Preliminary Programme

Based on an analysis of the internal regulations of charitable homes and institutions in León (Spain), and on the need to incorporate psychiatric, environmental and behavioural aspects, in other words, qualitative and human aspects, when defining poverty, I will undertake an anthropological interpretation from the perspective of symbolic interactionism (Goffman), These so-called “total institutions” can be defined as a place of residence where a great number of similarly situated people, cut off from the wider community for a considerable time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life
Methodologically, this has enabled me to demonstrate how these regulations constituted enormously useful tools for achieving the goals of the new Enlightenment notions of charity and succour, based on a collective and rational approach which was informed more by repression and re-education than aid.
In addressing the internal regulations and improved operation of a range of charitable institutions, it is of particular interest to focus on an analysis of the rules relating to sanctions and rewards.
In conclusion, I will show how charity was based on generalised aid, in other words, specialised help was not available during the Ancien Régime. Furthermore, the interrelationship between the material and the spiritual led to the concept of charity as a generalised action meeting both material and spiritual needs, and within material needs were included subsistence, accommodation, health and education, without distinction. (Show less)

The accession to the throne in the 18th century of the Bourbon dynasty, with their plans for reforming the country, led to an increase in the use of forced labour on the part of the State. The pressing need for workers to carry out the ambitious infrastructure projects undertaken, above all in the second half of the century, and the utilitarian concepts behind Bourbon penal policies engendered the mobilisation of a considerable number of prisoners convicted for a wide variety of crimes. This group of convicts included members from various ethnic minorities, such as the gypsies, or those accused of vagrancy.
The aim of this communication is to analyse the impact of this policy on northeast Spain, focusing the analysis on the naval dockyard of Ferrol, one of the most important manufacturing and military centres in 18th century Spain. To this end, I will start by attempting to measure the extent of the phenomenon by analysing the typology of the crimes which resulted in the condemned receiving sentences of forced labour, and the length of such sentences. To achieve these aims, I will use information provided by judicial sources, together with the abundant information contained within the Royal Navy’s archives. (Show less)

An analysis of the prison context in northeast Spain constitutes one of the most interesting aspects related to the world of marginalisation in that region under the Ancien Régime. A space for temporary detention, prisons represent one of the settings where the presence of the marginalised is most conspicuous. Accordingly, a study of their internal characteristics (organisation of everyday life, facilities, staff, etc.) and the living conditions of those detained is of great interest in order to understand the true magnitude of the phenomenon under study.
Much of this communication will be based on the report commissioned from heads of districts within the provinces comprising the region under discussion by the secretary for the criminal court chambers and administration of the Royal Chancery of Valladolid tribunal. This tribunal operated as the organ of appeal against decisions taken by local judicial systems.
This information consists of a voluminous report on each of the provinces forming the region during the Ancien Régime, and comprised part of the penitential system reform initiated by Charles IV and continued by Ferdinand VII at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. The latter monarch issued a Royal Charter in 1814 with the aim, among others, of conducting an investigation into the state of Spanish prisons. Despite its deficiencies, there is no doubt that this is a document of great importance for understanding this issue. Such reforms should not be understood as an exclusively Spanish preoccupation, but should be placed within the European context, in which prison living conditions formed the subject of ideological and reformatory debate.
The objective of this survey commissioned by Ferdinand VII was to assess the situation of the prisons, and to this end a document was distributed containing nine questions to be answered by the authorities of each of the smaller administrative divisions within the districts, whether said authorities comprised heads of the local councils, of a brotherhood or of the local judiciary. The first question was whether a custodial facility for prisoners existed within the locality. Where this was the case, the person responsible was requested to indicate this, and include additional information concerning the number of cells it contained, their size, the safety and sanitary conditions of the same, and the need or not for repair. The survey also included a request for information concerning the existence or not of a jailer to guard the prisoners, the source of his wages and whether he had been assigned quarters within the prison. Lastly, information was requested concerning the source of funding for feeding the prisoners. All of this information was then passed to the district mayor who, in addition to compiling the reports, was expected to include a small report assessing the situation. (Show less)

Starting from the strength of the rural council system operating in most of the northeast Iberian Peninsula under the Ancien Régime, and the control exercised by the councils over collective resources and goods, my primary objective is to analyse the problem of co-existence within rural communities from the perspective of conflict. The first step will be to understand how this system of local justice was structured: which individuals in the community were entitled to act as judges, in which cases such posts were compulsory or voluntary, what were the consequences for those holding such responsibility, etc.
The second level of analysis will be to determine the limits of council-based judicial authority, and the typology of the crimes for which they had authority to pass sentence. I will then examine the proportional ratio of each of these crimes within the general context and the sentences applied in each case. Similarly, I will conduct a sociological analysis of the accused. (Show less)