Luisa de Guzmán

Getting around

Uncomfortable early carriages

Early seventeenth-century carriages were uncomfortable because their bodies were fixed directly to the axles, lacking any suspension.

What it cost

Annual clothing needs in Madrid

In early seventeenth-century Madrid, the estimated annual expenditure for one person included two pairs of shoes.

What people wore

Price of smoke cloaks

In 1680, the price for a yard of smoke cloak, a popular thin black accessory, was set at seven and a half reales.

Daily life

Water storage in homes

Most homes lacked a private well, requiring residents to fetch water from nearby public fountains. Large clay jars were then used to store this water inside the house.

Work

Strikes and municipal control of labor

Agricultural workers once went on strike in Cordoba in 1595 demanding higher wages; the city responded by arresting strikers in taverns and sentencing them to public pillory time and jail. In other instances, municipal councils prohibited harvest workers from leaving the town until all local crops were fully reaped.

Music

Popular and Controversial Zarabanda Dance

The zarabanda was a popular but controversial folk dance accompanied by the guitar, castanets, and tambourine; it was frequently banned for its perceived lascivious nature and vulgar gestures.

At the table

The staple olla stew for commoners

The staple dish for commoners was a thick stew known as olla, which was simmered for hours and often thickened with flour made from wheat or millet, popularly called flour of the poor. It typically consisted of available legumes, such as chickpeas, beans, or fava beans, and vegetables like turnips.