Abstract

IRIGOYEN-LOPEZ, Antonio  and  HERNANDEZ-FRANCO, Juan. Sociability and Authority: Spanish Families and Change in the 18^th Century. Historelo.rev.hist.reg.local [online]. 2021, vol.13, n.28, pp.169-204.  Epub June 28, 2021. ISSN 2145-132X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/historelo.v13n28.89136.

This article addresses the emergence of the domestic nuclear family which, with the restriction of the family unit to the closest relations of kin, will thereafter be dominated by affective links. This issue has been paid a good deal of attention by historiography, which sees the 18th century as a pivotal period for this development. The article's main aim is to examine the transformation undergone by the family during this period, and the Catholic Church's reaction to the new setting. The article uses comparative and content analysis methods to assess the content of several ecclesiastical treatises. This analysis reveals that ecclesiastical authors believed heads of household to have lost their authority as a result of the emergence of new forms of sociability in which a wider spectrum of family members participated. Members of the Church thought that society was beginning to ignore religious precepts, and put forward a discourse that sought to reinforce the hierarchical structure of families and reinstate the domination of male heads of household. With this, the Church aimed to reinvigorate the traditional system at a time when emotions and affects were beginning to dominate social relations.

Keywords : father; history of the family; catholic church; authority; sociability; 18^th century.

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