Juan Cossío

1640–1701

Born: 1640, Ciudad Real
Country of birth: Spain
Died: 1701, Kingdom of Naples

facts: 6
sources: 1
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Facts and their sources

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Birth1640, Ciudad RealProbable1 source
Death1701, Kingdom of NaplesProbable1 source
ParentPhilip IV of SpainConfirmed1 source
ParentTomasa AldanaConfirmed1 source

A life in time

1640
Born · Ciudad Real
Birth, Ciudad Real
1701
Died · Kingdom of Naples
Death, Kingdom of Naples

What was it like?

The world around Ciudad Real, 1640: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

In 1680, a yard of the popular thin, black smoke cloak worn by women was valued at seven and a half reales. Meanwhile, a fashionable hand fan in the summer could cost as much as six escudos.

Fashion

Costs of Fashionable Accessories

In 1680, a yard of the popular thin, black smoke cloak worn by women was valued at seven and a half reales. Meanwhile, a fashionable hand fan in the summer could cost as much as six escudos.

Extreme Baroque Fashion

Farthingales became so enormously wide that two women could stand apart yet still have their skirts touch, effectively occupying the space of a canopy. Women also used corrosive mercury sublimate to whiten their faces, often applying excessive amounts of blush.

Music

Church use of wooden matracas

During Holy Week, the Church allowed the use of wooden noisemakers called matracas to commemorate the death of Jesus when bells were forbidden.

The controversial zarabanda dance

The zarabanda was a popular but controversial dance known for its lascivious movements, often accompanied by singing, guitar, tambourine, and castanets.

Getting around

Common modes of seventeenth-century travel

People traveled mainly on foot, on horseback, or in mule-drawn litters and carts, as carriages were often uncomfortable due to a lack of suspension. The wealthy sometimes used litters or carriages, while the general population relied on horses, mules, or walking.

Fast travel via relay horses

Travel via the post system was the fastest method, with royal mail and some travelers using relay horses to reach speeds covering 150 to 200 kilometers per day. A trip from Seville to Madrid, for example, was expected to be completed in two days and eighteen hours.

Daily life

Accessing water for daily use

While wealthy households might have a private well, most ordinary families had to carry water from the nearest public fountain to their homes.

Nightly waste disposal and street hygiene

To maintain hygiene, residents often threw waste from their homes onto the streets at night, leading to the famous cry of "agua va" to warn passersby. This practice contributed significantly to the extreme filth and foul odors reported by foreign travelers in cities like Madrid.

Food

Survival diet using chestnuts and nuts

In some northern regions of Spain, when grain was scarce, families survived for six months or more by eating chestnuts, nuts, and various wild fruits and herbs. This reliance on non-grain staples was a common adaptation to regional food shortages.

The staple olla stew for commoners

The staple dish for commoners was a thick stew known as olla, which was simmered for hours and often thickened with flour made from wheat or millet, popularly called flour of the poor. It typically consisted of available legumes, such as chickpeas, beans, or fava beans, and vegetables like turnips.

Prices and wages

Around 1650–1650

Worker income and book prices in 1650

A Castilian laborer earned 13,300 maravedíes annually in 1650, meaning a week of wages could purchase a copy of Góngora's complete works.

Work

Wages for field laborers and servants

Farm laborers working as live-in servants often earned an annual salary of up to 32 reales, while daily field workers typically earned between 30 maravedíes and 3.5 reales per day plus wine.

Work of the water carrier

Water carriers, known as azacán in Andalusia, supplied houses without private wells by transporting water in jars or barrels using donkeys or mule-drawn carts.

News and letters

Payment upon delivery for letters

Recipients had to pay the postage fee in cash to the carrier upon delivery, as there were no postage stamps at the time.

Secret notes hidden in objects

People used small, secret notes called billetes, which were sometimes hidden in everyday objects like conservation boxes or inside water jugs to maintain privacy.

During their lifetime

1640
Catalan peasant revolt in 1640
During the winter of 1640, a peasant uprising broke out in Catalonia against Spanish troops stationed there, leading to political instability.
1647
Plague epidemic ravages Spanish regions
A widespread plague outbreak began in Valencia in 1647, devastating various regions across Spain until its final decline in 1654.
1699
Los Gatos food riot in Madrid
A major riot over food shortages, known as the Los Gatos riot, erupted in Madrid during the spring of 1699.
1700
War of the Spanish Succession begins
The War of the Spanish Succession broke out in 1700, bringing years of heavy taxation, conscription, and famine that crippled local economies like Ubeda.

Family

Parents

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.