Archivo Municipal de Guadalajara
Item
Country
ES
Name of institution (English)
Municipal Archive of Guadalajara
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
spa
Contact information: postal address
Avenida del Vado 15, 19005 Guadalajara
Contact information: phone number
0034 949010337
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archivooficina@aytoguadalajara.es
dmartinezv@aytoguadalajara.es
Reference number
ES.19130.AM/11
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Municipal Archive of Guadalajara
Title (official language of the state)
Archivo Municipal de Guadalajara
Language of title
spa
Creator / accumulator
City council of Guadalajara
Date(s)
1251/2003
Language(s)
spa
Extent
3,310 linear metres
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Ayuntamiento de Guadalajara collection of the Municipal Archive of Guadalajara contains documentation produced and received by the city council of Guadalajara from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. The documents inform us about the exercise of the functions of the city council over the centuries. The fonds is classified in the following divisions:
Organos de Gobierno (Government) (1251-2003). It contains documents related to the city and the city’s mayor.
Secretaria General (General Secretary) (1523-2003).
Servicios Generales (General Services) (1309-2003). It contains information about the city council holdings, finances, and taxes.
Servicios Municipales (Municipal Services) (1260-2003). It contains the documents of services provided by the city council.
Tabla de Colecciones (Collections) (1483-2003).
From the medieval period, stand out documents both royal (royal provisions, orders, privileges, and pragmatics) and municipal (city council minutes and ordinances). The documents produced by the city council contain information about relationships with other councils (municipal boundaries and neighbourhoods of Guadalajara with other councils), economic activities (meat and fish markets, farming of municipal rents and distribution), confraternities, deeds endorsed by notaries and scribes (private sales documents, purchases, letters of obligation, letters of debt). The presence of ecclesiastical and seigniorial documents in this collection must also be noted.
Concerning Jews, there are royal privileges, such as the one granted in 1460 by King Enrique IV that exempt whoever was going to settle in Guadalajara. Jews would also be exempt from paying the poll tax (“cabeza de pecho”) and “servicio y medio servicio” tax. Royal provisions relating to the Jews are also preserved. Juan II issued one in 1450 that is very important for the study of the Jewish community in Castile, since it grants the Jewish aljamas the right to elect their own (Jewish) judges, as well as to litigate in both civil and criminal lawsuits.
Rentals of properties located in the Santiago and San Gil quarters that were owned by the Santa Clara Convent (15th century) are recorded. For example, Simuel de Hariza rented a house with a store from the convent located in the San Gil quarter, which had been previously rented by his father (1475).
Many documents are preserved regarding farming of municipal rents and income distributions (wine, meat, fish, “alcabalas”, “tercios”, honey, oil), in which Jewish participation is important (1450, 1457, 1458, 1459, 1473, and 1475). For instance, in 1457, Huda Abenamias and Çuleman Albo were tax-renters of the cloth sales tax, and in 1475, Yuçaf Alfandari was tax farmer of the tax of wine and of the Muslim and Jewish butcher shops.
Last wills and guardianship accounts also provide information on some Jews who acted as lenders. For example, in Alfonso de Carrion's last will there are mentioned payments to Abraen Almaxex, David Aros, Yuça Cavallero, Jaco Xabi, and Symuel de Hariza (1479). Some of these lenders had notebooks where they recorded debts and took pledges to ensure the return of the borrowed money. Letters of obligation to pay debts are also preserved, such as that of Abraham Abenatar, who owed 1,200 mrs (1468), and property sale letters, such as the sale made by Huda Alfandari, from Talamanca, of some houses he had there (1464).
Finally, there is post-expulsion documentation. For instance, an order of the Catholic Monarchs is preserved, in which they compel the conversos to dwell in separate houses and among other Christians (1493).
Organos de Gobierno (Government) (1251-2003). It contains documents related to the city and the city’s mayor.
Secretaria General (General Secretary) (1523-2003).
Servicios Generales (General Services) (1309-2003). It contains information about the city council holdings, finances, and taxes.
Servicios Municipales (Municipal Services) (1260-2003). It contains the documents of services provided by the city council.
Tabla de Colecciones (Collections) (1483-2003).
