La alfabetización en la España del siglo XVIII

Abstract

This study is the result of a team research program elaborated from 1979 to 93 in 28 different Spanish cities, and bearing on the analysis of the signatures of some 49.000 men and women at various stages of the century. It constitutes the first national research synthesis on literacy in Spain. It is subdivided into four parts: 1) An analysis of source materials (mainly legacies and other notarized acts) and of the methodological problems involved. 2) Research results concerning the first and second halves of the century, and exposition of the main parameters determining the literacy level: sex (men/women dimorphism), place of residence (city/country opposition). 3) A study of the literacy rates according to socioprofessional categories. 4) The evolution of literacy through the century on a quantitative level (reduction of illiteracy) and a qualitative one (improvement in the qualitative one (improvement in the quality of signatures). The conclusion reveals a profound dichotomy in XVIII th century Spain: an average literacy rate slightly lower than that of Southern France, contrasting with high rates in some major cities and other areas of excellence, sometimes even better than those of French cities.