La educación femenina en Galicia a finales del Antiguo Régimen

Abstract

In this paper we have analysed the women’s access possibilities to cultural skills in the region of Galicia within the end of the Old Regime. In this sense, an approach to the Galician school network in the XVIII century has been made, in order to discover the status of the educational framework during its peak. Schooling, as well as literacy, had a selective and discriminatory nature, traditionally positioning women in a second place. Furthermore, the existence of a weak school system, the inability of teachers to provide literacy to the population, prejudices against the education of women and the intensive female contribution to labour, joining it at an early age did not help to improve literacy rates in Galicia. Therefore, the access to culture was low, although the cities and towns offered more possibilities to its population, especially as far as legal education is concerned.