The Canarian old sale
At the dawn of the Castilian settlement, there was a retail business in the Canary islands which was characterized by the scale od previously aquired items. The basic needs of food and clothing were covered thanks to local production, although the early commercial relations between the Archipel and European markets contributed to the circulation of merchandise from abroad.
This circulation increased with the consolidation od the free Trade commercial strategy at the end of the XIX century, which brought greater dynamism to trade, enabling the emerge of a wide variety od commercial businesses, and the diversification whith the European market of the Pound, destination to which agricultural products were exported. Thus begins the devolopment of a type of retail trade, extensive and of all kinds: The tradicional Canarian sale.
The Sale: Place for meetings and gatherings
Traditional sales played an important non-econmical function, since, in addition to serving for trade of poducts, they also did as information centers, places of contact, between neighbors and places of hobbies and leizure. For the CANARIAN people, the sales-bar allowed them to keep in touch with old friendsship and make new ones, they were places for holding evening gatherings, in which the Shopkeepers played an important role as mediataors, aadvisers and catalysts for neihgbors concern.
Grocery Store
Taditional ffod sales had differnt denominations as ¨Grocery Stores¨ caracterized the latter because food was sold on the oil side, whike the vinegar side was the Canteen wher ¨¨you could have an appetizer¨¨. In the 50´s these food shops began to offer a greater variety of items, so ther went on and were called ¨¨Ultramarinos¨¨ (food shops), it became to be wholesale and retail sale to carry out, offering to p eople as many products as basic
mecessities:clothing, footwear, pharmacopea, school supplies, harware, etc…
Women, protagonists of CANARIAN sales
Since the settlement of the new settlers took place after the Conquest, the activities of internal retail trade were carried out by women. the¨The Vendors¨ ¨Regatones¨ ¨Triperas¨or ¨Treceneras¨ -names by which they were called in the islands- were normally women of humble neighborhoods who, regardless of the marital status, were engaged in street vending or to retail – sale of bread, wine, oil and other items- as a way to contribute to family support.
Subsequently, female attention behing the counter became an job well regarded by the spouses, so that some of those who emigrated commissioned their wives to open a store in their absence to help the family burdens. they were places for Holding evening gatherings, in which the Shopkeeps played an important role as mediators, advisers and catalysts for neighborhood concerns.
GROCERY STORE
Traditional food sales had differnt denominations as¨¨Grocery Stores¨¨ caracterized the laltter because food was sold on the oil side, while the vinegar side was the Canteen where ¨¨You could have an appetizer¨¨. In the 50´s these dood shops began to offer a greater variety of items, so they went on and were called¨¨Ultramarinos¨¨ (food shop), it became to be wholesale and retail sale to carry out, offering to people as many food products as basic necessities: clothing, footwear, pharmacopeia, school supplies, hardware, etc.
Characteristics of the traditional Canarian sale
Traditional sales were family farms, with full dedication on the behalf of their owners. They used to open their doors first thing in the morning and close them early at night. There was no separtion in the place of residence and the business. An area of the house w as chosen for them that was oriented towards the outside located to door street. In some cases, it was complemented with the installation of a public telephone, a bakery or various collection services that were later offered to wholesalers such as charcoal, firewood, pine, needles, tomatoes…
The humblest sales had a counter, a plate scale, drawers and wooden shelves, where the items for sale were kept and displayed. The ¨¨oil and vinegar¨¨ sale was separated from the ¨¨dry goods¨¨ or by means of a partition that divided the counter into two parts, or by making two adjoining rooms comuunicating through a door. Starting in the 60¨s, these rooms became the sale itself and the bar as well.
The bar was intended for the consumption of wine, beer or brandy, In it you could find chochos (a vegetal appetizer), olives, smoked sardines, biscuit bread, and cheese tops, the latter covered by a fine cover of metalic cloth. Sometimes, this area had a space with tables to play cards or dominoes.The most affluent sales built by a main hall with a rectangular floor plan. This opened outwards through two or three holes and inwards throuhg one or two.
