Somorrostro Mine: Unveiling 1904 Industrial Hardships
El Intruso: A Glimpse into the Lives of Miners
The text we are going to analyze is a narrative and historical text, and a primary source, due to its content. It was written by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, who was from Valencia. This author mainly wrote historical texts with social content. This book was published in 1904, in Valencia. The text is divided into two main paragraphs.
The first one describes the houses of workers and the main character, Aresti, who was the witness of the terrible living conditions of miners. Aresti was inspired by Doctor Areilza, who worked in the miner hospital of Triano at the end of the 19th century.
The second paragraph is divided into two parts:
- The first one is about the awful workers’ houses.
- The second one is about the appalling working conditions of the miners.
The author made a distinction between quarries and mines, considering the first ones much more dangerous than the second ones, as skill was not needed for working there. Most of the workers were from Castile, that came to Biscay pushed by hunger. The author affirms that the bad working conditions would improve when people stopped coming.
Historical Context: Exploitation of the Somorrostro Mine
The exploitation of the Somorrostro mine dates back to Roman times. During the Middle Ages, the iron exploited from this mine was burnt in “ferrerias” (ironworks). However, it was not until the invention of the Bessemer converter in 1835 that the iron of Biscay became so appreciated all over Europe, as it had no sulphide and it could only be found in Biscay and Sweden.
All of this led to the exploitation of the minerals by British companies; therefore, most of the minerals were exported to Britain. All the profits taken out from the exploitation were invested in the creation of new factories near the Nervion river, like Altos Hornos de Bilbao.
Social Situation in Biscay During Industrialization
The novel reflects the social situation of Biscay during the industrialization period. Although the happenings described in this text are dated in 1904, the new society that appears in the book was the new social class that was born at the end of the 19th century: the proletarians.
There was a demographic boom caused by the flooding of immigrants to the mining area of Triano. All these people lodged in barracks and huddled together in terrible living conditions. Most of the immigrants came from Guipuzcoa, Alava, Burgos, Cantabria, and La Rioja. Normally, they were casual workers that pretended to return to their native places when they had made some money.
The barracks were dreadful places with no toilets and more than 100 beds; furthermore, 3 or 2 workers had to sleep in each bed. It was very often compulsory to live in these huts and to buy in compulsory shops owned by the bosses. Even more, these shops had very high prices and very low food quality; therefore, the diet of miners was based on bread with bacon, chickpeas, beans, potatoes, and wine.
As you can see, in this diet there was a great lack of vitamins, that explains the weakness period that workers suffered before being ill. Furthermore, they had to undergo long hours of working journeys. Therefore, protests against all this triggered one of the first strikes in the Basque Country, that took place in 1890. This strike was a success as compulsory barracks and shops were abolished, and a ten-hour working journey was set up.