Guilds, Castes and Migrations in four Colonial Latin American Cities

• Main Author: José Antolín Nieto Sánchez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, sede Medellín 2018-07-01
• Series: Historia y Sociedad
• Subjects: craft workers; migration; labour market; guilds; craftsmen; Mexican history; Peruvian history; Lima; Early Modern History; urban history; History of Labour Migration; Labour history; labour migration; work history; Sociology of Migration; History of Colonial Mexico; Transnational Labour Migration; Critical Mixed Race Studies; Colonial Latin American History; Arts and Crafts; Labour migration; artisans; artesanato; History of Colonial Peru; Craft Guilds; migración; castas; etnohistoria; etnohistory; Economic History Guilds Trade Taxes; economic history; Gremialismo; gremio; cultural material; material culture; craft guilds
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/hisysoc/article/view/70215
• ISSN: 0121-8417; 2357-4720

This paper looks into the role of craft guilds in the ethnic integration or segregation of labour in the migration fl ows that took place in Latin America during the Colonial period. It analyses the guilds of the capital cities of two viceroyalties, Mexico and Lima, and contrasts them to those in the nearby towns of Puebla de los Ángeles and Cusco. The empirical evidence comprises 1200 mastership charts, which allow us to know which corporate caste regulations came into force. It is also the purpose of this paper to relate the geographical origins of new artisan masters to the broader Latin America’s urbanization process and the ethnic composition of migration fl ows from countryside to the cities and towns.