Technical Processes and Guild Conflict: Reed Widths in Looms at Alcoi (1590-1797)

Abstract

The historical role played by the guilds has been interpreted well as a mere obstacle to the industrialisation process, or, as that of institutions whose main aim was transferring generation abilities in generation. However, the corporations of artisans also completed another important purpose: the control and the discipline of the work-force through the application of the technical ordinances. In this sample, focused in pre-industrial textile manufacture in Alcoi (Spain), we can observe as the conflicts among guilds –placed in different stages of the production process– are mainly focused in technical and salary issues. Furthermore, the different positions of the different guilds expressed oposed interests between the incipient capital and the salaried workers. The persistence of very similar conflicts in the 16th as in the 18th centuries demonstrates the importance of the resolution of these problems in order to make easier the industrialisation.