The article looks at how wages in Madrid changed in the 1600s. Wages went up when the Court came to Madrid in 1561, but then dropped from 1621 to 1680. This was because the government's money policies caused the value of coins to go down, making workers' wages worth less. By 1665, wages were lower than they were in the early 1600s. Taxes also kept wages low from 1681 to 1700. Workers couldn't make up for the lower wages by working more hours or days.