Guilds in Early Modern Sicily
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Gabriella Lombardo Guilds in early modern Sicily. Causes and consequences of their weakness PhD Thesis in Economic History London School of Economics Supervisor: Dr. S.R. Epstein 2001 UMI Number: U146336 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U146336 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 T)-\cSc- S F 78 (S Abstract The thesis investigates the character and actions of craft guilds in early modem Sicily. Sicilian craft guilds emerged only in few towns and compared to most other European regions were less numerous relative to the total population; they also never had a firm political role in urban administration. The thesis investigates the causes and consequences of this weakness in two directions. First, it examines the operation of the guild system through the actions and interests of individual members, focusing in particular on the craftsmen’s incentives to participate in guild activities or alternatively 'free ride’. Second, it analyses the institutional and economic framework within which Sicilian guilds emerged and survived for around four centuries, and discusses the consequences of their weakness. The literature on early modem guilds mostly assumes that they were economically conservative and hindered technological change; the question therefore arises whether technological and manufacturing growth was less constrained in early modem Sicily than elsewhere. The thesis argues that the basic features of the Sicilian guild system were similar to those of craft corporations elsewhere in Europe, and that they were devised primarily to promote skills training through formal apprenticeship mles. It therefore concludes that differences in guild development across societies were largely a function of the institutional context within which guilds were embedded, and in particular of the political support or opposition offered by local and central authorities. In Sicily, the Spanish state was unwilling to support the institutional and legal independence of craft guilds, and local urban elites similarly opposed the rise of strong crafts. Lacking legal backing to enforce membership and apprenticeship mles, Sicilian craft guilds were unable to supply specialised labour in support of a thriving manufacturing base. The lack of a strong craft base was reinforced by Sicily’s specialisation in agriculture, and led to the long-term failure of domestic manufactures. Table of contents Abstract......................................................................................................................ii List of figures............................................................................................................ v List of tables..............................................................................................................v Currency and measurements................................................................................ vi Chronology...............................................................................................................vii Chapter 1 Introduction...........................................................................................1 1.1 T o p ic a n d c o n t e x t ................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 W h y s t u d y S ic il ia n g u il d s ? ...............................................................................................................................7 1.3 H y p o t h e s e s...................................................................................................................................................................10 1.4 S o u r c e s a n d methodology .............................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2 The historiographical debate............................................................. 18 2.1 F ro m g u il d a b o l it io n t o m o d e r n s t u d ie s : t w o c e n t u r ie s o f d e b a t e ...............................18 2 .2 G u il d s a n d e c o n o m ic h is t o r y ........................................................................................................................ 25 2.2.1 Guilds and proto-industrialisation............................................................................................................ 32 2.2.2 State and guilds in the ‘seventeenth-century crisis:’ the Italian case.................................... 35 2.3 S ic il ia n g u il d s t u d ie s . A n o v e r v ie w ........................................................................................................ 3 9 Chapter 3 Economic and political developments in early modern Sicily... 42 3.1 E c o n o m ic f a c t o r s : p a t t e r n o f t r a d e , p o p u l a t io n g r o w t h a n d t h e l a b o u r MARKET .................................................. 4 4 3 .2 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE 'LATE' DEVELOPMENT OF CORPORATE GROUPS............... 5 6 Chapter 4 Sicilian guilds........................................................................................63 4.1 DEFINITION ...................................................................................................................................................................... 63 4.1.1 Craft guilds and religious confraternities...............................................................................................65 4.1.2 Military functions............................................................................................................................................. 68 4 .2 STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION OF SICILIAN GUILDS ...............................................................................69 4 .3 CHARACTERISTICS OF SICILIAN CRAFT GUILDS ............................................................................................. 73 4 .4 TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTION ................................................................................................................................... 7 6 4.5 A r t is a n m ig r a t io n .................................................................................................................................................84 4 .6 T h e FRAGMENTATION OF GUILDS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ..................................... 87 Chapter 5 Structure and costs of Sicilian craft guilds......................................96 5.1 G u il d s t r u c t u r e : m a s t e r s , apprentices a n d j o u r n e y m e n , w o m e n , a n d FOREIGNERS............................................................................................................................................................................. 95 a) M a sters...........................................................................................................................................................................9 6 b) Apprenticeship, apprentices and journeymen...........................................................................................99 c) Mastership and licences........................................................................................................................................109 d) W o m e n ..........................................................................................................................................................................115 e) Foreigners....................................................................................................................................................................119 5.2 F e e s ................................................................................................................................................................................... 120 a) Membership fees......................................................................................................................................................121 b) Mastership fees......................................................................................................................................................... 128 c) Foreign masters........................................................................................................................................................ 131 d) Two centuries of fees ............................................................................................................................................134 e) The impact o f fees on living standards......................................................................................138 Chapter 6 Enforcement of guild regulation......................................................141 a) F e e s................................................................................................................................................................................. 144 b) Quality control........................................................................................................................................................