Gender, child labour, and apprenticeship among Jews and conversos in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Barcelona
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the employment conditions among Jewish and converso girls in Barcelona from the late fourteenth century to the mid-fifteenth century, focusing on their roles in crafts and domestic service, as seen in notarial contracts. In medieval Barcelona, working life was governed by cultural and gender expectations. In the Jewish community, these appeared in two specific elements: domestic service and apprenticeships. Domestic service agreements show a contrast between young men, who often served doctors in roles offering professional prospects, and girls, who were typically employed in lower-skilled household positions. Apprenticeship records likewise reveal gender disparities, with far fewer female apprentices and limited opportunities for women to advance in skilled crafts. However, significant changes emerged after the mass conversions following the riots of 1391. The structure of domestic service shifted with a sharp decline in boys serving doctors, and the virtual disappearance of child female servants from the records, contrasting with a moderate rise in the number of female apprenticeships. These variations reflect attempts to balance existing socio-economic structures of the Jewish community to a new reality ensuing from the mass conversions, greater integration of women in the labour market, driven by economic necessity and Christian economic and cultural influences.
Author: Anna Rich-Abad
Institution: University of Nottingham
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Award: G5805502524
OpenAlex ID: W4417020001