Abstract
Guilds were corporations of artisan workers made up by masters, officials and apprentices of the same profession or craft, ruled by special laws or statutes. Unions were natural extensions of guilds, and they moved "under the shadow of the Church". Guilds were ruled by laws, while unions had their own constitutions, usually taken from the Spanish ones. According to the knowledge and technical capacities of those in the guild, the New Hispanic architects, as well as in other professions, started out by being apprentices, then became officials, and lastly turned to be masters. Apprentices carried out the hardest work within the workshops. After presenting a theoretic and practical exam, apprentices could aspire after the category of officials, whom in turn had to undergo another exam, much harder and extensive, to acquire the category of masters.