“FAMILIAS E VEZINOS DEL COMERZIO”. THE MERCANTILE COMMUNITY IN LA VILLA DE ALBACETE, FORMS OF ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION AT THE END OF THE OLD REGIME

Abstract

At the end of the Old Regime in the town of Albacet e a social group connected to  the commercial activities consolidated. A  merchant community that was developed in tie to  the agrarian activities. The position of this town  in a crossroad between the capital of Spain  and the Mediterranean periphery favored the economi c growth of these families. The  objective of this essay is to understand its forms  of economic organization and social  2 reproduction. The kinship was a key aspect in the e conomic management of the merchant  businesses, but also in the social joint of these f amilies. The social bonds that united to  these individuals were fundamental in their mobilit y and social reproduction. But also in  the processes of changes and permanence at the end  of the Old Regime.