Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Infanta Maria Eugenia of Spain

1625–1627

Born
21 Nov 1625, Royal Alcazar of Madrid
Country of birth
Spain
Died
21 Jul 1627, Royal Alcazar of Madrid
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth21 Nov 1625, Royal Alcazar of MadridProbable1 source
  • Death21 Jul 1627, Royal Alcazar of MadridProbable1 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, 1625: 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

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

  1. 1627

    First royal bankruptcy in 1627

    In 1627, Spain was forced to declare its first bankruptcy due to the insupportable military strain on the monarchy's resources.

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.