ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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The spinners’ riot, Barcelona 1628

Synopsis
On March 31, 1628, a group of spinners made up of women stormed Barcelona's city hall to protest against the lack of work. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, the production and export of wool fabrics was one of the pillars of the Catalan economy, with Barcelona as the main manufacturing center. However, from 1570 onwards, production went into crisis due to the arrival of cheaper and lower quality foreign manufactures. Catalan merchants, in charge of importing raw materials, tried to reduce production costs by hiring peasants who lived on the outskirts of the city (domestic system) at lower wages. Making Catalan textiles more competitive, therefore, had as a consequence an increase in urban unemployment. As a result, the 17th century was the scene of strikes, lawsuits and political disputes between merchants and spinners who saw wool production disappear from Barcelona. Among all these episodes of resistance to the liberalization of work, the protest of 1628 stands out, in which the crowd demanded that the local authorities comply with the municipal ordinances, which prohibited spinning wool outside the city walls. The protest ended with some women being arrested and released, but the conflict between merchants and spinners remained unresolved until the end of the 18th century, when liberal reforms finally destroyed the corporate production system.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 1 day. Name in sources: Motín de las hilanderas (Barcelona). Location: Barcelona Country (current): Spain. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Artisans, Women. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Labour conditions, Political. Leadership: Unknown. Relevance: low.

Further reading
CARRERA PUJAL, Jaime (1947). Historia política y económica de Cataluña. Siglos XVI al XVIII. Barcelona: Bosch, tomo II. CORTEGUERA, Luis. R. (2005). Per al bé comú. La política popular a Barcelona, 1580-1640. Vic: Eumo. TORRES SANS, Xavier (1995). “Manufactura urbana i indústria rural”, in B. de Riquer i Permanyer (ed), Història, política, societat i cultura dels Països Catalans. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, vol. IV.
Cite this entry

(2023) "The spinners’ riot, Barcelona 1628", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. (accessed on ).