From the medieval period, stand out documents both royal (royal provisions, orders, privileges, and pragmatics) and municipal (city council minutes and ordinances). The documents produced by the city council contain information about relationships with other councils (municipal boundaries and neighbourhoods of Guadalajara with other councils), economic activities (meat and fish markets, farming of municipal rents and distribution), confraternities, deeds endorsed by notaries and scribes (private sales documents, purchases, letters of obligation, letters of debt). The presence of ecclesiastical and seigniorial documents in this collection must also be noted.
Concerning Jews, there are royal privileges, such as the one granted in 1460 by King Enrique IV that exempt whoever was going to settle in Guadalajara. Jews would also be exempt from paying the poll tax (“cabeza de pecho”) and “servicio y medio servicio” tax. Royal provisions relating to the Jews are also preserved. Juan II issued one in 1450 that is very important for the study of the Jewish community in Castile, since it grants the Jewish aljamas the right to elect their own (Jewish) judges, as well as to litigate in both civil and criminal lawsuits.
Rentals of properties located in the Santiago and San Gil quarters that were owned by the Santa Clara Convent (15th century) are recorded. For example, Simuel de Hariza rented a house with a store from the convent located in the San Gil quarter, which had been previously rented by his father (1475).
Many documents are preserved regarding farming of municipal rents and income distributions (wine, meat, fish, “alcabalas”, “tercios”, honey, oil), in which Jewish participation is important (1450, 1457, 1458, 1459, 1473, and 1475). For instance, in 1457, Huda Abenamias and Çuleman Albo were tax-renters of the cloth sales tax, and in 1475, Yuçaf Alfandari was tax farmer of the tax of wine and of the Muslim and Jewish butcher shops.
Last wills and guardianship accounts also provide information on some Jews who acted as lenders. For example, in Alfonso de Carrion's last will there are mentioned payments to Abraen Almaxex, David Aros, Yuça Cavallero, Jaco Xabi, and Symuel de Hariza (1479). Some of these lenders had notebooks where they recorded debts and took pledges to ensure the return of the borrowed money. Letters of obligation to pay debts are also preserved, such as that of Abraham Abenatar, who owed 1,200 mrs (1468), and property sale letters, such as the sale made by Huda Alfandari, from Talamanca, of some houses he had there (1464).
Finally, there is post-expulsion documentation. For instance, an order of the Catholic Monarchs is preserved, in which they compel the conversos to dwell in separate houses and among other Christians (1493).
Archival history
At the beginning of the 15th century, the city council of Guadalajara recorded in a book all the privileges and confirmation letters that it kept. In 1529, Luis Suarez and Melchor de la Bastida initiated the inventory of the deeds of the ark, a medieval repository for official parchments and documents, located at the city hall. In 1545, an inventory of the writings and privileges contained in the ark and archive was carried out. Years later, in 1574, a new inventory mentions the documents found in the city council archive ark.
Administrative / Biographical history
Guadalajara was conquered in 1085 by Alfonso VI. In 1133, the city received its first Local Charter, which marked the municipal boundaries, and in 1219, the second. In 1460, Guadalajara was granted the title of city, which guaranteed its participation (and vote) in the Cortes. The establishment of the “regidores” system seems have happened later in Guadalajara than in other cities (1405), as well as a permanent presence of the “corregidores” (1540). At the end of the 16th century, the city began a process of decline. After the War of the Spanish Succession, Guadalajara saw the establishment of the Royal Cloth Factory, although at the end of the 18th century the municipal finances were almost bankrupt. During the Peninsular War, the city was occupied by the French army, which caused great damage. The economic recovery of Guadalajara began in the second half of the 19th century thanks to the establishment of national institutions, such as the Academy of Military Engineering, and to municipal investment in local infrastructures.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
This collection is divided into the following sections: 11) Ayuntamiento de Guadalajara; 11.1) Organos de Gobierno; 11.2) Secretaria General; 11.3) Servicios Generales; 11.4) Servicios Municipales; and 11.5) Tabla de Colecciones.
Access, restrictions
Free access regulated by the current legal environment on access to Spanish historical archives (law 16/1985 of Spanish Historical Patrimony).
Finding aids
Data on the collection are also available at the website of the Spanish National Archives (PARES).
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivo Municipal de Guadalajara | Collections (official language of the state) |