Los maestros del colegio del arte mayor de la seda de valencia en una fase de crecimiento manufacturero (1686-1755)

Abstract

This paper studies the 2.077 new masters who entered in the colegio del arte mayor de la seda de Valencia between 1686 and 1755, and reveals the complexity of the evolution experienced by the corporation. Its closure in favor of the craft collective that occurred in response to the diffi- culties of the seventeenth century was not definitive, since the manufacturing growth at the end of the century favored the admission of candidates from more diverse origin. The increase of fiscal pressure and the influence of mercantilist policy adopted by the monarchy after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession contributed to a new closure of the corporation as to the stricter enforcement of the productive regulation, producing difficulties in the modernization of the Valencian silk industry.