El legado de la tradición textil: Gremio de Tejedores en Quito, finales del siglo XVIII

From the beginning of colonization, guilds were formed in Quito to defend the work of those who practiced the same trade. During the colonial period, town councils regulated activities and collected taxes from artisans. The textile industry of the Royal Audience of Quito was an economic engine from the 16th century onward, becoming consolidated in the 17th century. Quito textiles, produced in workshops located in indigenous communities, haciendas, and urban areas, achieved great prestige. Textile work was divided into three sectors: workshop, domestic artisan, and home-based work. The textile industry was important for the indigenous population, who were marginalized from Quito’s economic development. Eighteen guilds were registered from the 16th century onward, and new ones were incorporated in the 18th century. Despite the textile crisis at the beginning of the 18th century, weavers built home workshops in the San Roque neighborhood of Quito. This guild played a significant role in the city’s culture and tradition. The textiles produced were used in religious ceremonies and popular festivals, and became a tool for ethnic mobility, both for the intermixture of cultures and for the use of less-privileged ethnic groups. The guild also had its own annual festival, through the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Presentation, which promoted the artistic tradition of weaving at the time. This descriptive study aims to provide an insight into the participation of Indigenous weavers in the guild and brotherhood in the second half of the 18th century. It will also identify the networks of association and textile production in the social dynamics of Quito, whose production permeated all social strata and became an economic tool for the working class.