos de 1790 e 1796. Metodologicamente, optou-se por analisar os relatórios dos contadores do Tribunal de Contas de Caracas e do Intendente da Fazenda Real, documentos que revelam não só um litígio técnico entre os dois gabinetes, mas também a presença de tensões jurisdicionais conexas com a aplicação do regime de intendência e do sistema de dupla entrada no final do século XVIII.

La formation professionnelle dans les sociétés « préindustrielles » ne se limite pas aux dispositifs institutionnels d'apprentissage associés à des activités artisanales urbaines et aux corporations. Elle dépasse aussi des formes contractuelles souvent évanescentes dans une chronologie qui remonte au Moyen Âge. On propose ici de s'appuyer sur la notion de professionnalisation pour étudier une « formation professionnelle » qui prévoit l'acquisition des gestes et des techniques du métier, mais aussi d'une culture commune. Cette grille de lecture large appelle la comparaison d'études de cas qui concernent artisans, artistes ou marchands, en Occident ou dans l'empire ottoman. Les rôles sociaux des formateurs, des apprentis et de leur entourage seront interrogés, ainsi que les modalités de connaissance des relations formatives, et, lorsque c'est possible, le contenu des savoirs et savoir-faire transmis.

See review by J. K. J. Thomson in Textile History (vol. 29, nº 1, 1998, pp. 115). He points out "what is novel in the study, and represents an original contribution to the discussion on proto-industrialization, is the demonstration of the importance of guilds and the state in the industry's progress and in particular, in the eighteenth century boom" (p . 114). In addition, work is rated as "a most painstaking study in which the local example is throughout related to the experiences of other regions of Spain and to the general industrial experience in Europe. The inclusion of a range of documents illustrating its central argument about the crucial role of the guilds in the area's development will make it an ideal tool for graduate students ". And he concludes that "are just thus of great significance in interpreting the early stages of Spanish industrialization" (p. 115).

The book contributes to the review of one of the most widespread topics in the literature on the industrial revolution: the role of guilds as obstacles to industrialization. Analysis of the paraires (clothiers) guild's documentation shows that the image contains, along with a good dose of truth, some mystification based on a mechanical and linear conception of historical process. In fact, in the case of Alcoi the guild system not only did not stop the process of industrialization, but, largely, was the main driver. The book, along with a lengthy introduction (77 pp.) in which the long-term pre-capitalist alcoyana drapery (valuing their origins, technical changes, the markets, the internal structure of the union or the relations of production is analyzed ) contains a collection of transcripts of documents (basically guild ordinances) that illustrate this evolution between 1561 and 1798.

The article presents the circumstances of the convening of the Lithuanian convocation of 1615, along with the course of the event and the resolutions it considered, with special consideration of the procedure for enacting law in this form of parliamentary assembly. Before the convocation could be convened, deputies had to be elected at pre-convocation sejmiks. Then, the deputies and the senators had to assemble at the time and place specified in the royal legacja. The sessions of the 1615 convocation lasted from May 21st to June 5th and took place in two chambers. There were at least 6 senators and more than 50 deputies. The resolutions passed during the convocation can be divided into 31 issues. They were recorded, and messengers were appointed at the convocation to carry their contents to the king. It was only after the monarch expressed his consent that the tax resolutions and legal standards became the applicable law. Sigismund III rejected three resolutions, modified two, and approved eighteen. The article presents in detail the output of the convocation, both in terms of passing tax laws and enacting other entirely new laws.

