Infanta Maria Ana Antonia of Spain

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

Accessing water for daily use

While wealthy households might have a private well, most ordinary families had to carry water from the nearest public fountain to their homes.

News and letters

Secret notes hidden in objects

People used small, secret notes called billetes, which were sometimes hidden in everyday objects like conservation boxes or inside water jugs to maintain privacy.

Music

The popularity of the guitar

The guitar was the most popular instrument in Spain, played in all social settings ranging from taverns to the royal court and households.

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.

Getting around

Fast travel via relay horses

Travel via the post system was the fastest method, with royal mail and some travelers using relay horses to reach speeds covering 150 to 200 kilometers per day. A trip from Seville to Madrid, for example, was expected to be completed in two days and eighteen hours.

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.