Arrieros y traficantes en la Galicia rural de la época moderna

Abstract

The terrestrial communications and inland trade of rural Galicia in the Modern Age have received relatively little attention from historians. Most studies in this field have concerned highways and local fairs and markets in the 18th and 19th centuries; hardly anything is known of muleteering or small trade at either regional or local level. This paper concerns Tierra de Montes, a rural Galician judicial district located between coastal and more inland areas. In the mid 18th century there was a pronounced contrast between the southern and northern halves of this district: whereas occupations belonging to the secondary sector predominated among non-primary occupations in the south, in the north most occupations were tertiary, particularly large proportions of the workforce being employed in muleteering or in the beeswax and canvas retail trades.