Natural and historical conditioning factors lie behind the origins of a pottery tradition in Ribesalbes and the later establishment of the first china factories in the late 18th century. The decisive influence of Count Aranda’s Royal Ceramic Factory in L’Alcora was vital for the china industry’s future in the barony, as well as the significant role played by Joseph Ferrer, who founded a fine china factory in 1780. From different primary documentary sources, one of which is the tax census document Contribucion general de 1817, the existence of five china factories in Ribesalbes can already be appreciated at this time. Their owners can be identified, as well as observing that one of these firms is the successor of the one founded by painter Joseph Ferrer.