Economic and Social Changes in 19th Century Spain
Economic and Social Changes in 19th Century Spain
Economic Changes
Confiscation Process and Agricultural Changes
Throughout the 19th century, Western Europe underwent radical changes in its social and economic structures with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the era of capitalism. However, in Spain and Southeastern Europe, these economic changes were delayed and incomplete.
The agricultural changes in Spain during the 19th century were inadequate. The liberal land reform initiated by the progressive liberals aimed to change the laws in favor of developing a liberal capitalist economy in Spain (market economy, private ownership of the means of production, and wage labor). The main measures taken were the abolition of estates, the unlinking of agricultural property (primogeniture), and the confiscation and public sale of church and municipal lands.
The Mendizábal and Madoz Disentailments brought a lot of land to the market, which had not been efficiently exploited, to allow for more efficient exploitation by private citizens. However, this did not modify the structure of agricultural property, as the buyers were mainly gentry and nobility who perpetuated the landowning system. They made investments to improve production but did not create, as in France, a mass of middle-class owners interested in improving yields from their farms.
With the abolition of the estates, the land was turned into private property (free and individual), but the peasants became wage laborers or tenants, with no improvement in their lives.
Due to this land ownership structure, agriculture was not operated efficiently, generating economic and social problems. On one hand, there were large estates in the south of the peninsula that were inefficiently exploited, generating social conflicts among the large mass of landless peasants. On the other hand, there were smallholdings in the north, where production was only sufficient for subsistence and generated steady emigration. Additionally, there was the problem of backward agricultural techniques (plowing, shortages of machinery, and chemical fertilizers).
Production increased, resulting in sustained population growth, thanks to the expansion of cultivated land, including the disentailment of church and municipal lands that had not been previously exploited. The main crops were vines, olives, and citrus fruits as cash crops, and grains for the domestic market, with high prices due to protectionist policies.
In the early 20th century, the crisis of the vineyards caused by pests and the grain crisis caused by competition from new countries were overcome. Production increased with the incorporation of new technologies.
The Peculiarities of the Incorporation of Spain to the Industrial Revolution
During the 19th century, industrialization in Spain was late compared to other European countries and incomplete. Only Catalonia and the Basque Country industrialized to the same level as Western Europe, while the rest of Spain relied on agriculture as its main source of income.
The reasons for Spain’s delayed industrialization were the lack of energy and raw materials, the backwardness of agriculture, the lack of purchasing power of the majority of the population, political instability, and Spain’s geographical position, which increased transport costs.
Industrialization began in Catalonia in the early 19th century, initially with the cotton textile industry. This production only supplied the domestic market and was low compared to other European countries. Later, the steel industry also developed.
Due to the need for coal and iron as raw materials for steel production, there was a huge growth in mining.
In the early 20th century, the technological changes of the Second Industrial Revolution reached Spain. The Basque Country and Catalonia consolidated as major industrial centers and new industrial sectors emerged (shipbuilding, chemical, electrical, etc.). As a result of the enormous accumulation of capital produced by the new industries, a significant banking sector emerged in the Basque Country.
Madrid became the third industrialized region due to its status as the capital and its population growth. Industrial development led to major imbalances between the industrialized and non-industrialized regions, which hindered the organization of the national market.
Corporate monopolies eliminated competition, and state protection made companies less competitive and with little chance of development.
Modernization of Infrastructure: The Impact of the Railroad
The Train
With the transport revolution, the train reached its full potential in terms of capacity, speed, and lower costs. The construction of the national railway network proceeded with continuous momentum, first with the Railways Act and later during the Restoration. The State encouraged construction through subsidies.
The shape of the railway network was not ideal because it was a radial network centered in Madrid, hindering internal communications between the major industrial centers. Additionally, the track gauge was different from Europe’s, hindering communication with the rest of the continent.
Furthermore, the construction of the railroad did not promote industrialization as much as it could have, and Spain imported the necessary equipment from France. However, it did facilitate the exchange of people and goods.