María Calderón

What people wore

Mercury-based cosmetic face whiteners

Women used a face whitener made from corrosive mercury sublimate to achieve the desired pale complexion.

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

Taborers Guiding Festival Dancers

Taborers were hired for festivals like Corpus Christi to guide dancers, often charging for their services by performing in town streets or during processions.

At the table

Affordability of basic food items

With 1 blanca, which was worth half a maravedí, a person could buy nine salted or fresh sardines. At the time, an average laborer or muleteer earned 17 maravedís per day.

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.