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Marie Margarita von Habsburg

1621–1621

Born
14 Aug 1621, Royal Alcazar of Madrid
Country of birth
Spain
Died
16 Aug 1621, Royal Alcazar of Madrid
facts
8
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth14 Aug 1621, Royal Alcazar of MadridProbable1 source
  • Death16 Aug 1621, Royal Alcazar of MadridProbable1 source
  • Eventinfant deathConfirmed1 source
  • ParentPhilip IV of SpainConfirmed1 source
  • ParentElisabeth of FranceConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Royal Alcazar of Madrid

    Birth, Royal Alcazar of Madrid

  2. Died · Royal Alcazar of Madrid

    Death, Royal Alcazar of Madrid

What was it like?

The world around Royal Alcazar of Madrid, 1621: 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.

Women used a face whitener made from corrosive mercury sublimate to achieve the desired pale complexion.

Known for

In their life

  • infant death
Fashion

Mercury-based cosmetic face whiteners

Women used a face whitener made from corrosive mercury sublimate to achieve the desired pale complexion.

Price of smoke cloaks

In 1680, the price for a yard of smoke cloak, a popular thin black accessory, was set at seven and a half reales.

Music

Musical Instruments for Domestic Education

In domestic settings, keyboard instruments, the guitar, and the harp were the preferred instruments for the musical education of women.

Popular and Controversial Zarabanda Dance

The zarabanda was a popular but controversial folk dance accompanied by the guitar, castanets, and tambourine; it was frequently banned for its perceived lascivious nature and vulgar gestures.

Getting around
Around 1625–1625

A curious spectacle in 1625 Madrid

In 1625, the Marquis of Toral introduced the first glass-windowed carriage in Madrid, attracting curious crowds who followed the vehicle to see if the glass would break on the rough roads.

Common methods of travel

Most people traveled on foot or horseback, though wealthy individuals used litters carried by mules or human-powered sedan chairs.

Daily life

Cooking in the kitchen

Cooking was done over low-burning fireplaces, using iron trivets to support pots or a "llar" chain to hang caldrons. Food was often prepared and eaten in the kitchen, which served as a primary gathering space for poorer families.

Water storage in homes

Most homes lacked a private well, requiring residents to fetch water from nearby public fountains. Large clay jars were then used to store this water inside the house.

Food

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.

Around 1625–1625

Wine as a safer drink than water

Ordinary people predominantly drank wine because water from rivers, wells, and irrigation ditches was frequently contaminated and posed serious health risks. Wine provided essential calories and was considered a safer alternative to water.

Work

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.

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.

News and letters

Duplicating letters to ensure delivery

Sea mail to the Americas was so uncertain that people often sent duplicate or even sextuplicate copies of letters via different routes to ensure delivery.

Letters took weeks to arrive

Communication was notoriously unreliable, and a letter between Madrid and Brussels typically took around two weeks to arrive.

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.