Consumption in the Household Economy

The final question for this study is whether the industriousness identified in the previous chapter was associated with new forms of consumer behaviour, as suggested by de Vries. As noted in the Introduction, de Vries did not believe that households in southern Europe were capable of a consumer revolution. It would be more accurate, however, to say that too little work has been done on consumption and material culture, in Spain at least, for definite statements to be made. Those historians who have begun to work on these topics have identified changes, including the introduction of new goods, especially textiles, and an increase in ownership of luxury goods such as paintings and clocks. ¹ Such changes did not, however, become evident until the nineteenth century in many areas, with sharp rural/urban and regional differences. ² For Catalonia, Belén Moreno’s work on the Penedès district, the most complete study of inventories carried out to date, does point to a rising consumption of certain material goods during the eighteenth century, but a rise accompanied by increased social stratification. ³ Lídia Torra’s work on textile consumption in towns, discussed below, shows some change, but questions how widely diffused the demand for new textiles was. ⁴ Ramona Huguet’s study of artisans in Lleida, in the poorer western area, reveals more static and traditional patterns of consumption. ⁵