19th Century Spain: Social Shifts, Political Upheaval, and Colonial Loss
SPANISH SOCIETY OF 19TH CENTURY
The New Ruling Classes
The landed gentry retained land ownership despite losing manorial rights. Some aristocratic families faced financial ruin and sold assets. The wealthy gentry, owning industries, companies, and banks, dominated socially with the nobility. They acquired land sold during seizures. The middle bourgeoisie, comprising small industrialists, merchants, and officials, was weak.
The Popular Classes
Women primarily worked in domestic service, a role limited to the upper class otherwise. Industrial growth led many farmers to migrate to cities for work, becoming the industrial proletariat. They faced poor working conditions: 12-14 hour days, low wages, no security system, and unsafe factories. They lived in poorly ventilated, unsanitary houses in districts lacking lighting and sewers, leading to rampant infectious diseases and a life expectancy of around 20 years.
Farmers
Farmers constituted the majority of the population. 80% didn’t own land or had insufficient land for survival. Some peasants leased land from landowners, while others worked as day laborers or servants. Their numbers increased from 3,600,000 to 5,400,000 in the 19th century. They faced low wages, arbitrary treatment, and loss of communal land resources, leading to peasant revolts.
LABOR MOVEMENT: Anarchism and Marxism
Industrial society created a new disadvantaged class: those who worked for wages. The industrial and agricultural proletariat found in trade unions a vehicle for social ideas like anarchism and Marxism, addressing harsh living and working conditions.
Early Labor Movements
Spain’s limited industrialization concentrated workers in Catalonia, Basque Country, Asturias, and Madrid. Early protests were Luddite, like the Alcoy events (1821) and the Bonaplata factory fire in Barcelona. Workers formed unions like the Barcelona Workers Association (1840) to fight for reduced hours, increased wages, and the right to associate, despite bans. The first general strike occurred in Barcelona in 1855 against new machinery.
The First International’s ideas spread during the Democratic Sexenio, leading to the Spanish Federation of Workers’ International Association (1870), disseminating Marxism and anarchism.
Anarchism
Anarchism gained traction among Catalan workers and Andalusian peasants. Late 19th-century anarchism advocated autonomous groups challenging bourgeois and capitalist society, leading to attacks and violent responses from the army.
Socialism
Marxism influenced the proletariat in Madrid, Basque Country, and Asturias. Pablo Iglesias founded the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) in 1879 and the General Union of Workers (UGT) in 1888. Socialists advocated parliamentary participation to defend workers’ interests, achieving their first deputy in 1910.
THE SIX-YEAR DEMOCRACY (1868-1874)
Spain aimed to move beyond conservative liberalism, introducing democratic principles like universal male suffrage, political rights, and social reforms.
The 1868 Revolution
An economic crisis and political erosion of the Elizabethan regime triggered a revolution. Unionists, liberals, and democrats united in the Pact of Ostend for democratization and economic recovery. The military revolt led by Prim and Serrano in September 1868 ousted Queen Elizabeth II. A provisional government implemented reforms, recognized fundamental rights, and established universal male suffrage, culminating in the 1869 Constitution.
Democratic Monarchy (1870-1873)
The 1869 Constitution established a monarchy. Amadeo of Savoy became king in 1870 but faced opposition from moderates, Carlists, the Church, and Republicans. Insurrections in Cuba and a Carlist War added to the challenges, leading to Amadeo’s abdication in 1873.
The First Republic
Parliament proclaimed the Republic after Amadeo’s abdication. It faced numerous challenges: Cuban and Carlist Wars, Republican divisions, social unrest, and cantonal uprisings like Cartagena. Monarchists plotted to restore the monarchy under Alfonso, Isabel II’s son. General Pavia’s coup dissolved Parliament, leading to a conservative republican government under General Serrano, which ultimately paved the way for the monarchy’s return.
The Restored Monarchy
The Canovist System
Canovas established a conservative parliamentary system with two main parties: Conservative Party (led by Cánovas, favoring political stagnation, church defense, and social order) and Liberal Party (led by Sagasta, favoring democratic, secular, and social reforms). Both parties alternated power through a manipulated electoral system.
Nationalism
Nationalist movements emerged: Catalan Renaissance led to demands for autonomy; Basque Country saw protests against the abolition of charters, resulting in the Basque Nationalist Party (1894); Galician Rexurdimento remained primarily cultural.
The 1898 Crisis
An insurrection in Cuba in 1895, fueled by Spain’s refusal to grant reforms and autonomy, led to US intervention. The US declared war after the sinking of the USS Maine, defeating Spain and acquiring Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. This defeat caused frustration and pessimism in Spain, prompting calls for democratization and an end to corruption.
CAUSES OF INDEPENDENCE
- Enlightened ideas and French Revolution principles of freedom and equality.
- Success of the British North American colonies’ independence in 1776.
- Discontent of the Creole bourgeoisie, who saw Spain as hindering their economic and political aspirations.
Creoles faced economic restrictions, heavy taxes, and marginalization from political life, despite their economic power.
