Description
Captivity, Subjection, and Servitude
Book Summary
This work offers an exhaustive analysis of slavery in the late Middle Ages, focusing on a key period in the history of Spain (1392-1550). Through the study of thousands of documents, the authors examine the role of Jerez de la Frontera as a strategic enclave in slave trade circuits. The reader will find rigorous research that unveils the demographic, sociological, and economic behaviors of a society in transition, shedding light on a marginalized group and its impact on the shift from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period.
What is it about?
The book delves into the study of late medieval slavery, a relatively recent field of research but fundamental to understanding the social dynamics of the time. The authors have worked with a documentary corpus of thousands of records to analyze a significant period spanning from the Trastámara dynasty to the early Habsburgs and the opening toward the New World. The research focuses on Jerez, a strategically located city that played a relevant role in slave trade routes. Through this local prism, the social and economic transformations that marked the transition from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance are examined, offering a detailed view of how slavery, subjection, and servitude shaped the social structure of the era.
Main themes
- Slavery in the late Middle Ages and its evolution toward the Early Modern period.
- Demographic, sociological, and economic analysis of marginalized groups.
- The role of Jerez de la Frontera in slave trade circuits (1392-1550).
- Historical transition between the reigns of the Trastámaras and the Habsburgs.
- Social behaviors in a frontier society and gateway to the New World.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at historians, researchers, and university students specializing in social history, medieval and modern history, as well as scholars of slavery and marginalization. It will also be of great interest to readers with a solid background in the history of Spain who are looking for a deep and documented analysis of power structures and relationships of servitude in a period of crucial change.
What this book offers
- Pioneering and detailed research on late medieval slavery in a strategic enclave such as Jerez.
- An analysis based on a massive amount of original documents that brings rigor and depth to the study.
- A local perspective that allows for the understanding of global historical phenomena, such as the slave trade and the expansion toward the Americas.
- Keys to understanding the evolution of social and economic structures in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period.
Technical specifications
- Author: Abril Fuertes, José María; Mingorance Ruiz
- Publisher: Editorial Universidad de Huelva
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Social and cultural history, slavery and the abolition of slavery
- Collection: Compendium
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: June 2024
- Number of pages: 620
- Weight: 2024 g
Editorial review
This is a reference work for specialists, distinguished by its exhaustive archival work and its focus on a specific period and location. Its value lies in its ability to offer a micro-history that illuminates larger-scale historical processes, such as the evolution of slavery and social dynamics on the threshold of modernity. It is an essential read for those seeking to understand the complexities of late medieval Spanish society through a rigorous and well-documented lens.