Main areas of research

We, as a group, are interested on social History, and these are the three most important fields in which our research activity is focused on:

Francisco de Goya
Francisco de Goya
El albañil herido

1- Labour activities in Madrid and its surroundings: productive structure, work relationships, institutions, women’s and children’s labour, families and domestic units, standard of living and living conditions, the culture of labour, labour conflicts, prison population, forced work and slavery…

2- Rural-urban relationships as seen from an economic and social point of view: exchange of goods, services and information between the city of Madrid and the rural surroundings, migration waves, the impact of urban demand on available resources, the system of production and living conditions at villages around the capital, land occupation and organization, transportation networks…

3- Labour conflicts both in the city of Madrid and the rural environment, shown through different events: anonymous letters, satirical posters or rags, riots, commotions, rebellions, banditry…

Our multidisciplinary methodology is comprised of relevant finds achieved from other fields of knowledge, such as Historical Demography, History of People’s Culture, Oral History, History of Industry (we are specially interested in studies on protoindustrialization), Women’s History, Environmental History, Cultural Anthropology and Sociology.

Published works and research acomplishments

The Grupo Taller has co-published a paper collection, named Labour at Stake: Urban Artisans in Modern Age Europe, edited by V. López y J.A. Nieto, Libros de la Catarata & Grupo Taller de Historia Social, Madrid, 1996. It has also published a monography, Artisans and Merchants. An economic and social history of Madrid, by J. A. Nieto Sánchez, Fundamentos & Grupo Taller de Historia Social, Madrid, 2006. This book earned the first prize at the 7th Villa de Madrid Contest (2007), on the category of Local Research.

Los gritos de Madrid
Los gritos de Madrid
Arriero de carbón
E. Zarza y J. Donón
E. Zarza y J. Donón
Origen del motín contra Esquilache.
Los gritos de Madrid
Los gritos de Madrid
Vendedora de cebollas

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