Women Artisans in Collective Defence of their Independent Work in Seventeenth-Century Barcelona

Abstract

This article analyses the collective actions undertaken by some Barcelona women textile artisans in the seventeenth century in defence of their independent work. The article opens with a comparative overview of the mobilisations of European women artisans. After it received petitions from some Barcelona filempueres (female veil weavers) between 1633 and 1635 complaining about their goods being confiscated by the silk weavers’ guild, in 1636 the Barcelona city government enacted a specific ordinance for women who produced small textile garments (Ordinació en favor de les dones). This ordinance, and its expansion in 1663 and 1686, reinforced the right of women to work in the production of seven textile and clothing items. Despite this, the women artisans continued to be harassed, but they successfully defended their work collectively on a number of subsequent occasions.