Western and eastern values of society underscore the family as a fundamental social structure and institution.1 The family reveals the most significant sociocultural features of European communi-ties in a given context, and these become central communication channels back to the family. This idea asserts James Casey’s axiom that family and society are part of a single unit.2The family is at the centre of this study and is also its organisa-tional reference: through the structure of the family, I show how a complex and highly hierarchised society like the ancien régime’s worked and evolved. Furthermore, the individual is the main protagonist of this social tapestry. The tracking of the life-cycle, namely by following main vital events such as birth, marriage and death becomes the main technique and method to explore an individual’s world and social reality.3 This study focuses on recon-structing the life trajectory of members of the most important urban oligarchic families, analysing the social behaviour and modus operandi of this social elite in southern Spain.