History and Art Journal
Published July 13, 2026 | Version v1
Journal article Open

From fiscal exemption to agrarian capitalism: a comparative study of the Castilian hidalguía and the English gentry in the early modern era (16th–18th centuries)

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Academic Researcher

Description

This article has been published in the "History and Art Journal", 1(1), Article 4, 2026.

Abstract:
This article compares the Castilian hidalguía and the English gentry (16th–18th centuries) to explain the divergent economic trajectories of Spain and England. It argues that while the hidalgo relied on a rigid, state-enforced juridical estate based on tax immunity and blood purity, the gentry functioned as an open socio-economic class predicated on landownership and commercial viability. Through an analysis of agrarian capitalism, fiscal-political representation, and literary archetypes (Cervantes and Austen), this study posits that Castilian institutional rigidity (mayorazgo and labor taboos) petrified rural capital into rentier structures. Conversely, the gentry’s entrepreneurial pragmatism and fluid social mobility catalyzed the structural infrastructure necessary for the British Industrial Revolution.

Files

santosdegrajal_m_2026_hidalguia_gentry.pdf

Files (627.1 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:c5d03b6f6272c2d92dc23510b1c32f51
627.1 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.6084/m9.figshare.32974907

Dates

Accepted
2026-07-13
Date of final acceptance by the editorial board of History and Art Journal

References

  • Alsop, James D. "Michael J. Braddick. The Nerves of State: Taxation and the Financing of the English State, 1558–1714. (New Frontiers in History.)" Manchester: Manchester University Press; Dist. by St. Martin's Press, New York, N.Y. 1996. Pp. Xi, 244. $69.95 Cloth, $24.95 Paper. ISBN 0-7190-3871-5." Albion 29, no. 4 (1997): 668–69. https://doi.org/10.2307/4051904
  • Black, Jeremy, "Reviews: Visions sur le Développement des États Européens, Théories et Hist, riographies de l'État Moderne". Edited by Wim Blockmans and Jean-Phillipe Genet. Rome: École Française 24, 2 (1993). Pp. 336 https://doi.org/10.1177/004724419402400214
  • Bour, Isabelle. "EDWARD COPELAND and JULIET McMASTER, eds. — The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge up, 2011, XXVI + 271 pp.)." Études anglaises 67, no. 2 (2014): 252. https://doi.org/10.3917/etan.672.0251a
  • Callahan, William J. José Antonio Maravall. Poder, honor y élites en el siglo XVII. (Historia.) Madrid: Siglo Veintiuno Editores. 1979. Pp. 310, The American Historical Review, Volume 86, Issue 2, April 1981, Page 407, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/86.2.407
  • Handley, Graham. Austen: Pride and Prejudice. Brodie's Notes. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 1992. Accessed July 30, 2026. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350361959
  • Hauben, Paul J. Paul J. Antonio Domínguez Ortiz. The Golden Age of Spain, 1516–1659. Translated by James Casey. (The History of Spain.) New York: Basic Books. 1971. Pp. 361. $10,00 and Antonio Domínguez Ortiz. El Antiguo Régimen: Los reyes católicos y los Austrias (Alianza universidad. Historia de España Alfaguara, volume 3.) Madrid: Alianza Editorial, AHaguara. 1973. Pp. 488, The American Historical Review, Volume 79, Issue 3, June 1974, Pages 793–794, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/79.3.793
  • Owens, J. B. Ignacio Atienza Hernandez. Aristocracia, poder y riqueza en la España moderna: La Casa de Osuna siglos XV–XIX. Madrid: Siglo Veintiuno de España. 1987. Pp. xiv, 447. 1,415 ptas, The American Historical Review, Volume 94, Issue 2, April 1989, Pages 466–467, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/94.2.466
  • Wiener, Martin. "Lawrence Stone and Jeanne C. Fawtier Stone. An Open Elite? England 1540-1880. New York: The Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press. 1984. Pp. Xxv, 566. $39.95." Albion 17, no. 1 (1985): 74–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/4049348
  • Tawney, R. H. "The Rise of the Gentry, 1540–1640." The Economic History Review 11, no. 1 (1941): 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0289.1941.tb01588.x
  • Wickersham Crawford, J. P. "Obras Completas de Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Don Quixote de La Mancha", by Rodolfo Schevill and Adolfo Bonilla. Hispanic Review 5, no. 3 (1937): 271–72. https://doi.org/10.2307/469877
  • W. J. E. "El Pensamiento de Cervantes." Por Américo Castro (Research Article). Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 4, 133(1927). https://doi.org/10.3828/bhs.4015.133