Where are the apprentices? The organization of work in silk production in Manresa (Catalonia) (18th and 19th centuries)

The silk production in Manresa (Catalonia) was a new activity in the 18th century that reached an important development and generated large accumulations of capital which implied a guild organisation very adapted to the circumstances. This article analyses the apprentices, their geographical origin, social origin, apprentices by guild and how many apprentices became masters. It tries to understand the reasons why so few apprentices became masters and so few masters had apprentices. It is explained from the needs of the workshops that were the ones that conditioned the operation of the guild in one direction or another. (C) 2022 Asociacion Espanola de Historia Economica