CRAFT APPRENTICESHIP IN SALAMANCA: A STUDY FROM THE CARVAJAL COLLEGE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY

The craft apprenticeship system currently attracts research attention. Preindus-trial production relied on apprentices to perpetuate the artisanal trade. Numerous Iberian cases have already been analyzed; however, Salamanca lacks a detailed study of artisans and their apprentices. This work examines craft apprenticeship in Salamanca in the first half of the 18th century, focusing on the perspective of the Orphans' College of San Antonio or Carvajal, which influenced the entry of apprentices from non-artisan families into the manufacturing world. This institution has gone unnoticed by many researchers, yet it proves highly interesting for understanding childhood and youth in one of the most significant Castilian cities of the Ancien Regime.