Trabajadoras en los Andes del norte (Toacazo, Ecuador, 1778-84 y 1861)

Abstract

This article focuses on the everyday women's life in a parish located in the Northern Andes. Toacazo (Republic of Ecuador) was a small country town characterized by the persistence of the hacienda regime and the textile obrajes as the main basis of the local economy and society. The period studied goes between the ending of the colonial era and the first decades of the new independent Republic and the data that supports this research comes from the population censuses of 1778-84 and 1861. The main items to analyze are demographic behavior, family forms, labor and literacy levels of the female group.