Bizkaia Miners’ Struggle & 1890 Strike
Bizkaia Miners’ Struggle and the 1890 Strike
Source Text Analysis (1896)
Type: Primary source. Regarding the form: article/propaganda text + narrative. Content: Socio-political text.
Author: Socialists, published in their bulletin “La Lucha de Clases” (The Class Struggle) by socialist committees of Bilbao, Gallarta, and La Arboleda (inspired by Facundo Perezagua).
Addressed to: Workers of Bizkaia (miners), but also the Government. Public text.
Objective: To denounce the working conditions of miners and call for mobilization.
Location and Date: Period of the industrialization process of Bizkaia (1896), characterized by capital accumulation by the bourgeoisie and poor living and working conditions for workers, leading to the beginning of the labor movement.
Main Idea and Content
Main Idea: Denunciation of the working conditions of miners and a call for mobilization.
Content Breakdown:
- Explanation of the situation and complaint: The poor working conditions of the miners on the left bank of the Bilbao estuary and denunciation that the Loma Agreement is not being met. After the “Great Strike” of 1890, the Loma Treaty was signed, but entrepreneurs (referred to as “little-kings” in paragraph 2) did not want to apply its terms. These conditions were against human dignity, maintaining barracks and company stores.
- Request made to the government: Compliance with the Loma Agreement. Paragraphs 2 and 3 mention the objectives that miners were looking for in the 1890 strike: reduction of the working day (to 10 hours) and elimination of barracks and company stores.
- Appeal to worker mobilization: Workers achieved certain things with the 1890 strike, so the text calls for continued action if the situation remains the same. Paragraphs 4-6 use the principles of democratic liberalism to denounce the situation, attacking the freedom of work (paragraph 5), unhygienic housing and poor food conditions (paragraph 4), and the exploitation of workers (paragraph 5), all of which generate signs of a new slavery (paragraph 6).
Historical Precedents
Beginning of industrialization in Bizkaia: The appearance of the Bessemer converter provided an advantage for Bizkaia (due to the excellent characteristics of its iron). This, combined with open-pit mines (leading to increased exploitation of the mines), unskilled workers, very low production costs, and closeness to the Bilbao estuary, fueled industrial development. This offered excellent opportunities to the new industrial bourgeoisie and led to the development of steel companies in Bizkaia.
The influence of colonial exploitation (in how mining operations were organized) brought an accumulation of capital for some families of the Bizkaia oligarchy. On the other hand, the conditions of work and life for workers were terrible (uncontrolled dismissals, long workdays, housing in barracks, company stores, etc.).
Context: The Rise of the Labor Movement
This situation caused the emergence of the labor movement, linked to socialism and the figure of Facundo Perezagua. In 1886, he began to expand socialist doctrine throughout Bizkaia, giving the movement its own identity: a radical, hard-working, revolutionary, anti-clerical tendency that chose union struggle over electoral politics. In 1887, the first socialist group was founded in Bilbao.
This was called the militant period of socialism in Bizkaia, more linked to union struggle than to participation in elections. The Great Strike of 1890 was key during this period, becoming decisive in the emergence of the Bizkaia workers’ movement. The real reasons for the strike were the decrease in workers’ purchasing power (lower real salaries, higher food costs), long workdays, housing in barracks, and the obligation to buy from company stores. The “Loma Agreement” was signed to resolve the problem, ending the strike. Strikers won a victory: a 10-hour workday and the elimination of the obligation to buy in company stores and live in barracks.
Consequences and Significance
The Loma Agreement, however, was not respected everywhere, and strikes were repeated in 1891, 1892, 1903, and 1910. Even so, the 1890 strike remained a pivotal moment. It demonstrated that there were ways to pressure employers and that gains could be achieved. The strike’s success showed Socialists in Bizkaia the way to strengthen their project. New socialist groups emerged, including the Socialist Federation of Bizkaia in 1903. In the near future (20th century), Indalecio Prieto would lead a shift towards moderation and participation in government institutions.
Conclusion
This text describes the situation in the mines of Bizkaia and the struggle of the workers, highlighting their difficult living conditions and exposing the insatiable capitalism of the time (focused on capital accumulation).
It also presents the militant period of Basque socialism and its work in expanding the workers’ movement in Bizkaia: giving workers class consciousness, mobilization capacity, and highlighting the importance of publications like “La Lucha de Clases”.