Life, Commerce and Society

Visitors are taken back in time to sixteenth-century Seville, where a renowned Eibar merchant, Martín López de Isasi, awaits them in his office in the Andalusian city. López de Isasi will explain the importance of trade between Eibar and Andalusia, overseas and the north of Europe; the influence of women on society and industry in the Basque town; and last but not least, the invaluable contribution of noble families of Eibar in setting up businesses. We will also be given an insight into ?the other industry?, that which was relegated to second place given the primacy of the arms industry but nonetheless had a profound effect on the evolution of the town in the eighteenth century. The fall in the volume of orders from the Royal Arms Factories of Placencia forced the master armourers to resort to other trades such as the manufacture of nails or containers for transporting quicksilver to the Americas. They also produced embedded metal crosses for the embellishment of military uniforms. This business was promoted by an inhabitant of Eibar of Flemish origin, José de Lamot, who rose to the position of Auditor of the Royal Arms Factories of Placencia. These provide an example of how the versatility of the town?s society and industry has enabled them to overcome periods of economic adversity.