Industrialization in 19th Century Spain: Catalonia, Basque Country, and Key Regions
Industrialization in 19th Century Spain
Negative Conditioning Factors
Spain’s industrialization lagged behind other European countries. Although figures from the 19th century indicate average industrial growth in the European context, industrialization attempts prior to 1850 were largely unsuccessful. Several factors explain this delay:
- Demographic: Spain’s population figures and growth rates were insufficient to ensure a surge in demand.
- Economic: The absence of an enterprising bourgeoisie and the capital necessary to undertake investments meant that industrialization was sustained through state initiatives and foreign investment.
- Technical: Coal extraction in Spain was very expensive. The lack of indigenous innovations led to a deep dependence on foreign technicians.
Industrialization in Catalonia
Catalonia became the leading Spanish industrial region. The takeoff was due to agricultural improvements, increased domestic demand, and the expansion of trade with Spanish America, which led to the first industrial expansion. This marked the beginning of a productive system based on steam power in factories and the expansion of an industrial bourgeoisie. The process originated in the cotton-based textile industry, which became a symbol of Catalan industrial strength. The cotton industry made it possible to implement protectionist legislation to preserve Catalan production from British competition. This protectionism led to an alliance between the Catalan bourgeoisie and politicians who favored these tariff rates. Between 1831 and 1835, Catalan cotton experienced a boom, with increased cotton imports and better mechanical installations. The cotton boom attracted textile industries historically implanted in other regions to Catalonia. Apart from the textile sector, industrialization in Catalonia was less intense, although a metal and engineering industry consolidated, providing services to textile production and reaching its peak at the end of the century.
The Steel Industry
The evolution of the steel industry revealed Spain’s energy insufficiencies and difficulties in implementing technological innovations from abroad. Three outbreaks developed successively during the 19th century, highlighting the difficulties caused by shortages and the poor quality of Asturian coal:
- Andalusia: This was the pioneering region in the opening of blast furnaces. The capital of the Port of Malaga, mineral wealth, and charcoal were the ingredients of an attempt carried out between 1830 and 1874.
- Asturias: Asturias took over from 1850, using the coal deposits of the Nalon basin.
- The Basque Country: The Basque Country experienced its industrial boom in the last third of the 19th century. Collaboration between the region and Britain was vitally important in this process. The exchange of iron for British coke was essential for Basque industrialization. In 1902, Altos Hornos de Vizcaya was founded to protect the interests of the industry.
Other Industrial Initiatives
Only Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Asturias fully embraced the Industrial Revolution. In the rest of Spain, old artisan workshops coexisted with more modern factories. Industrialization reached other areas and activities:
- Regions like Andalusia and La Mancha developed a growing food industry, especially flour.
- In Valencia, the development of export agriculture stimulated industrial development.
- In Aragon, the decline in traditional textiles was offset by the development of the flour industry.
- In Madrid, some industrial dynamism was observed, with two leading sectors: printing and publishing. Large workshops also evolved.
The development of railways allowed the emergence of a machinery industry.