Els Barberà d'Algemesí. Una nisaga benestant a la tardor de l'edat mitjana (segles XIV-XVI)

Every historiographical study has three irreplaceable elements: time, place and the subject of study. This one too. This monograph deals with characters united by kinship ties and mental and biological construction: the cognominats Barberà, originally from Algemesí, who in the 15th and 16th centuries dedicated themselves to speculative economic affairs that make us frame some of them in the category of entrepreneurs.

One of the most notable activities of the characters of the lineage during the 15th century will be the supply of grain to the almodins of Alzira and singularly of Valencia. This task, together with the leases of lordly and ecclesiastical rights, provided them with excellent economic income that served to lay the foundations for the next generations to continue dedicating themselves to the trastation of goods.

The manufacturing and commercial transformations promoted by the Genoese that took place in the city of Valencia during the second half of the 15th century, later transferred to Toledo, pushed the Barberà to diversify their business areas. They added grains, mainly silk fibre, but also betrayed cattle and oil. The economic uplift allowed Algemesí to triple its population in the 16th century. The Barberà were a clear exponent. The abundant offspring of some of the individuals of this lineage not only contributed to general demographic growth but also consolidated them as a singular group.
Until the segregation of Algemesí from the town of Alzira (1574), the Barberà were involved in factions dominated by the elite leaders of Alzira, a fact that often forced them to participate in the private wars of those for the control of the springs of power. Likewise, after the granting of independence, a new scenario was opened that led the oligarchies of the new municipality to a struggle to dominate the spaces of local power.

Vicent M. Garés Timor (Alzira, 1986) holds a degree in History (2009), a postgraduate degree and an interuniversity master's degree in Modern History ("History and Hispanic Identities in the Western Mediterranean (Ss). XV-XIX)”, 2011) and research fellow of the Department of Modern History of the Universitat de València (2012-2015). His thesis is about social conflict in the Ribera del Júquer during the 16th century.

Salvador Vercher Lletí (Corbera, 1965) has a degree in Geography and History, a specialization in Medieval History (1988), an interuniversity master's degree in Medieval Studies of the Crown of Aragon (2011) and a PhD in History (2017) from the University of Valencia. His thesis is on the supply of cereals and meat in Alzira and its term in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Since 2001 he has been working at the Municipal Archive of Alzira.