Carlos Fernando de Austria y Manrique

What people wore

Costs of Fashionable Accessories

In 1680, a yard of the popular thin, black smoke cloak worn by women was valued at seven and a half reales. Meanwhile, a fashionable hand fan in the summer could cost as much as six escudos.

Daily life

Strict penalties for illegal waste dumping

On September 23, 1639, a decree in Madrid mandated that waste must be emptied only through street doors at specific times, with penalties including 100 lashes and six years of exile for servants caught throwing it out of windows.

News and letters

Payment upon delivery for letters

Recipients had to pay the postage fee in cash to the carrier upon delivery, as there were no postage stamps at the time.

Music

The controversial zarabanda dance

The zarabanda was a popular but controversial dance known for its lascivious movements, often accompanied by singing, guitar, tambourine, and castanets.

At the table

Survival diet using chestnuts and nuts

In some northern regions of Spain, when grain was scarce, families survived for six months or more by eating chestnuts, nuts, and various wild fruits and herbs. This reliance on non-grain staples was a common adaptation to regional food shortages.

Getting around

Common modes of seventeenth-century travel

People traveled mainly on foot, on horseback, or in mule-drawn litters and carts, as carriages were often uncomfortable due to a lack of suspension. The wealthy sometimes used litters or carriages, while the general population relied on horses, mules, or walking.

Work

Work of the water carrier

Water carriers, known as azacán in Andalusia, supplied houses without private wells by transporting water in jars or barrels using donkeys or mule-drawn carts.