Social Stratification: From Feudalism to Industrial Classes
1. From Society to Class-Stratified Society
1.1 The Rise of Privileged Classes
The new laws imposed legal equality on citizens, requiring them to pay taxes, be judged by the same laws, and have equal political rights. Citizenship became a legal status. Differences arose primarily from wealth. The abolition of special legislation favoring the nobility caused them to lose some privileges, but they retained importance by integrating into the new ruling class. The clergy’s economic power decreased significantly, although the Church maintained ecclesiastical jurisdiction, granting its members immunity from detention and military obligations.
1.2 A New Social Organization
The classes of the new society were open groups, determined by one’s role in the capitalist system. In the 19th century, two large social groups emerged: the bourgeoisie, possessing urban wealth from industrial or agricultural property, income, or working capital. It included the nobility (now large landowners), and the medium and small urban bourgeoisie. The working class consisted of small artisans, domestic workers, store clerks, etc. Poor peasants and laborers formed the antagonistic class to the bourgeoisie, the proletariat, who possessed only their wages. Inequalities of wealth and harsh living conditions gave rise to new social movements and political ideologies, demanding better wages and working conditions, and denouncing capitalism as an unjust social system.
2. The New Ruling Groups
2.1 Persistence of the Nobility
The nobility’s economic power increased. They retained most of their lands and acquired new properties through confiscation. The fate of the lesser nobility was different. The nobility’s power also stemmed from political influence, as they gained privileges, participated in negotiations, obtained political offices, and benefited from extensive social relations.
2.2 Bourgeois Groups
The liberal revolution in Spain fostered a new bourgeoisie tied to business, trade, banking, and foreign capital. They were creditors of the state’s public debt and large investors in the stock exchange. The bourgeoisie had diverse regional origins, with centers in the north, Andalusia, and Madrid. The industrial bourgeoisie, limited by Spain’s territorial extension, was mainly concentrated in Catalonia and the Basque Country. They sought protectionist policies for their fledgling industry, but their numerical weakness, limited economic power, and peripheral location hampered their development.
2.3 The Middle Classes
The middle classes formed an intermediate group between the powerful and the employees, comprising less than 5% of the population. They included mid-landowners, merchants, small manufacturers, and employees. Their incomes were unequal and depended on their business’s success. Liberal professionals were grouped into three bodies: law, construction/real estate, and health. They shared a lifestyle with the powerful groups but had more limited economic capacity, living an austere life focused on education and maintaining social status.
2.4 Composition of the New Ruling Elite
The ruling elite of liberal society was a symbiosis between the old aristocracy and new bourgeois groups. The bourgeoisie supported innovation and new legal and political forms that shaped the state, law, and property. The introduction of a census-based liberal system gave them a monopoly on political power, which only began to crumble with the emergence of the Democratic and Republican parties.
3. The Popular Classes
3.1 Artisans and Urban Groups
Guild privileges disappeared in the 1830s, but a strong artisanal sector persisted, producing most manufactured goods. Urban growth and the new liberal state structure concentrated service workers in cities, blurring the lines between the middle and working classes.
3.2 Evolution of the Peasantry
Liberal land reforms concentrated land ownership further. Emigration to cities occurred, but a significant Spanish population remained in rural areas. Landlessness increased, along with short-term contracts and large estates. In some areas, old lords retained their land, reinforcing their ownership claims. In contrast, in Catalonia and Valencia, many tenants gained access to property. Peasants’ aspirations for land ownership were often frustrated, leading to “land hunger.” They faced harsh living conditions, high rents, and famine. The peasantry’s situation gradually improved, leading to urban migration.