Hospodářská politika zezdola – cechovní reforma na Moravě v první polovině 18. století
Economic Policy from Below: Guilds and the State in the Czech Lands in the First Half of the 18th Century

Summary/Abstract: The guild reforms introduced from the 1730s to the 1750s comprise various regulatory documents issued by Charles VI and his daughter Maria Theresa, the most obvious manifestation of which was the issuance of the General Guild Patent of 1731 and the General Guild Order of 1739. In the Czech and Austrian lands, the reforms in the mid-18th century were conceived primarily as a means of „liberalizing“ economic legislation, with an emphasis on restricting the power of the guilds. At least for the reign of Charles VI and his successor Maria Theresa, however, the opposite is true. While the feudal decrees certainly mention the need to purge the guild system of various abuses and faults, this does not mean that the aim of the reforms was to significantly weaken the economic and, in particular, the social role of these guild organizations. Rather, craftsmen in the Czech lands welcomed the issuance of the general guild patent and the subsequent general guild rules, especially in the question of non-guild craftsmen and the discipline of journeymen.

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