The merchant guilds made great contributions to the medieval economy while also dominating the trade in Europe. This formation, which emerged with the voluntary merchant associations and in the sixteenth century turned into monopolies that benefited from the privileges given to them by the rulers and were in search of rent and were very difficult to join. In cities such as Venice, Amsterdam and Antwerp, the official merchant guilds began to lose their political, legal and economic privileges since the sixteenth century, and this was also seen in important trade centers in countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom. However, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there was a transformation from the official merchant guilds to the corporations on the path of institutionalization, where various families were performing individual activities and these companies had begun to have a say in world politics and the global economy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, traders continued to organize even in Europe's most prominent trade centers. For example; communities with or without a legal guild status had either their own chapels to meet the religious needs of their members or had strong relations with a particular congregation or monastery. They often bought common cemeteries and even established brotherhood societies for education. The standing guilds provide the socialness for the local city dwellers, for example by means of elements such as guild houses; they had social contacts such as recruitment. This situation attracted great attention of traders and this interest made possible a long period of loyalty to the guild. In the nineteenth century, merchant guilds in Spain, Italy and other European countries were weakened by their inability to adapt to the globalized economy. In this study, the political, economic and legal qualities of the merchant guilds in Europe aim to examine the transformation of these qualities after the Industrial Revolution, in addition to their place and importance in European society.

This paper looks at the social, cultural and educational roles of the guild of tailors of Voskopoja (Moschopolis) from 1714 to 1791. Archival information is retrieved from their register, currently kept at the Central Archives of the State, F. 141, D. 2, 1714-1791, paper, ff. 60. The manuscript is written in Greek, the lingua franca of business for the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire. The register is a very important source of social, economic, cultural and pedagogical information primarily for the local society of Voskopoja. The source reflects the guild’s relation with the local churches, its corporate social responsibility roles of supporting the Fund for the Poor and the Fund for Schooling, its role in youth vocational training and its contribution to local socio-religious events. The paper adds hitherto unknown archival evidence to the social, cultural and pedagogical roles of guilds in Voskopoja, in the course of its blossom.

Les dispositifs de formation professionnelle au Moyen Âge et à l'époque moderne La formation professionnelle dans les sociétés « préindustrielles » ne se limite pas aux dispositifs institutionnels d'apprentissage associés à des activités artisanales urbaines et aux corporations. Elle dépasse aussi des formes contractuelles souvent évanescentes dans une chronologie qui remonte au Moyen Âge. On propose ici de s'appuyer sur la notion de professionnalisation pour étudier une « formation professionnelle » qui prévoit l'acquisition des gestes et des techniques du métier, mais aussi d'une culture commune. Cette grille de lecture large appelle la comparaison d'études de cas qui concernent artisans, artistes ou marchands, en Occident ou dans l'empire ottoman. Les rôles sociaux des formateurs, des apprentis et de leur entourage seront interrogés, ainsi que les modalités de connaissance des relations formatives, et, lorsque c'est possible, le contenu des savoirs et savoir-faire transmis.

The extension of capitalism during the XIX Century fostered the creation of fortunes disproportionately big, which gave their owners an enormous and increasing economical and political influence. The evolution of these economic elite has been studied through different approaches. Although, we can found very few studies that track their inner changes and its origins, and even fewer focused in Southern Europe. This thesis project studies the evolution of Barcelona’s elites between 1714 and 1919 in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the mechanism that the families and individuals develop to increase or retain their economic position. Methodologically the thesis presents a triple approach. Firstly, through an aggregate analysis of the evolution of taxes is possible to observe the weight of the commercial sector among the elite members, the progressive increase of wealth concentration, and to objectively identify the 125 wealthiest members of Barcelona for the years 1853, 1883 and 1919. Secondly, through a prosopographyc approach, we analyse the origin of the 125th great tax payers grouped in 80 families. Through this second approach we can conclude that fortunes were created only in some specific moments as nearly half the families’ origins can be tracked to the First Industrial Revolution and related to commercial activities. Among them the indianos (merchants deeply linked with the Spanish Antilles) plated an increasing role. Lastly, the analysis of the investment demonstrates that during the central years of the XIXth Century the elites fostered investment in newly disruptive companies that aimed to change society and the territory. By the end of the century this elites, although remained as big economic players in the city, failed to foster new companies linked to the Second Industrial Revolution. All in all, the thesis concludes that families from elites are capable to stay among the highest economic ranks of the society in the long term through the development of mechanisms to ensure the transmission of the capital. And that unless there is a deep transformation inside the society (mainly wars or change in the technological paradigm) the renewal of the elites come from his own ranks