Through them, the house and the merchandise room were accessed, The inside had tow areas: one for the public and another for the products displayed for sale.Both were separated by a wooden or metal sheet counter, with glazed openings where the products were exhibited. On the counter could be found one or two weighing scales, two wooden and glass shelves, for the display for cheese, sausages, an oil meter and another one for petroleum, both connected to their respective drums. Next to the scale was placed to weigh the products of greater volume, like millet or potatoes, which used to be pilled up in sacks.
Attached to the walls were wooden shelves, with or without glass foors. This space was divided into two parts: in one, non-edible goods were exhibited such as soaps, kitchenware, fooftwear, fantasy-jewelry, perfume, haberdashery, hardware, school supplies, etc and in another one, food pharmacopeia, and drinks, The lower shelves were reserved for grain and sugar, whike the upper shelves were left for packaged products and preserves.
BULK RETAIL SALE
In stores it was common to sell many of the products in Bulk. The grains and sugar were purchased wholesale in sacks were weighing less than a kilogram, packing at the moment and with extraordinary skill throuhg a thick paper known as ¨¨Cup paper¨¨. For larger quantities, cartridges and, where appropriate sacks were used. In some rural areas, the paper to make cartridges was homemade: Back in time, when we wrapped everything with paper, a counter was necessary. Cartridges were made handmade. they were made with ¨¨Poliada¨¨ which is flour and hot water, and stuck on the sides. The good saler was the one who didn¨t drop any train. Nowadays there is a lot of plactic bags, but men keep looking. It was always like this…
BARRETO VARGAS, CANARY MUSEUM 1988-1991
Petroleum and oil essential products for lighting and cooking, that the shopkeepers had in 200 liters drums, were sold in bottles and cans, with special manual meters. Beverages such as wine, vinegar, rum or cognac, came packaged in carafes and jugs and were sold in bulk or in bottles. They used to be placed on the floor or on the lower shelves. Due to their weight and the greate ease for selling them. customers brought their own containers, such as cans, bottlels, bags for the purchase.
THE PURCHASE AND THE CREDIT
At the end of the week, each family used to make a purchase of essential products that was mor than 70% of their spending, leaving money only for the newspaper, bread and perishable products. Before the merchands were having the owns means of transport, it was common to see people leaving the shops carrying baskets over their heads or on top of animals. Another singularity of the traditional sale was the sale on credit, the popular ¨¨Fiado¨¨.It used to havae a weekly payment marginj If the client was a day laborer, or more dilated time if he was a farmer, since in the latter case, the debt was to be paid when the harvest was collected or a cattle was sold. For this, a registration book of the trustees was kept, wher it was written down in pencil, in each area of each client, the incidents ¨¨ows¨¨( with an arrow and type of items sold ) and ¨¨have¨¨ (an arrow and the amount paid).
BIOGRAPHY
BARRETO VARGAS, C.M. Economy and society:about sales in Garrafas (big bottles) (La Palma) The Canary Museum: 1988-1991, n,48,p. Franco Lopez, P.J, 2021 The disappeared oil and vinegar shops and the meeting points and the generational exchange. El Pajar: canarian Ethnology Notebook, N, 35,p. 277-283.
MONZON PERDOMO, M.E. 2010. Saleswomen in the retail trade on the island of Tenerife in the old Politcal Regime. Between Fraud and Control. IN:MORALES MONZON FRANCISCO (coord.) XVIII Colloquium on CANARIAN-AMERICAN HISTORY,p. 1388-1405.
MONZON PERDOMO, M.E. and PEREZ ALVAREZ, A.R.Buying and selling in the CANARY islands at the end of the old Political Regime. approach to retail traded in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1750-1818) In HENAREJOS LOPEZ, J.F.;IRIGOYEN LOPEZ,A.family scenarios: Trajectories, strategies and cultural guidelines, XVI-XX centuries.
SUAREZ MORENO, F. 2009. Shops and retail in GRAN CANARIA (1890-1970).
INFONORTE Digital, 51 p
