The structures of Menorcan society in the 18th century

Precisely the relations of production in the Menorca of the Ancien Regime present the typical features of this model in which the grievous elements of society determine the functioning of the rest and the economic structure can be defined as a slow-paced and long-lasting dynamic, in which that the qualitative aspects remain practically unchanged for centuries, without their internal contradictions affecting the general interlocking of the whole.

Let us now see the different features that characterize the global structure of the Menorcan economy of the 18th century:

1. Agriculture dominated by the problem of famine. with low productivity as a consequence of the scarce technical development, the not very enterprising mentality of the owners of the land and the low quality of the land

2. The existence of an industry unlimited to the production of consumer goods. located fundamentally in the textile branch and in construction, whose techniques are still, essentially, dominated by crafts and manual work and whose organization was subject to the severe canons of union rigidity.

3. The origin of all production surpluses (in money or in kind), directly or indirectly and ultimately, from land rent.

4. Possession of land is the highest exponent of social prestige and brand. next to the title of nobility.

5. The hierarchical importance of the agrarian estates in the municipal magistracies, where they occupy the main positions

6. The pre-eminence of absentee agrarian owners in urban centers

7. The very high percentage of individuals of working age who work in the countryside, in relation to each of the other branches of the economy.

8. The structural imbalance of the trade balance as a consequence of the lack of manufactures and the agrarian deficit.