Labor Movement and Social Uprisings in 19th Century Spain
The Birth of the Labor Movement
In the 1820s, Luddism emerged as the first expression of rebellion against the introduction of machinery in the workplace. Workers blamed machines for job losses and decreased wages. In 1821, workers burned down a mechanical workshop in Alcoy, and in 1835, the Bonaplata factory in Barcelona was set on fire. Soon, workers realized that their problems were not caused by the machines themselves, but by the working conditions imposed by the factory owners. They began to advocate for the right of association and the improvement of their living and working conditions.
Workers’ associations emerged to defend their interests. The associationist movement spread, and mutual aid societies, or mutuals, were created. Workers paid a fee to these societies to ensure assistance in case of illness or unemployment. Strikes became an instrument to pressure business owners. Workers created funds to help those on strike (Resistance Boxes). The first general strike occurred in 1855 in Barcelona (during the Progressive Biennium) in response to the introduction of spinning machines that reduced the need for manual labor, causing many workers to lose their jobs.
Agrarian Uprisings
The increase in the rural population without employment created a serious social problem, particularly in Andalusia. In the 1840s, a series of events shook the Andalusian countryside, where day laborers were the majority. Bad harvests caused famine, and chronic poverty sank thousands of farmers. In response, they burned crops, among other things (similar to the Luddite movement). This problem was exacerbated in 1855 with the seizure of communal properties from municipalities, which led to peasant revolts that were suppressed by the army and the Civil Guard.
In 1861, Rafael Pérez del Álamo led an uprising in Loja (Granada) that mobilized up to 10,000 men. The repression of the movement caused many deaths. Afterward, banditry spread throughout Andalusia in response to social inequality.
Utopian Socialism and Republicanism
Laborers and the labor movement found support in doctrines like socialism. The first of these was called utopian socialism, which sought to create egalitarian societies with collective ownership and equal distribution of wealth, ending the inequities of liberal society. The introduction of these doctrines was thanks to the spread of French utopian socialist thought, such as that of Saint-Simon. A key Spanish figure was Joaquín Abreu, who defended the creation of phalansteries (cooperatives of production and consumption that provided everything necessary for their inhabitants). Writers who spread socialism and cooperatives included Fernando Garrido, Sixto Cámara, and Francisco Pi i Margall. The working class was also closely linked to federal republicanism.
The Arrival of the International in Spain
The International Workingmen’s Association (IWA), also known as the First International, was founded in 1864 at the proposal of Karl Marx. Marx was a proponent of scientific socialism, as opposed to utopian socialism. The IWA aimed to defend the emancipation of workers through their own struggle, gaining political power through revolution. According to Marxist economic theories, society was polarized into two hostile and antagonistic classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
There were clear differences between Marxists and anarchists. Anarchists opposed political action, the participation of the proletariat in elections, and the formation of political parties. The goals of Marxists and anarchists were the same: an egalitarian society without classes and without a state. However, their methods differed, and they often clashed.
Giuseppe Fanelli was an emissary of the IWA who traveled to Madrid and Barcelona to create affiliated nuclei. Anselmo Lorenzo was one of the leaders of these groups. Fanelli was a member of the anarchist organization Alliance for Socialist Democracy, and he spread anarchist ideas throughout Spain. The First Regional Congress of the Spanish Federation of the IWA concluded that the strike was the basic weapon of the proletariat, and that social revolution should be achieved through direct action.